Murray State vs. San Francisco Money Line: Murray State-140, San Francisco 120; Murray State: Racers are 1-4 ATS in their last five games. Today we will discuss about Murray State vs San Francisco: Prediction| Odds| Picks| Bets.
Murray State vs San Francisco: Prediction| Odds| Picks| Bets
10 seed San Francisco on Thursday night in a first-round matchup in the East Zone of the Murray State 2022 NCAA Tournament bracket. The Racers are on a 20-game winning streak and are now 30-2 in the season, while San Francisco went 24-9 and earned a big bid after finishing fourth in the tough WCC. Murray State has been a part of March Madness in recent years, making it three of the last four NCAA tournaments. Meanwhile, San Francisco, who won back-to-back titles with Bill Russell in 1955 and 1956, is making his first appearance since 1998.
Prediction
Kevin Skriver writes: “To be clear, this game is almost impossible to predict. While Murray State has had a great run throughout the season and won 20 straight games, the schedule just hasn’t been in strength. San Francisco beat Gonzaga This year has been tough, while Murray State struggled while facing a team like Auburn. While this can’t be taken as strictly a prediction, San Francisco seems to have an edge in the game because This has shown up more against top-tier competition. Keep in mind, these are the two teams in the top 25 in the NET in the country. This isn’t just a mid-major matchup. It’s a matchup between two legitimately very good teams. Francisco gets the edge here because they’re balanced. They’ll defend the perimeter well and they’ll take a lot of thirds themselves. But regardless, expect the game to go straight to the wire.
Odds
With the money coming to Murray State, this line-1 has moved from its original open in San Francisco allowing for some great value on the money line.
San Fran is also a veteran group whose top scorers are from the upper classes. Its top 3 scorers are seniors.
Murray State’s leading scorer is 6-foot-10, but other than that, he doesn’t have a top-four scoring option that exceeds 6-foot-5.
San Francisco starts 6-foot-10 F Yauhen Massalski, who would be able to match that size, and has 3 players over 6-foot-7 who get consecutive minutes off the bench.
Both the size advantage and the experience advantage would favor San Francisco.
Picks
One of the most interesting matchups of this year’s March Madness is taking place in the Eastern Bracket, with No. 7 Murray State taking on No. 10 San Francisco. It’s a middle-of-the-head matchup that many will choose to close their eyes to, so here’s how the two stack up.
Ohio Valley winner Murray State will likely reach some ears, as it is the alma mater of Grizzlies star Jaa Morant.
Murray State had an absurdly successful season, winning the Ohio Valley Conference with a 30–2 overall record and an 18–0 conference record. Murray State is winning the Ohio Valley Championship 71–67 over Morehead State, and has won 20 straight games.
Murray State went up against the San Francisco Dons, who finished fourth on the West Coast during the regular season and lost to No. 1 Gonzaga in their conference semifinals. The Dons were the darlings of tournament projectors, and are looking to raise a Murray State team that has been running throughout the season.
Bets
Not only is Jaa Morant in the MVP talks in the NBA, but his alma mater, the Murray State Racers, has a history-making season as well. Racers enter the tournament with a 30-2 record, the best record for any team in Division I this year.
Basketball was present in Murray State prior to Morant’s arrival, as this is the school’s 18th NCAA Tournament. The final was Morant’s final game at Murray State, as it lost to Florida State in the second round.
The San Francisco Dons are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998 and their second since 1982. It is San Francisco’s 17th overall tournament, and it made it to the Final Four in 1955, 1956, and 1957.
Dawn is 24-9 on the season, and three of their losses have come at the hands of Gonzaga. The most recent defeat was in the West Coast Conference tournament title game.
BetMGM has Murray State favorite at -1.5 after San Francisco opened as a 1.5-point favorite. Murray for San Francisco would be the first defeat for the state since December 22 when the then-no. 12 Auburn beat them 71-58. As of Monday afternoon, the total in this game has fallen from 138.5 to 136.5.
To keep the Dons moving, they will lean on the senior Jamari Boya. Bouyea leads the team in scoring (16.7), assists (4), and steals (1.8), while also having 5.1 boards per game. Scouts will be looking at Boya, who is hopeful in the middle of the second round for the NBA Draft.
