Thursday night college hoops, the Campbell Camels head to West Virginia to take on the Mountaineers after being completely owned by the Wisconsin Badgers. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers are coming off their first win of the season on Tuesday, beating Mount Saint Mary's 70-54. Who will come out on top in this Thursday night battle?
Well, in this one I do not care who wins, I love the under. I want the least amount of points to be scored in this matchup. I snagged 140.5 prior to this write-up, and BetOnline has 141, which means you can get a slightly better number than me.
Let us get into why I love the under in this spot!
Who is Ross?
The Mountaineers have started their first season with former North Texas head coach, Ross Hodge. For die-hard mid-major college basketball fans, you know the way Hodge teams play: slow, lock-down, efficient basketball. I am a massive fan of the way Hodge carries his teams. North Texas over the past few years was one of my favorite teams to watch because they played suffocating defense while moving as slow as your grandmother in her weekend pickup league at the home.
After just one game, West Virginia has already kicked off the season with a game ending with 124 total points. The total in that game was 136.5. The Mountaineers held Mount Saint Mary's to under 30% from deep and under 40% from the floor. Is the market not caught up to the new style of play for West Virginia? Also, Campbell scored 64 points against a Wisconsin team that is 188 spots ahead of West Virginia in pace. I fully expect the Camels to be held under 60 points in Thursday night's matchup.
Going off of Hodge's style of play, I think this number is simply way too high and the market has yet to catch up to the way West Virginia is now going to play moving forward. Hodge's teams are typically very efficient on the offensive end, but they always play incredible defense, so I am not worried about this total going over.
Trust Ross?
West Virginia is a different team under Ross Hodge, and the market has yet to catch up to their slow, suffocating style of play. Campbell will struggle to score against a Mountaineers defense built on discipline and efficiency, and history suggests this will be a low-scoring affair. The pace is deliberate, the shots are contested, and every possession matters. I expect the total points to stay well under the posted number. For Thursday night college hoops, this is a classic matchup where defense dominates and points are at a premium. The under is the clear play.
