The Northeastern Huskies (1-4) wrap up their non-conference schedule with a trip to Morgantown to take on the seventh-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers. Northeastern’s lone win came over UMass on December 13, in 78-75 fashion. Since then, they have lost at Syracuse, Old Dominion and Georgia, the last loss coming on December 22 by 18 points. West Virginia (7-2, 1-1 Big 12) had won four in a row before losing at then-#3 Kansas on December 22 by 14 points.
Let’s take a look at what we can expect from a college basketball betting perspective on this non-conference matchup.
NCAAB: Northeastern at #7 West Virginia (December 29)
When: Tuesday, December 29, 2020, 2:00 pm ET
Where: WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, WV
TV: ESPN+
Radio: No National Radio
Live Stream: ESPN+
Why should you bet on the Huskies?
Northeastern actually got all over Georgia in the first half of their game on Tuesday, opening on a 15-5 run and going into the locker room up, 45-32, at the half. However, Georgia started the second half with a 25-5 run and had a 57-50 lead with 8:16 left in regulation. Northeastern was only able to muster 13 points after the intermission. Tyson Walker led the Huskies with 19 points and six assists. Freshman Jahmyl Telfort put up 15 points, but all of them came in the first half.
Northeastern went 17 of 29 in the first half, going 9 of 13 from behind the arc. However, they made just five of 30 shots in the second half. Georgia won the battle of the boards, 41-30 (14-12 offensive rebounds). Other than Walker and Telfort, no one else had more than seven points in the game, and three of the Huskies’ starters combined for just eight points. The Huskies will need to shoot better throughout the game to have a chance at West Virginia, and they will need to trim those 20 turnovers they had against Georgia.
Why should you put your money on the Mountaineers?
West Virginia tried a different defensive approach against Kansas than what they have in years past, shutting down lanes to the hoop instead of denying outside shooters, but it did not pay off. Christian Braun nailed six three-pointers, and Jalen Wilson knocked down four. West Virginia led by a point at halftime but ended up falling by 14. Sean McNeil led West Virginia with 24 points, including six three-pointers, but most of his points came before halftime. Miles McBride scored 19 points, but the inside pair of Derek Culver and Oscar Tschiebwe struggled, combining for just 11 points and 12 boards.
McNeil had a terrific first half, going 7 of 7 overall, including 6 of 6 from three-point range, scoring 20 points. The rest of the team was just 6 of 24 from the field and 1 of 6 from behind the arc. However, he came out of the locker room ice cold, and then Kansas went on a 14-3 run near the 15-minute mark of the second half. While the disparity in three-point shooting was a problem for West Virginia, their difficulty rebounding was the real story, as West Virginia almost never loses on the boards, and they rarely give up as much scoring in the lane as they did against Kansas.
Final Score and Prediction
It will be interesting to see how West Virginia responds to the loss in this tune-up before the Mountaineers face Oklahoma. If Northeastern looks at the Kansas tape, they will see opportunities to shoot, but West Virginia may resort to more of their “Press Virginia” look, harassing the Northeastern guards all over the floor. I predict a final score of West Virginia 80, Northeastern 65.
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