Buffalo vs. West Virginia Prediction
The 13th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers will open their season tonight when they are a double-digit favorite against a Buffalo Bulls team which already posted a win earlier this week. Can West Virginia impress and cover the spread or is Buffalo the right team to bet on?
Game Snapshot
543 Buffalo Bulls at 544 West Virginia Mountaineers
Friday, November 9, 2018
WVU Coliseum at 9PM ET
TV: ESPNU
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Public Betting Information
According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, the Mountaineers are an 11-point favorite on the spread line. The total is set at 155.5 points. As of Friday morning, 73 percent of public bets are pouring in on host West Virginia. Check out our College Basketball Public Betting Page for the latest info.
Bulls roll past St. Francis
Buffalo earned a season-opening 82-67 victory earlier this week at home over St. Francis (PA). The Bulls led 42-34 at halftime and kept up the pace after the break. Nick Perkins led the way for Buffalo off the bench with 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting plus nine rebounds and two blocked shots. Jayvon Graves contributed 12 points and four boards. C.J. Massinburg added 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
West Virginia looks to build off Sweet 16 run
The Mountaineers finished last season with a 26-11 record and advanced to the Sweet 16 before falling to eventual national champion Villanova by a count of 90-78. West Virginia will return its third-leading scorer from last season in 6-foot-8 and 250-pound forward Sagaba Konate (10.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg), while 6-foot-8 and 225-pound forward Esa Ahmad (10.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.0 apg) also returns for his senior season after finishing fourth on the roster in scoring a season ago.
College Basketball Betting Trends
Buffalo
The Bulls are 8-3-2 ATS in their last 13 Friday games. Buffalo is 5-2 ATS in its last seven games overall.
West Virginia
The Mountaineers are 4-0 ATS in their last four home games. West Virginia is 4-1 ATS in its last five games versus Mid-American Conference opponents.
Prediction:
West Virginia is going to press and make life hard for opponents once again this season after sporting the nation’s 22nd-ranked defense last season. The Mountaineers were even better offensively, ranking fourth in the nation. If they can come somewhere close to that kind of efficiency this season, it will be another fantastic year. I don’t see Buffalo keeping up today as this is obviously a far bigger challenge than what it faced versus St. Francis.
PREDICTION: WEST VIRGINIA -11