Eagles to fly past Wolf Pack?
Nevada rode its up-tempo offense all the way to the CBI title series, but will that blistering pace hold up against Morehead State’s ultra-physical front line?
Ellis T. Johnson Arena should house the answer – or, at minimum, some sense of the endgame – tonight. The Wolf Pack and Eagles tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET in a best-of-three championship matchup.
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, Morehead State embodies a 5-point favorite. The over/under total rests at 144.
With Marqueze Coleman finally back in the driver’s seat, though, Nevada (22-13) seems to have found a different gear. In last week’s 86-72 semifinal victory over Vermont, the senior guard returned from a protracted absence (high ankle sprain) to score 20 points. The Wolf Pack also shot 53 percent collectively.
The Eagles (22-12) prefer to conduct business in a different way. They force 14.9 turnovers per contest, ranking 32nd in the country, and hold the fourth-best figure for offensive rebounds. With wins in 10 of the last 11 games, too, Sean Woods’ group happens to be operating at maximum efficiency when it matters most.
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Nevada’s last true road tilt came on March 2 at Boise State – a 19-point defeat. Still, the Wolf Pack’s backcourt assets promise to create enough difficult matchups to confound Morehead State for the majority of this opening affair.
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