No. 14 seed Morehead State (23-7) vs. No. 3 seed West Virginia (18-9)
NCAA Tournament First Round, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis; Friday, 8:50 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Morehead State and West Virginia are set to square off in a NCAA first round matchup. Morehead State won 86-71 against Belmont on March 3, while West Virginia fell to Oklahoma State last week, 72-69.
TEAM LEADERS: West Virginia’s Derek Culver has averaged 14.6 points and 9.8 rebounds while Miles McBride has put up 15.4 points and 4.7 assists. For the Eagles, Johni Broome has averaged 13.9 points and nine rebounds while Devon Cooper has put up 12.2 points and five rebounds.
SPARKING THE OFFENSE: McBride has either made or assisted on 41 percent of all West Virginia field goals over the last three games. The sophomore guard has accounted for 15 field goals and 15 assists in those games.
SCORING THRESHOLDS: West Virginia is 13-0 when it limits opposing offenses to 71 or fewer points, and 5-9 when opponents exceed 71 points. Morehead State is 17-0 when holding opponents to 65 points or fewer, and 6-7 on the year when teams score any more than 65.
PERFECT WHEN: The Mountaineers are 13-0 when they hold opposing teams to 71 points or fewer and 5-9 when opponents exceed 71 points. The Eagles are 17-0 when they hold opponents to 65 points or fewer and 6-7 when opponents exceed 65 points.
DID YOU KNOW: The sturdy Morehead State defense has held opponents to just 63.4 points per game, the 27th-lowest in Division I. West Virginia has allowed an average of 72.1 points through 27 games (ranked 203rd, nationally).
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