NCAA Tournament: Murray State vs San Francisco 3/17/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Murray State Racers and San Francisco Dons do battle Thursday in the college basketball NCAA Tournament First Round at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The San Francisco Dons look for a win after splitting their last six games. The Murray State Racers haven’t lost a game since December 22.

The San Francisco Dons are averaging 77.3 points on 46 percent shooting and allowing 66.7 points on 42.1 percent shooting. Jamaree Bouyea is averaging 16.7 points and 5.1 rebounds, while Khalil Shabazz is averaging 14 points and 3.2 rebounds. Yauhen Massalski is the third double-digit scorer and Gabe Stefanini is grabbing 2.6 rebounds. The San Francisco Dons are shooting 35.5 percent from beyond the arc and 69.9 percent from the free throw line. The San Francisco Dons are allowing 30.1 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 35 rebounds per game.

The Murray State Racers are averaging 79.3 points on 48.1 percent shooting and allowing 61.7 points on 40.7 percent shooting. KJ Williams is averaging 18.2 points and 8.6 rebounds, while Tevin Brown is averaging 16.9 points and 5.5 rebounds. Justice Hill is the third double-digit scorer and Trae Hannibal is grabbing 5 rebounds. The Murray State Racers are shooting 34.9 percent from beyond the arc and 69.6 percent from the free throw line. The Murray State Racers are allowing 30 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 35.9 rebounds per game.

The Dons are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 neutral site games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Racers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The over is 4-1 in Dons last 5 Thursday games. The under is 7-3 in Racers last 10 overall.

This line is crazy disrespectful toward a Murray State Racers team that hasn’t lost a game in three months. Murray State is easily the best mid-major in this tournament and is capable of busting brackets this week. The San Francisco Dons are a team you could argue shouldn’t even be in the tournament, as they don’t have many quality wins on their resume and their free throw shooting is poor. Murray State should be favored and likely wins this game.