The No. 13 Marshall Thundering Herd managed to pull out one of the major upsets of 2018 NCAA Tournament East Region First Round, by edging the No. 4 Wichita State Shockers, 81-75, surpassing the 12.0 points ATS line by 18 points. It doesn’t look good for the favorites when No. 4 and No. 13 teams square off as the same thing happened in the South Region where Buffalo eliminated Arizona. The game also went Under the 166.0 points Totals line (156).
The Thundering Herd will now face the winner of the matchup between No. 5 West Virginia and No. 12 Murray State. If Mountaineers advance through, Marshall will be considered as a strong underdog with the ATS line looming around the lowest double-digit figure. If the Racers win, Marshall will also probably be considered as an underdog but with much lower ATS line.
The odds for that game will be released by BetDSI Sportsbook in a few hours, and we’ll certainly be in for a treat considering that the Thundering already proved to know how to take out the favorite.
Game Recap
After a strong start of the game and initial lead, Marshall slowed down a bit and let the control of the game to the Shockers that resulted in a three-point deficit at the end of the first half (37-34). In the second period, Thundering Herd managed to get themselves into the next gear, especially in the last five minutes of the matchup when they looked much more composed and concentrated.
The field-goal percentage is the aspect that decided the game as Thundering Herd shot 46.7% (28-60), including 9-of-23 for three-points (39.1%), opposed to only 41.5% by the Shockers (27.6% for three-points).
Jon Elmore led the team in this extraordinary accomplishment with 27 points, four boards, and four assists. Ajdin Penava added 16 points (four-of-four from the free-throw line), eight boards and three blocked shots, while C.J. Burks posted solid 13 points.
Marshall’s odds to win the NCAA Tournament can be found at BetDSI and they are favoring the Thundering Herd at +10000 (highest possible along with 15 other teams). Still, miracles do happen, but we’ll have to wait to see if it’s going to be the case here.
