The second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament brings a rematch of old Big East foes. No. 3 West Virginia pulled away in the second half to roll over No. 14 Morehead State, while No. 11 Syracuse ran No. 6 San Diego State out of the building in a surprisingly easy upset. West Virginia and Syracuse will meet on Sunday.
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Game date: Sunday, March 21
Game time: 5:15 p.m.
TV channel: CBS
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Odds: West Virginia -3, Total 150.5
No. 11 Syracuse: 17-9 (9-7): AT-LARGE
KenPom rating: 43 OVERALL, 23 OFFENSE, 95 DEFENSE
NET ranking: 40 (2-7 vs. QUAD 1)
Leading scorer: G Buddy Boeheim (17.1 PPG)
It was the Buddy Boeheim show on Friday. Jim Boeheim’s son had a monster night, scoring 30 points on 11 of 15 shooting. For significant stretches of the game he was outscoring No. 6 San Diego State on his own. The lead went back-and-forth for the first 11 minutes of the first half before the Orange took a 19-18 lead. They never looked back, building the lead to 27 in the second half and cruising to victory.
No. 3 West Virginia 19-9 (11-6): At-Large
KenPom rating: 25 OVERALL, 10 OFFENSE, 61 DEFENSE
NET ranking: 24, (7-7 vs. QUAD 1)
Leading scorer: Miles McBride (15.4 PPG, 4.7 APG)
No. 14 Morehead State gave the Mountaineers a fight into the second half, but West Virginia was too much down the stretch. Miles McBride led the way with 28 points, 4 assists, and 6 rebounds, and three additional scorers in double digits did the trick. Morehead State cut West Virginia’s lead to one with 13:59 to go, but an 11-0 run kept the Eagles from ever getting over the top.
