Spread & Over/Under Predictions for West Virginia vs. Mercyhurst

West Virginia enters today's game as massive favorites. Can they cover?

West Virginia University guard Jonathan Powell / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

West Virginia meets with the Mercyhurst Lakers on Sunday afternoon, marking the final game of non-conference play.

Here are my picks for today's game. Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.

Star ratings (Strength of prediction):

1 Star - Not very confident
2 Star - A little confident
3 Star - Fairly confident
4 Star - Very confident
5 Star - Should be a lock to happen

Spread: West Virginia -32.5

1-star play on West Virginia (-32.5): If I'm looking at the two teams side by side, the Mountaineers should win this game by 40, easily. And that's without Tucker DeVries out. But considering the situation of it being the last game before the teams breaks for Christmas break, you always wonder about the group's focus, especially with an inferior team coming in on a Sunday afternoon. It might take a little while for the Mountaineers to wake up, but we'll lay the points.

Over/Under: 136.5

1-star on the under: My projected final score for this game lands at 136, so hence the reason for the low confidence here. To be completely honest, this just feels like a complete stay-away game to me. There's no need to reach for a play, especially when there are other games you could look at. But for the sake of this exercise, we'll put a small play on the under with the thinking that both teams are looking ahead to the holiday break. Plus, Mercyhurst has put up 57 against Kent State and 60 against Binghampton in its last two outings.

Record this season:

ATS: 5-5 (50%)
O/U: 5-5 (50%)
Overall: 10-10 (50%)

Odds Disclaimer

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