NIT Quarterfinals
#6 College of Charleston Cougars at #4 Wichita St Shockers
Charles Koch Arena, Wichita, KS
Wednesday, March 23, 2011, 7:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN2
Opening Line: Wichita St -8
Current Line: Wichita St -7 1/2
Opening Total: 141 1/2
Current Total: 141 1/2
Money Line: WSU -350 / CofC +290

One of these two unlikely teams will play in the NIT semifinals in New York Next week. The winner of College and Charleston and Wichita St will play the winner of  Northwestern and Washington St. College of Charleston is 26-10 overall and tied for the Southern Conference regular season title with Wofford. Both teams were 14-4, but Wofford won the SOCon tournament to get the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Charleston beat Dayton 94-84 in the first round and won at Cleveland St 64-56 in the second round. They were supposed to play at Dayton but the game was moved to Charleston because of the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Charleston went 13-4 in their last 17 games.  Wichita St is 26-8 and finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 14-4 record. Wichita St beat Nebraska at home 76-49 in the first round and then won at Virginia Tech in overtime 79-76 in the second round. Wichita St has gone 11-4 in their last 15 games. 

Wichita and Charleston have never played each other before. The Shockers are 13-4 at home this season, while the Cougars are 10-7 on the road. Charleston is 37-22 ATS in all games the last two seasons, including 18-7 as an underdog. Charleston is 14-5 ATS when the total is between 140 and 150 this year. The Cougars are 19-8 ATS in non-conference games the last 3 seasons. Charleston is 29-17 ATS in games against teams with winning records the last 3 seasons.

Charleston has no significant injuries right now. Charleston is led by guard Andrew Goudelock who is averaging 23.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 0.9 steals a game. He leads the team in scoring and assists. He is the nation’s fifth leading scorer. Guard Jeremy Simmons averages 13.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1.3 blocks a game to lead the team. Guard Donavan Monroe averages 12.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 0.9 steals a game. Trent Wiederman leads the team in rebounds with6.7 a game. Andrew Lawrence leads the team in steals with 1.1 a game. Charleston is outscoring opponents 76-69 this season. The Cougars are shooting 47.7% from the field and 36.2% from 3-point range. Cougar opponents are shooting 43.4% from the field. Charleston makes 74.3% of their free throws. The Cougars average 34.8 rebounds a game, and has a rebounding margin of -0.7. Charleston averages 13.5 assists and 12 turnovers a game. The Cougars force 13.1 turnovers a game on defense. Charleston averages 5.8 steals and 4.1 blocks a game.

Wichita St is also healthy right now. The Shockers are led by forward/center J.T. Durley, who is averaging 11.3 points to lead the team, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists. Guard David Kyles averages 9.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists a game. Guard Toure’ Murry averages 9.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals a game. He leads the team in assists and steals. Forward Gabe Blair leads the Shockers in rebounds with 6.3 a game and blocks with 0.9 a game. WSU is outscoring opponents 73-62 on the year. The Shockers shoot 46.5% from the field and 35.6% from 3-point range. Shocker opponents are shooting 41% from the field. Wichita shoots 74.1% from the free throw line. The Shockers average 37.3 rebounds and have a rebounding margin of +7.9. They average 15.2 assists and 12.3 turnovers a game. The Shockers force 12.1 turnovers a game on defense. Wichita averages 5.7 steals and 3.8 blocks a game.

Neither of these teams were projected to be here, so there should be very little pressure on them. Both have played a demanding non-conference schedule, which should prepare them for high pressure elimination games. I think this will be a close game. A sellout crowd is expected in Wichita and the Koch Arena will be loud and boisterous.

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