2012 NCAA Tournament
Round of 64 – East Region
Thursday, 3/15/12, 12:40 p.m. Eastern, TV: truTV
#8 Kansas State Wildcats (21-10, 10-8 Big 12) vs. #9 Southern Miss Golden Eagles (25-8, 11-5 Conference USA)
CONSOL Energy Center – Pittsburgh, PA
Opening Line: Kansas State -7
Current Line: Kansas State -5
Opening Total: 134
Current Total: 134
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Despite a successful regular season, the ninth-seeded Southern Miss Golden Eagles will need to break a skid against the spread if they are going to advance past the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Golden Eagles (25-8, 11-5 Conference USA) have failed to cover their last seven games along with nine of their past 10 heading into Thursday’s East Region matchup with the eighth-seeded Kansas State Wildcats (21-10, 10-8 Big 12).
Southern Miss was upset 73-62 by Marshall in the semifinals of the Conference USA tournament as the No. 2 seed and a 2.5-point favorite last Friday. The Golden Eagles were outscored 44-34 in the second half after trailing by just one point at halftime. Senior guard Angelo Johnson scored 24 points in the loss for head coach Larry Eustachy’s squad, which is making its first appearance in the Big Dance since 1991.
Eustachy is the former Iowa State coach who was dismissed in 2003 after he was photographed attending college parties at multiple Big 12 schools, violating a moral clause in his contract. He was named AP Coach of the Year in 2000, leading the Cyclones within a game of the Final Four. After sitting out one year between jobs, he took over at Southern Miss and is in his eighth season there.
Kansas State (-5, O/U 134) is in the NCAA tournament for the third year in a row under head coach Frank Martin and finished fifth in the Big 12. The Wildcats lost to national runner-up Butler two years ago 63-56 in the West Regional Final and fell to Wisconsin 70-65 in the third round last season. There is a possibility that they could meet the Badgers again this year if both teams make it to the Sweet 16.
An 82-74 loss to Baylor last Thursday ended Kansas State’s run in the Big 12 tournament after the team had finished the regular season strong with four wins in five games. One of those wins came against the Bears on the road February 18 (57-56) while the Wildcats followed that up with another impressive victory away from home at Missouri three days later, 78-68. Kansas State is led by junior guard Rodney McGruder, who averaged 15.4 points per game and made 39 percent of his 3-point attempts, making 1.5 per contest.
The OVER is 8-1 in the last nine neutral site games for the Wildcats and 10-2 in the past 12 overall for the Golden Eagles. The teams met in 2008 with Kansas State winning 74-55 at home and covering as a 6.5-point favorite.
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