San Francisco had a nice season that featured wins over Arizona State, Davidson, UAB, and UNLV out of conference. They finished 10-6 in the conference in a year where the West Coast Conference was pretty strong and could have easily had one more team in the tournament had BYU stayed a bit more consistent. They now face Murray State in what could be the tightest first round game of the tournament.
How to watch San Francisco vs. Murray State Basketball
Game Matchup: No. 10 San Francisco (24-9) vs. No. 7 Murray State (30-2)
Venue & Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN)
Date: Thursday, March 17, 2022
Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
TV: CBS (Watch 7 days free with fuboTV)
Murray State is one of two teams in the country to not drop a single in the conference slate and that is going to give the Racers confidence heading into their game against the Dons. Winning their last 20 games straight certainly doesn’t hurt either with their only two losses coming to Auburn and inexplicably to Long Beach State.
San Francisco vs. Murray State Odds and prediction
Spread:
- San Francisco +1.5 (-110)
- Murray State -1.5 (-110)
Moneyline:
- San Francisco +105
- Murray State -130
Total: Over/Under – 136.5 (-110)
Odds are via BetMGM.
San Francisco vs. Murray State Basketball Game Betting Preview
The Dons are a pretty good three-point shooting team, hitting those shots at a 35.4% clip. They attempt over 27 a game while hitting over 9.5 of them so keeping them inside the arc will be key in this one. It also helps that they keep opponents to under 30% from beyond the arc as well, which is good for 14th in the country.
Murray State has an excellent balance of scoring and defense as it averages about 79 points per game while only allowing about 62 points a game. The Racers shoot the ball pretty well at 55.5% from inside the arc and 47.9% overall from the floor. They also hold opponents to 30.3% shooting from beyond the arc.
Murray State is also a pretty solid rebounding team with 39.2 total boards per game and 12.5 offensive boards. That last stat is a top-20 number in the country, by the way. Less shots for USF’s top three scorers will certainly bode well for the Racers and should help the likes of KJ Williams, Tevin Brown, and Justice Hill get more of the shots they want.
