West Virginia at Louisville

The fourth-seeded Cardinals head to the Elite Eight after shooting the light's out from three-point range whipping top seeded Washington 93-79 marking the 12th consecutive victory but only the 5th win at the cash window (5-7 ATS) over that span. West Virginia comes in off a hard fought 65-60 battle vs. Texas Tech earning it's 10th win over a twelve game span and a cash stuffing 9-3 mark against-the-spread. On paper the contest appears to be a mismatch as the Cardinals are athletic, can shoot from anywhere on the floor and have two of the best players in the tournament in Francisco Garcia (24 PPG) and Taquan Dean (13.0 PPG). Louisville is beating opponents by 18 points this season while the Mountaineers are winning by just five. However we can't sell Mountaineers short, the tournament Cinderella's have earned respect with hustle, good shooting, good passing, good defense and plain old 'Team Play'. West Virginia at 8 1/2 points is tempting knowing Mountaineers are 8-1 ATS in post-season tournament games and Cardinals 2-6 against-the-number last eight giving opponents 8 1/2 or more. Both teams are playing over their heads but methinks Louisville is MUCH better. The Cardinals are the #4 Seed which sport a 6-1 SU & ATS record in this round since '92. Also, teams off the largest straight-up win in the Sweet 16 are 12-7 ATS (applies to Illinois below, too). Lay the points for two stars as West Viriginia's dream ends here, and probably in a blowout.