Wofford vs. Seton Hall Betting Guide: Can Terriers Top Pirates’ Perimeter Defense?

#7 Wofford vs. #10 Seton Hall NCAA Tournament Betting Odds 

• Spread: Wofford -2.5
• Over/Under: 144.5
• Date: Thursday, March 21
• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• TV: CBS
• Location: Jacksonville, Fla.

No. 7 seed Wofford (19-11 against the spread) has racked up 20 consecutive outright victories — the longest active winning streak in Division I — but it shouldn't take No. 10 seed Seton Hall (17-16 ATS) lightly. The Pirates have covered in five straight affairs, winning four outright.

Which team provides more value in the Round of 64?

Stardom in the Backcourt in Seton Hall-Wofford

Marquette-Murray State will provide arguably the best individual scoring matchup in the Round of 64 in Markus Howard vs. Ja Morant, but this one isn't far off.

Wofford two-guard Fletcher Magee (20.5 points per game) is an elite microwave scorer, especially from behind the arc (43.9%).

On the flip side, Seton Hall's Myles Powell (22.9 ppg) provides just as much excitement via his ability to sink his pull-up jumper from anywhere. As play-by-play voice Gus Johnson would say, "Powell, from Trenton!"

No matter which team ends up covering, there won't be a shortage of thrilling moments from these two matchup nightmares.

Can Wofford Best Seton Hall's Elite Perimeter Defense?

With Magee at the helm, the Terriers present the 11th-highest Adjusted Offensive Efficiency (118.4 points per 100 possessions) in the country, led by the second-highest 3-point clip (41.6%).

But the Pirates' defense squared up well vs. countless perimeter-oriented offenses in Big East play, yielding the third-lowest 3-point clip during that stretch (34.6%). That's against some dangerous 3-point shooting teams, too.

Seton Hall point guard Quincy McKnight provided tremendous on-ball defense throughout, shutting down a hampered Markus Howard (wrist, 1-of-15 shooting) in the conference tournament semifinals.

The Pirates allowed the fourth-lowest scoring rate from behind the arc (32.8%) against their conference foes, an even though the Pirates are a below-average defensive rebounding team (29.6%), many of Wofford's misses will trickle out further because it primarily shoots from distance. Defensive rebounding will come down to effort.

The Southern Conference is no layup drill — UNC Greensboro and Furman both possessed a shot at earning a ticket to the big dance — but I expect Seton Hall's next-level defense to stifle Wofford's 3-point attack just enough.

Wofford Has One Big Flaw

As often as Powell  jacks up a long-range jumpers, the Pirates have still relied on their interior offense during their recent hot stretch.

Paced by Powell and McKnight off the dribble drive, along with the 6-foot-10 Sandro Mamukelashvili in the low post, Kevin Willard's bunch has manufactured the 97th-highest 2-point scoring rate in the nation (51.8%).

Wofford's most glaring defensive flaw comes via defending the lane: The Terriers have let up a below-average 2-point scoring percentage of 50.9%.

Majors such as Oklahoma and Mississippi State were able to take advantage of the Terriers in non-conference play, and the same should happen in a spot where Seton Hall can control the tempo while speeding up a Wofford squad that surprisingly doesn't favor that style of play.

Eli's Pick: Seton Hall +2.5 (down to +2)

Our Projected Odds for #7 Wofford vs. #10 Seton Hall

Get point spreads for this game and every possible tournament matchup with our bracket simulator built by Sean Koerner, our Director of Predictive Analytics, a former oddsmaker and FantasyPros' most accurate in-season fantasy football ranker from 2015-2017.

• Spread: Wofford -1
• Total: 141
• Proj Score: Wofford 71 | Seton Hall 70
• Win Probability: Wofford 50.2% | Seton Hall 49.8%

Editor’s note: The opinions on this game is from the individual writer and are based on his research, analysis and perspective. They are independent of, and may not always match with, the algorithm-driven Best Bets from Sports Insights.