MIdweek Madness: Hoops Edition

We have three games for ya on this weeks Midweek Madness.

With Purdue playing only one game this week, there was an open spot available, which mean we have ourselves a triple header.

#10 Marquette v St. John's 

Marquette is averaging 79 PPG on offense. Their Leading scorers are Markus Howard (25 PPG), Sam Hauser (15 PPG), and Joey Hauser (11 PPG). They are a really good shooting team, going 46% from the floor. The players to watch are Theo John (59%), and the Hauser brothers (49% and 48%). They have three guys who are dangerous from deep, those being Joey Hauser (48%), Sam Hauser (41%), and Howard at 43% from deep. On the defensive end, the hold teams to 69 PPG and forcing 12 turnovers a game while they force 14 turnovers a game.

St. John is averaging 81 PPG on offense. They have five guys averaging double figures a game, those being, Shamorie Ponds (20 PPG), Mustapha Heron (15 PPG), L.J. Figueroa (14 PPG), Marvin Clarke (12 PPG), and Justin Simon (10 PPG). They are slightly better than Marquette in the way of shooting from the floor, as they average 47%. St. John's have a lot of deep threats like Heron (42%), Clark and Ponds both shooting 39%, and L.J. Figueroa (38%). On the defensive end, they hold teams to 74 PPG, and force 16 turnovers while committing just 11.

I'm going with the upset here on this one, and for a couple of reasons. Both these teams are scoring machines, but St. John's has more consisting shooting than Marquette, and have more options when firing from deep, and the turnovers will play a huge factor in this one as well. But with the offensive production that St. John's has, Marquette can keep up. St. John's

#8 North Carolina v NC St.

The Tar Heels average 87 PPG on offense. Their leading scorers are Cameron Johnson (16 PPG), Luke Maye (14 PPG), and Coby White (15 PPG). They are a really good shooting team from the floor at 47%, and have the tandem of Johnson (52%) and Garrison Brooks (54%) who can dominate in the paint for easy buckets. They don't bring much of a punch in the way of three point shooting as their only strong shooters are Cameron Johnson (48%), and Coby White (36%). On defense though, they hold teams to 73 PPG, and force 15 turnovers a game while committing just 13 a game.

NC State is averaging 82 PPG on offense even after their 24 pt game against Va Tech. Their top scorers are Torin Dorn (14 PPG), C.J. Bryce (12 PPG), Markell Johnson (11 PPG), and Devon Daniels (10 PPG). Their shooting from the floor is on par with the Tar Heels at 47%. Expect C.J. Bryce (49%), Markell Johnson (53%), and Wyatt Walker (58%) to just bully defenders in the post. They do have more options from deep with Johnson (41%), and Bryce (39%). On defense, they hold teams to 68 PPG and force 17 turnovers a game, while committing just 13.

This game will look like a high scoring game, with plenty of excitement. And UNC will cruise to a win, I just don't see the Wolf pack bouncing back after they scored just 24 on their home court. And on the road at Chapel Hill is daunting for any teams not named Duke. North Carolina 

Ohio St. v Penn St.

Ohio St on offense is averaging 73 PPG. Their top scorers are Kaleb Wesson (15 PPG), C.J. Jackson (13 PPG), and Luther Muhammad (10 PPG). They shoot pretty well from the floor, averaging 46% from the floor, and with Kaleb Wesson their go to guy in the post at 52%. OSU is not good from deep as they average 36% from out there. The guys to watch are Luther Muhammad (45%), Kaleb Wesson (40%), and C.J. Jackson at 39%. On the defensive front, the Buckeyes hold teams to 65 PPG all while forcing 13 turnovers a game while also committing 13 turnovers a game.

Penn St. is averaging 68 PPG on offense, with their top scorers being Lamar Stevens (19 PPG), Rasir Bolton (12 PPG), and Josh Reaves (10 PPG). They are a decent shooting team, only averaging 44% from the floor. As with Ohio St, they also struggle from 3 as they shoot 31% on average, Their "best" shooters from deep are Rasir Bolton and Myles Dread as they both go 36% from deep. On defense, they hold teams to 68 PPG while forcing 13 turnovers a game while also committing 13 turnovers in the process.

I still think that foul trouble will rear its ugly head for the Buckeyes as usual, which can cause problems for their big men like Kaleb. I see Ohio St. winning this one, but it probably will be a close one as Penn St. is a team that will fight till the last buzzer, but with the options from deep and the home crowd, this should be an easy one for OSU. Ohio St.