Boasting its highest seed since it earned a 1-seed in 2014, 4-seed Wichita State opens NCAA Tournament play Friday against 13-seed Marshall, the Conference USA champion. The game tips at 1:30 p.m. ET.
The Shockers are a popular darkhorse pick for the Final Four. They go 10-deep and are led by third-team All-American Landry Shamet, who shoots 46 percent on three-pointers. Bookmakers list Wichita State as a 12-point favorite, with the Over-Under for total points scored at 166.
Before you make your picks, you need to hear what SportsLine's advanced computer model has to say.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, entered the 2018 NCAA Tournament on a blistering 11-1 run on its top-rated picks. It also called nine of the 12 double-digit seed upsets in the first round the last two years. Anybody who has followed it is up huge.
Now, it has simulated Friday's matchup between Wichita State and Marshall 10,000 times and its picks and projections are in.
We can tell you the model is leaning Under, but it has an extremely strong pick against the spread. In fact, the model says one side cashes a whopping 64 percent of the time. You can only see that pick over at SportsLine.
The model has taken into account Wichita State's inability to cover lately. The Shockers come in on an 0-6 ATS skid and they're just 7-20-1 ATS in their last 28 non-conference games.
Marshall features its own big-time star in Jon Elmore. Averaging 22.8 points, 6.9 assists and 6.0 rebounds, the 6-3 junior is capable of carrying the Thundering Herd to an upset.
But Marshall -- making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1987 -- went just 24-10 against the nation's 184th-toughest schedule. Meanwhile, Wichita State (25-7) faced the 36th-toughest schedule and won 13 games against Top-100 opponents.
The explosive Shockers led the tough American Athletic Conference in scoring (83.0) and shooting percentage (47.8). They've also won their first-round NCAA Tournament game the past five years, but will they cover a dozen points?
So which side should you back? Visit SportsLine now to see the coveted top-rated pick that's hitting in a whopping 64 percent of simulations, all from the advanced computer model that entered the NCAA Tournament on an 11-1 run.