March 18, 2008
No. 13 Oral Roberts (24-8) vs. No. 4 Pittsburgh (26-9)
DENVER (Ticker) - On the heels of surging to the Big East Conference championship, Pittsburgh looks to carry the momentum into the NCAA Tournament against Oral Roberts on Thursday in the first round of the South Regional.
Pittsburgh is a 9-point favorite and the 'total' is hovering around 128.
The fourth-seeded Panthers (26-9), who were seeded seventh in the Big East, won the conference tournament for the first time since 2003.
Pittsburgh advanced to the "Sweet 16" last season and is led by the emergence of Sam Young at forward.
The junior raised his scoring average over 11 points to 18.3 per contest this season, and scored 20.0 during the Big East tournament. Freshman DeJuan Blair is averaging 11.7 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
Oral Roberts (24-8) returns to the postseason for the third straight season after claiming the Summit League title.
The 13th-seeded Golden Eagles lost their top two scorers from last season but Robert Jarvis stepped in and scored 16.1 points per game.
The winner will take on either Michigan State or Temple in the second round on Saturday.
Back to Bracket page.
Check out our NCAAB odds and matchup reports.
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