Wright State Raiders vs Virginia Cavaliers Prediction, 3/20/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Wright State Raiders vs Virginia Cavaliers

Date: Friday, March 20, 2026

Location: Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, PA

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: Virginia (-18)

The Virginia Cavaliers (29-5) will go up against the Wright State Raiders (23-11) at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Wright State opens as 18-point underdogs from oddsmakers. The betting total comes in at 145.5.

The Wright State Raiders played Detroit and went home with a win by a final score of 66-63 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Raiders left the arena with 17 while Detroit racked up 23 fouls. They also made 4 of 10 tries from beyond the arc. Detroit finished the contest at 89.5% at the charity stripe by converting 17 of their 19 shots. Moreover, Detroit pulled down 35 rebounds (10 offensive, 25 defensive), but didn't have a block. Detroit totaled 12 dimes and had 5 steals in this game. In regard to the defense, Wright State allowed their opponent to shoot 35.0% from the field on 21 of 60 shooting. They also dished out 11 dimes for this game as well as creating 11 turnovers and having 4 steals. In the matter of pulling down boards, they earned 38 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Raiders knocked down 16 of their 26 attempts for a rate of 61.5%. Wright State wrapped up the contest with a 39.7% field goal percentage (23 out of 58) and made 4 out of their 17 three-point attempts.

TJ Burch is a guy who was a factor for this contest. He ended up finishing with 19 points on 7 of 14 shooting. He played for 27 mins and also grabbed 2 boards. He walked away from this one shooting 50.0% from the field and earned 3 assists.

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Wright State comes into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 23-11 for the year. They are averaging 80.7 pts per game (71st in the nation) while shooting 48.8% from the field. The Raiders are hitting 36.1% on 3-point shots (241 of 667) and 73.6% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Wright State is snagging 35.4 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 469 assists so far this year, which is 145th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession via turnover 11.3 times per game and as a squad they commit 17.4 fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Raiders are able to force 12.0 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.5 fouls. They concede 33.0% from beyond the arc and they rank 170th in college in PPG allowed (73.4). The Raiders defensively are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 45.7% (897 of 1,963) and they relinquish 31.3 boards per contest as a team. They rank 99th in the country in giving up assists with 403 surrendered so far this season.

The last time they took the court, the Virginia Cavaliers went home defeated by a final of 74-70 when they faced Duke. The Cavaliers were able to pull down 24 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards for a total of 35 for the game. They turned it over 10 times, while getting 5 steals for the contest. Duke committed 16 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Cavaliers to the free throw line for a total of 16 shots. They were able to knock down 14 of the free throws for a clip of 87.5%. Regarding shots from beyond the perimeter, Virginia converted 8 out of 24 attempts (33.3%). Overall, the Cavaliers shot 24 for 54 from the floor which gave them a rate of 44.4%. The Cavaliers permitted Duke to bury 25 of their 65 attempts from the floor which left them shooting 38.5% for the game. They finished 32.0% from downtown by connecting on 8 of 25 and finished the contest at 16 of 20 at the free throw line (80.0%). Regarding cleaning the glass, Virginia allowed Duke to snag 21 in all (7 offensive).

Malik Thomas ended up being a major contributor for the Cavaliers for the game. He tallied 18 points in his 30 mins on the court, but wasn't able to get an assist. He buried 6 out of 13 for this game for a field goal rate of 46.2%, and tallied 2 rebounds.

Virginia has a mark of 29-5 on the year. The Cavaliers are committing 17.6 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 72.6% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 16.6 times per contest (43rd in the country) and they turn the ball over 10.8 times per contest. Virginia has scored 2,742 points so far this year (80.6 per game) and they collect 40.2 rebounds per contest. In terms of offensive execution, the Cavaliers are shooting 46.3% from the floor, which is 108th in college hoops.

The Cavaliers on the defensive end are ranked 44th in college hoops in PPG given up with 68.4. They are forcing 10.6 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 39.5% from the field (13th in college). The Virginia defense allows 30.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter (233 of 755) and their opposition knocks down 75.8% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 11.8 assists and 32.8 rebounds per contest, which is 55th and 76th in Division 1.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Virginia (-18)

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