With one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history, #9 seed Northern Iowa knocked out #1 seed Kansas and in the process blew this year’s tournament wide open. #2 seed Ohio State rolled through their first two rounds, and #5 Michigan State and #6 Tennessee are the next two highest seeds left as #3 Georgetown and #4 Maryland fell by the wayside. These four teams are set to continue on their quest for a national title in the Sweet 16. Here is a look at next Friday night’s match-ups along with the current odds for each game.
Tennessee Volunteers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes -5 Current Over/Under 134
In the early game in the Midwest, scheduled for a 7:05 P.M. tip-off on Friday March 26th Tennessee will try and knock out the highest seed left in the region when they square off against Ohio State.
Tennessee’s main claim to fame this season was handing Kansas their first loss of the season (76-68) after they had won their first 14 games and handing Kentucky their second loss of the year (74-65) against 34 wins. The Volunteers (27-8)did struggle a bit in their first round 62-59 win over #11 seed San Diego State but had a solid effort in the second round, taking out #14 seed Ohio 83-68. Against the Bobcats, senior G J.P. Prince scored 18 points and sophomore G Scotty Hopson added 17.
After winning the Big 10 Conference Tournament, Ohio State (29-7) came into this tournament having won 13 out of their last 14 games. In the first round they made short work of #15 seed UC Santa Barbara 68-51 despite the fact that Big 10 Player of the Year, junior G Evan Turner had one of his worst shooting nights of the year. He quickly erased that memory by scoring a game high 24 points to lead the Buckeyes to a second round 75-66 win over #10 seed Georgia Tech.
Who Should Win: Ohio State
Who Will Win: Tennessee +5 The Volunteers have proven that they can play with and beat some of the best schools in the country and this game will be no different. Look for the Buckeyes to still win the game outright, but Tennessee will cover the five.
Northern Iowa Panthers vs. Michigan State Spartans -1.5 Current Over/Under 120.5
In the second game in the Midwest regional scheduled for a 9:35 P.M. tipoff on Friday March 26th Northern Iowa will try and keep their incredible run alive when they face the Michigan State Spartans.
No matter what happens from this point on, Northern Iowa’s stunning 69-67 win over #1 seed Kansas, the odds-on-favorite to win it all, will remain the biggest story of this tournament. Moments like that very simply define the concept of March Madness. In their first round game against #8 seed UNLV, senior G Ali Farokhmanesh nailed a three pointer with just 4.9 seconds to give the Panthers (30-4) the 69-66 win.
Consistent play has been a problem for Michigan State (26-8) all season long so no one was sure what to expect from the Spartans coming into this tournament. In their first round 70-67 win over #12 seed New Mexico State, they allowed the Aggies to hand around to the end and barely squeaked out a win. In their second round 85-83 win over #4 seed Maryland, sophomore G Kory Lucious hit a three pointer at the buzzer to advance the Spartans to the second round.
Who Should Win: Michigan State
Who Will Win: Northern Iowa + 1.5 The Panthers keep the magical run going against a Michigan State team that is just plain lucky to be even playing in this game.
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