Things have pretty much gone according to schedule in the South regional with the exception of #2 seed Villanova bowing out in the second round at the hands of the #10 seed St. Mary’s Gaels. #1 seed Duke, #3 seed Baylor, and # 4 seed Purdue all successfully navigated their way through the first two rounds and 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.
Purdue Boilermakers vs. Duke Blue Devils -8 Current Over/Under 129.5
In the early game in the South, scheduled for a 7:25 P.M. tip-off on Friday March 26th Purdue will try and derail Duke’s plans for a national title by keeping theirs alive.
Much was made about Purdue’s chances in this tournament after they lost junior F Robbie Hummels for the season with a knee injury. So far through the first two rounds they rest of the team has been able to pick up the slack and come away with victories. In the first round the Boilermakers (29-5) led by JuJaun Johnson’s 23 points beat the highly touted #13 seed Sienna Saints 72-64. In an thrilling 63-61 OT win over Texas A&M in the second round, senior G Chris Kramer was the star with a team high 17 points.
Duke (31-5) has quietly put them self in position for another run at a national title. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has his team playing at a very high level at the right time of the year. In the first round they beat #16 Arkansas Pine-Bluff, winners of a play-in game against Winthrop, by the score of 73-44 with four players scoring in double figures. They followed this up with a 68-53 win over #8 seed California in the second round. They built a 13 point lead at the half and never looked back.
Who Should Win: Duke
Who Will Win: Duke -8 As the competition gets better, so does playing without one of your top scorers. Purdue will miss Hummels in this one.
St. Mary’s Gaels vs. Baylor Bears -3.5 Current Over/Under 145
In the second game in the South regional scheduled for a 9:55 P.M. tipoff on Friday March 26th St. Mary’s will try and keep their impressive run alive when they face the Baylor Bears.
St. Mary’s (26-5) came into the NCAA’s on a role after winning the West Coast Conference Tournament with a convincing 81-62 win over top seeded Gonzaga in the finals. They carried that momentum into the first round with an 80-71 win over 7th seed Richmond. They took things to a whole new level in the second round by knocking out #2 seed Villanova 75-68. Senior C Omar Samham continues to be a force scoring 29 points against the Spiders and 32 points against the Wildcats.
After losing 75-82 to Kansas State in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals, Baylor (27-7) quickly regrouped in their first round 68-59 win over #14 seed Sam Houston St. In what started out as a very close contest with the Bears trailing by one at the half, turned into a second half romp as they dominated the last three minute of the game. In the second round they were able to fight off the pesky #11 seed Old Dominion Monarchs to come away with 76-68 win. Junior G LaceDarius Dunn led the way with a game high 26 points.
Who Should Win: Baylor
Who Will Win: St. Mary’s +3.5 The Gael’s Omar Samham has been unstoppable the past two games and Baylor does not have anyone who can slow him down in this one.
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