After the first two rounds of this year’s tournament, the top two seeds in the East region; #1 Syracuse and #2 Kansas State have advanced onto the Sweet 16. The next highest seed that is left is #5 Butler followed by #6 Xavier, who knocked out #3 Pittsburgh in the second round. Here is a look at next Thursday’s match-ups along with the current odds for each game.
Butler Bulldogs vs. Syracuse Orange -6.5 Current Over/Under 138.5
In the early game in the West, scheduled for a 7:05 P.M. tip-off on Thursday, March 25th Butler will try and keep its impressive run in this tournament alive against the top team in the region, Syracuse.
Butler (30-4) came into this tournament as the highest ranked team in the country that was not from a power conference and so far they have more than lived up to their #8 spot in the polls. In the first round they rolled over #12 seed UTEP 77-59 after leading by only six at the half. In the second round against #13 seed Murray State (who stunned Vanderbilt 66-65) they rallied in the closing minute to pull out a two point 56-54 win against the upstart Racers.
After losing their final two games and their starting F-C Arinze Onuaku with a quad injury there were some question marks surrounding how well Syracuse (30-4) would do coming into this tournament. If the first two rounds are any indication, they will do just fine. In the first round they rolled past #16 seed Vermont 79-56 hardly breaking a sweat. In the second round they dismantled # 8 seed Gonzaga 87-65. They hope to have Onuaku back for this game which will only make them tougher to beat.
Who Should Win: Syracuse
Who Will Win: Syracuse -6.5 Butler is a very good team, but they are out matched in too many areas to keep this game close for the full forty minutes.
Xavier Musketeers vs. Kansas State Wildcats -5 Current Over/Under 153.5
In the second game in the West regional scheduled for a 9:35 P.M. tipoff on Thursday, March 25th Xavier will try to pull off another upset when they face Kansas State.
Xavier (26-8) came into this tournament with high expectations after turning in one of their best seasons ever in the Atlantic 10. In the first round, sophomore G Jordan Crawford led the way with 28 points as the Musketeers knocked off #11 seed Minnesota 65-54. Against #3 seed Pittsburgh in the second round, Crawford delivered again by scoring a game high 27 points in their 71-68 upset win over the Panthers. Senior F-C Jason Love contributed 14 points and sophomore G Terrell Holloway added 13.
If not for playing in the same conference as Kansas, Kansas State (29-7) could have very well been a number one seed in this tournament with the season they had considering three of their losses were at the hands of the Jayhawks. In the first round of this tournament, four starters scored in double figures led by senior G Denis Clemente’s 17 points in an 82-62 romp over #15 seed North Texas. In the second round they had little trouble with #7 seed BYU as junior G Jacob Pullen scored a career high 34 points in the 84-72 victory.
Who Should Win: Kansas State
Who Will Win: Kansas State -5 The Musketeers showed they can play with the higher seeds, but with Kansas out of the picture the Wildcats have their sights set on taking out the entire left side of the bracket.
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