Snap, crackle, pop! That’s not the sounds of Rice Krispies. That’s the sound of brackets shattering across America. 97% of ESPN brackets had Michigan State winning their first round matchup with Middle Tennessee, while 22% had MSU going to the final.
Now while Mid Tenn lit up one of the best programs in the country, they weren’t the only underdog that moved on on Friday afternoon. The Syracuse Orange also knocked off the Dayton Flyers with ease 70-51 a little earlier in the day, setting up what could be a legendary tilt in the Round of 32.
For more on this game, read onward and downward. If you’re thinking you want to check out the chances of another team in blue, check out our Kentucky-Indiana Round of 32 preview here.
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March Madness No. 10 Syracuse vs No. 15 Middle Tennessee Preview
Where: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
When: Sunday, March 20, TBA
Line: Syracuse Orange (-6) vs Middle Tennessee (+6) Over-Under – 131.0 – view all March Madness lines
TV Broadcast: CBS
Betting on the Syracuse Orange
With the way Syracuse handled the higher ranked Dayton Flyers, they should be headed to the Sweet Sixteen, right? Well, don’t get too ahead of yourself because Middle Tennessee just did the impossible. Which means, they will now have a boat load of momentum on their side heading into Sunday. So, what can Syracuse do to stop the Raiders raid? Well, for starters, the Orange will need their rebounding game to stay strong.
The Orange out-rebounded Dayton 45-28 in Friday’s win and they’ll need Tyler Roberson to be an animal once again. He ripped down 18 boards while adding 10 points for the double-double as well. Outside of Roberson, Malachi Richardson will also need to stay hot. He dropped a game-high 21 points, including three treys, and went 8-9 from the stripe.
Defensively, the Orange will need to shut down Reggie Upshaw and Giddy Potts. These two combined for 40 points against Michigan State and were clutch for the blue and white in the second half.
The Spartans never led in that game, feeding the Blue Raiders more and more momentum as the tilt wore on. Syracuse needs to stay competitive and establish a lead early on to take the wind of the Mid Tenn sails.
The Orange are 6-4 ATS in their last ten games.
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Betting on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
As you no doubt have heard, the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders are the Cinderella to beat right now in this tournament. They just knocked off the No. 2 seeded Michigan State Spartans and have now won their last seven games in a row.
They relied on the Upshaw-Potts combo to lead them to victory over the Spartans, but there was a lot more to it than that. Three players shot 50% or higher from three-point land, while all nailing three triples in the contest as well. Their perimeter shooting was exceptional, while their ability to capitalize on turnovers was outstanding.
Mid Tenn ended the game with 5 blocks, 6 steals and 14 turnovers. They frustrated the Spartans all game long, which was clearly visible when Denzel Valentine slammed his hand on the floor during a timeout after committing back-to-back turnovers in the second half.
If Mid Tenn is going to win this Round of 32 matchup, they need to stay angry and keep themselves motivated. They stormed out to a 15-2 lead over MSU in the opening minutes and never looked back. The same story will have to continue on, if they want to stay in this one. A hot start will be key for the Blue Raiders and the hot hands of Upshaw and Potts will have to be evident for them to stay in this game.
These two teams are pretty evenly matched looking at their season averages. If the Blue Zoo wants to move on the Sweet Sixteen though, they’ll have to stay tenacious. If they can do that, the sky’s the limit for what this crew can do.
Middle Tennessee is 8-2 ATS in their last ten games.
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Writer’s Prediction
The Blue Raiders come close but head home. 81-80 Syracuse is your final score.
