The ever lovable Northern Iowa Panthers are back dancing despite a shaky start to their regular season. They took their beatings like a champ as they went on a total romp to win the Missouri Valley Conference for an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. They have a tough test ahead of them in the Texas Longhorns.
Texas has enjoyed plenty of success in Shaka Smart’s first year as head coach. They finished with a stellar 20-12 record playing in the Big 12. The Longhorns are going to be as hungry as ever to make an impact in the Big Dance. Expect them to go all out with plenty of seniors on the team.
Get all the madness you can handle. Check out our complete previews for the Midwest’s No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Middle Tennessee and No. 8 Texas Tech vs. No. 9 Butler.
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March Madness No. 6 Texas vs. No. 11 Northern Iowa Preview
Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City
When: Friday, March 18, 8:50 PM ET
Line: Texas Longhorns (-4.5) vs. Northern Iowa Panthers (+4.5); total 124.5 – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: TBS
Betting on the Texas Longhorns
The Texas Longhorns have overachieved in Shaka Smart’s first year as head coach. They ranked fourth in the Big 12 and made the Big Dance as a sixth seed. The Longhorns will want a fast-paced game in this matchup, utilizing their talented guards.
Ridley did return in Texas’ 75-61 Big 12 tournament quarterfinal loss to Baylor. He came off the bench for two minutes, scoring on a pair of free throws. With Ridley still not in tip-top shape, expect the Longhorns to turn to Prince Ibeh. He can shine when given the opportunity, much like his double-double performance against then No. 14 Iowa State on the road in February.
With a pair of speedy guards, Texas’ fastbreaks will be difficult to deal with. But they could also slow down the game playing some half-court offense. Setting up their big man, Ibeh, could help them play on Northern Iowa’s pace.
The Longhorns are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games.
Betting on the Northern Iowa Panthers
Northern Iowa will want to slow this game down and play some half-court offense. They can’t afford plenty of miscues that would help set up Texas for fastbreak opportunities. Like Texas, the Panthers are driven by a solid point guard. Senior Wes Washpun does everything for his team, averaging 14.3 points, 5.2 assists and four rebounds per game.
Washpun has been mightily efficient in Northern Iowa’s six-game win streak. He’s averaging 16.2 points per game over that span. He’ll have some help from a couple of excellent three-point shooters Matt Bohannon and Paul Jesperson, who are shooting 41 and 39 percent respectively from three-point range.
Bohannon, Jesperson and Washpun have been enough for Northern Iowa to record some great upsets in the regular season. They beat some of the nation’s best teams, North Carolina and Iowa State, earlier into the season. The focus will be on this trio of guards, but Jeremy Morgan could sneak up to steal the spotlight. He’s been stellar from three, making 10 of 18 from beyond the arc in his last four games.
Having plenty of spot up shooters should help Northern Iowa dissect Texas’ offense. Their ability to shoot the three-ball on a regular occasion should come a long way in this matchup. It’s also going to be of much help that the Panthers have had experience against Shaka Smart while he was with VCU. They went 1-1 (2-0 ATS) against Smart’s VCU Rams in 2013-2014.
Northern Iowa is 11-1-1 ATS in their last 13 games.
Writer’s Prediction
Northern Iowa (+4.5) upsets Texas.
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