Never underestimate Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans. After taking down the Virginia Cavaliers in the Round of 32, the Spartans have all the confidence in the world heading into their Sweet 16 matchup with the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners are coming off a gritty win over the Dayton Flyers, who gave Lon Kruger’s team all it could handle before succumbing to Oklahoma in the third round.
Read on below for a detailed preview of this game. You can also click here for our preview of No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 Utah.
[sc:MarchMadness ]March Madness No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners vs No. 7 Michigan State Spartans Preview
Where: Carrier Dome, Syracuse
When: Friday, March 27, 7:37 PM ET
Line: Oklahoma Sooners (+2.5) vs. Michigan State Spartans (-2.5) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
Betting on the Oklahoma Sooners
The Sooners made sure that they wouldn’t be another victim of Cinderella’s pumpkin ride on Sunday, as third-seeded Oklahoma pulled off a 72-66 win over 11th-seeded Dayton Flyers.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]As usual, Buddy Hield did the heavy lifting for Oklahoma, which got 15 points from its leading scorer. Hield, however, received ample scoring support from backcourt buddy Jordan Woodard, who pumped in a game-high 16 points against Dayton.
Hield is averaging 17.4 points per game thus far this season. Woodard, meanwhile, is putting up 12 PPG in the Sooners’ last four games, better than his season average of 9.1 PPG. Look for the tandem to be the team’s focal points on offense against Michigan State, which presents a formidable challenge on defense. The Spartans are allowing just 63.1 PPG, 85th best in the nation.
Oklahoma will also rely on its rebounding to overcome Michigan State’s defense that doesn’t give too many second chances. The Sooners, however, showed they could do just that when they outrebounded Dayton, 35-23. They also pulled down 10 offensive rebounds as against to just four by Dayton.
The under is 3-1 in the last four games of the Sooners, who are allowing opposing teams to score 62.8 points per game.
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Betting on the Michigan State Spartans
Tom Izzo knows what it takes to win during this time of the year. On Sunday, he let his Michigan State team play second-seeded Virginia’s game, as the Spartans beat the Cavaliers, 60-54 to advance to the Sweet 16 round. Michigan State is now 4-2 ATS in its last six games overall.
Michigan State adjusted to Virginia’s slow-paced game, going 17-of-40 from the field (the Spartans attempt 56.3 shots per game), but made up for its limited opportunities on offense by playing extra-tough on defense. The Spartans held Virginia down to just 29.8 percent shooting from the field, including a horrible 2-of-17 line from the three-point area. This kind of defense from Michigan State should show up anew against the high-scoring Sooners, who entered the Round of 32 averaging 71.9 points per game.
But of course, the Spartans’ excellent defense would have gone for naught without the heroics of Travis Trice, who put up 23 points against Virginia. Trice, Michigan State’s leading scorer, is averaging 19 PPG thus far in this tournament.
Writer’s Prediction
Michigan State (-2.5) wins, 68-65.
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