It was a closely-contested game, but No. 4 seed Louisville escaped to live another day in the Big Dance with a narrow victory over UC Irvine. There was no such suspense on No. 5 Northern Iowa’s side as the Panthers easily routed Wyoming to advance to the Round of 32. Which of these two teams will make it to the Sweet Sixteen? Read on for a complete preview of this matchup.
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[sc:MarchMadness ]March Madness No. 4 Louisville Cardinals vs. No. 5 Northern Iowa Panthers Preview
Where: Key Arena, Seattle
When: Sunday, March 22, 9:40 PM ET
Line: No. 4 Louisville Cardinals (+1) vs. No. 5 Northern Iowa Panthers (-1); total 116.0 – view all March Madness lines
Betting on the Louisville Cardinals
The Louisville Cardinals gave up plenty of size against No. 13 UC Irvine, but their scrappy guards helped them eke out a 57-55 win. Quentin Snider hit a pair of go-ahead free throws down the stretch and Terry Rozier closed out the game with a steal.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Filling in for dismissed senior guard Chris Jones, Snider finished with a career-high 16 points in addition to his five rebounds and two assists. His performance was a nice compliment to Wayne Blackshear’s team-high 19 points. Expect the Cardinals’ feisty guards to once again be front and center against the tight defense of Northern Iowa (54.3 points allowed per game, fourth in the nation).
Snider and Rozier both had an excellent night of shooting against another of the league’s top defenses, Virginia, on March 7. They each finished with 11 points, both shooting at least 50 percent from the field. Snider, in particular, was lights out from downtown, nailing 3-of-4 three-pointers. Northern Iowa has allowed its past two opponents to shoot 41 percent from three-point range.
Louisville’s guards already pose plenty of problems for opponents. Complimenting their play with a solid effort on the frontcourt makes facing Louisville a more dangerous proposition. Montrezl Harrell leads the Cardinals frontline with 15.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game this season.
Harrell struggled against UC Irvine’s size, finishing with eight points on 3-of-8 shooting and four rebounds. But against Northern Iowa’s less-than-stellar frontcourt, you can expect Harrell to dominate. He had three straight double-doubles leading into the national tournament, averaging 19 points and 12 rebounds in those games.
The Cardinals are 3-8-2 ATS in non-conference games this season.
Think big things are in store for Louisville? Create a betting account now and back these feisty Cardinals.
Betting on the Northern Iowa Panthers
There’s no rattling these Panthers. No. 5 Northern Iowa, facing one of the toughest defenses in the nation in Wyoming, barely broke a sweat in a 71-54 blowout win in the Round of 64 Friday.
Paul Jesperson finished with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting (3-of-6 from downtown) to lead four other Panthers who scored in double-figures. Northern Iowa’s all-around star, Seth Tuttle, had 14 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals in an excellent all-around effort. Tuttle should be the Panthers’ answer to Louisville’s Harrell, who gives up two turnovers per game.
The Northern Iowa senior is quite a sharpshooter on the other side of the floor. He’s averaging 15.3 points per game on 62 percent field goal shooting this season.
While no other Panther is averaging in double digit scores this season, Tuttle should have enough support in the tournament. Forward Nate Buss is averaging 15 points over the Panthers’ last five games, while guard Deon Mitchell is chipping in about 10 points per game.
While the Panthers as a whole score just 65.4 points per game (223rd in the nation), they make their shots count shooting 48 percent from the field. This combination of opportunistic offense and unforgiving defense has let Northern Iowa win 20 of their last 21 games.
Writer’s Prediction
Northern Iowa creates an early lead, and holds on to cover -1.
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