Game: Michigan State vs. Iowa
Spread: Michigan State -11
This is going to be a very intriguing match-up. The Spartans will take the floor for the first time since losing Branden Dawson to a knee injury in their regular season finale against Ohio State. I think there are going to be a lot of questions that will be answered during this game. Michigan State is still in line for a one seed, but it is absolutely dependent on their performance today and throughout the rest of the conference tournament should they win. Unfortunately for Sparty, the selection committee also considers player availability in determining what seed a team will receive. A loss today could drop Michigan State to as low as a three seed.
Now, a loss isn't likely, but Iowa is playing with a chip on their shoulder and is coming off a great second half in their first round game versus Illinois. They turned a seven point deficit into an eight point lead of their own before closing out the Illini for a three point win. Maybe Iowa is the B1G Cinderella this year. I think if Aaron White and Melsahn Basabe can at least slow Draymond Green down and Gatens can follow up his 20 point performance yesterday with another big time game, this game could be teetering back and forth up until the final moments. If this were the regular season and this game were in East Lansing, eleven points would seem like a gimme considering how the Spartans have been playing as of late. But it's March, this is the B1G Tournament, the game will be played on a neutral court and Iowa has a lot more to gain by winning this game.
Iowa will stick around in this one. And I wouldn't be surprised one bit if they somehow pull the big upset.
Pick: Iowa +11
Game: Wisconsin vs. Indiana
Spread: Indiana -1.5
After the game versus Penn State, you couldn't tell that the Hoosiers were playing for their first post season win since 2006. They came out firing on all cylinders and didn't even flinch when senior leader and spark off the bench, Verdell Jones III went down with what looked to be a serious knee injury. Penn State's Tim Frazier looked like he was going to single-handedly make sure the Nittany Lions stayed in this game after scoring 19 points in the first half. He was then held scoreless in the second half until the 11:23 mark. If the Hoosiers can show that kind of defensive prowess on Jordan Taylor today, they surely can expect the same result when time runs out.
The problem is, Bo Ryan knows how to get wins in the B1G Tournament. The Badgers have the fourth best winning percentage in conference tournament play where the Hoosiers have historically struggled. The key to this game will be whether or not Indiana can get out in transition and find open jump shooters on the perimeter or get easy buckets underneath. I'm also curious to see how much energy Indiana used in getting their comfortable win against Penn State when I'm sure the emotion after VJIII going down spurred their second half surge.
It will be a tough game for both squads, but I think I'm done being cautiously optimistic with this Hoosier team. They smacked Purdue in the regular season finale and played like a veteran squad yesterday against Penn State. Facts are facts and the fact is, Indiana is 22-1 in the State of Indiana this season.
Pick: Indiana -1.5
Blogger's Note: As of 10:00am the lines for Games 7 & 8 have not opened. Because of the timing, I will still post my picks for those games later today, but will not be able to provide much analysis within the post.
No comments:
Post a Comment