The Michigan State Spartans take on the Oklahoma Sooners tonight in Sweet 16 action of the NCAA Tournament. The game is scheduled for a 10:07 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on TBS.  Currently the NCAA Tournament Betting Odds for the game have the Spartans favored to upset the Sooners and advance.

Michigan State is favored in this game over Oklahoma, but many will consider it an upset because the Spartans are a seventh-seed in the tournament. Tom Izzo teams always seem to play well at this time of year and the Spartans definitely benefitted from a Virginia team that struggled to score. Once Michigan State has built a double-digit lead, it was simply too tough for the Cavaliers to come back.

Being able to do that tonight against Oklahoma will not be an easy task. The Sooners are a team that has very solid offensive players, but they don’t have a ton of depth, so the starters score nearly all of their points. In fact, outside of the five starters for Lon Kruger, nobody averages more than six points per game or 15 minutes per game. Michigan State could get Oklahoma into foul trouble tonight, which could be a big advantage for them against these Sooners.

Buddy Hield and Jordan Woodard both hit double digits against Dayton in the Round of 32, but it’s worth noting that Frank Booker came off the bench and gave Oklahoma a huge effort with 12 points, all on 3-pointers, in 20 minutes of action.

Travis Trice and Branden Dawson have played well in the opening two games for Michigan State. It’s no surprise that the Spartans have positive results when they play well. Denzel Valentine didn’t have the best offensive game, but finished with four assists and made a difference on the defensive end.

This is the fourth straight Sweet 16 appearance for Michigan State and that experience will be good for them. The Spartans rely more on the bench than Oklahoma does, which could also be a factor in tonight’s game. But something about this Oklahoma’s team ability to create shots, get to the rim and play very nice defense will be key. These two are evenly matched squads, but Hield and big man Ryan Spangler make the difference.

Free Pick: Oklahoma 73, Michigan State 69

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