The Northern Iowa Panthers and Louisville Cardinals meet up tonight in the final Sunday game in the NCAA Tournament. The game is scheduled for a 9:40 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on TBS. Currently the NCAA Tournament Odds for the game have the Panthers favored to pick up the victory over Louisville.
Northern Iowa came into the tournament as a five seed in the East Region despite eclipsing 30 wins this season. Northern Iowa beat up on everyone in the non-conference and Missouri Valley (except a split with Sweet 16 bound Wichita State). The Panthers have a potential star in Seth Tuttle, a versatile big man that leads the team in points, assists and rebounds.
UNI beat up on Wyoming to start the tournament, averaging 1.22 points per possession in the 17-point win. The Panthers got a massive effort from their bench with 41 points, including having three players in double figures.
Louisville comes in having survived a two-point win against UC Irvine in the opener, a game where their bench only scored two points. Three starters ended in double figures with Wayne Blackshear leading the way with 19 points. Blackshear will have to bring another solid effort in tonight's game against a solid UNI club.
The Cardinals rebound the basketball well and are an amazing defensive team, but they struggle to score points. Defensive efficiency has Louisville ranked fifth-best in the country, but offensively they are just 105th. That's a big spread and despite the Cardinals bringing it every night on the defensive end, when the offense struggles Louisville has problems.
Montrezl Harrell and Terry Rozier are going to have to make shots. The Cardinals haven't been the same since Chris Jones was booted off the team and Northern Iowa is going to be looking for the upset as they are the "mid-major" school here.
UNI is very balanced on both ends of the floor, ranking inside the Top 20 nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiency. That will be a major factor in tonight's game as the Panthers play well on both ends of the floor. They aren't the brand name here, but UNI is favored in this matchup, which means enough as a Sweet 16 spot is on the line.
Free Pick: Northern Iowa 64, Louisville 59
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