The Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament begins tonight with the first game, out of the East Region, showcasing the second seeded Miami Hurricanes and the third seed Marquette Golden Eagles. The game is scheduled for a 7:15 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on CBS. Currently the odds for the game have Miami favored by 5 points.
The road to the Final Four continues tonight with just 16 teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament. Both Miami and Marquette survived tough tests in their last games during the weekend and now will take on each other for the right to play in the Elite Eight.
Marquette has squeaked by in their first two games, beating Davidson by a point and Butler by just two. The Golden Eagles are a team that gets to the foul line quite a bit, which is clearly helped by their physical style of play. Look for them to attack the interior of the Hurricanes in tonight's game, especially with the absence of Miami big man Reggie Johnson. Tough to have an injury like this when you're down to the final games of the season being played.
Miami will have to adjust. There's no doubt that the Hurricanes love to play a wide open style of game and without Johnson in the lineup, it allows them to play with a smaller player to open up the floor. But with how Marquette plays offensively and defensively from a physicality standpoint, losing a player could be bad news, no matter who it is. The loss will force Kenny Kadji and Julian Gamble to avoid picking up fouls in this one.
Vander Blue has had a pretty solid tournament to date and he's wanting to lead the Golden Eagles to a win over the team many thought should have been a No. 1 seed. Davante Gardner and the gang certainly know that Johnson isn't going to be playing, so look for Marquette to dump the ball inside quite a bit to try and rack up some fouls and get to the line. Marquette is a very good free throw shooting team.
The Golden Eagles converted 23 of 27 free throws against Butler.
In the end, though, there is a lot of talent on that Miami team and they've battled twice this tournament. Illinois gave them a very good run for their money and expect Marquette to beat them up tonight. Yet, when the Hurricanes get punched repeatedly expect them to counter back with their offense of very skilled players. It's going to be a tight one, but we like Miami to get it done.
Free Pick: Miami 70, Marquette 64
College Basketball Free Picks: Marquette vs Miami Betting
What college basketball bettors need to know about Marquette Golden Eagles vs Miami Hurricanes on Thursday (3/28/13) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Marco D'Angelo, with host Scott Spreitzer.