Sweet 16 Trip On The Line As Minnesota Faces Michigan State

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The Gophers will play No. 2 seed Michigan State Saturday evening in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner will advance to the Sweet 16.

Minnesota won their first NCAA Tournament game in six seasons on Thursday, rolling past Louisville 86-76. The Michigan State Spartans played against 15-seed Bradley on Thursday, securing a 76-65 win.

Saturday's tipoff is set for 6:45 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.

According to CBS Sports, the Spartans are favored by 10.5 points in the latest odds for Michigan State versus Minnesota. The over-under for total points scored is 139.5. The model used to predict the odds – the SportsLine Projection Model – has considered Michigan State as one of the top defensive and rebounding teams in the country.

However, CBS Sports says "If the Gophers shoot on Saturday like they did against Louisville on Thursday, they will be tough to beat."

Thursday's win for Gophers coach Richard Pitino came against the school that fired his father.

"I thought we played really good defense when we needed to. We showed great toughness and grit down the stretch," Pitino told the Associated Press of Thursday's win. "You can't undersell it. That's a terrific win for our guys. Being proud of (them is) probably an understatement for these guys."

Saturday's game will air on WCCO.

In:
• March Madness
• NCAA Tournament
• Michigan State