NCAA Tournament: How and Where to Watch the Remaining B1G Teams

The Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament is upon us and the B1G Ten conference still has teams standing tall. On the flip side, the two other B1G Ten schools lost in their respective match-ups.

Round of 32 Recap

In the Eastern Region the No. 7 seed Michigan State Spartans upset the No. 2 Virginia 60-54. As the saying goes, ‘Death, taxes and Tom Izzo in March.” You can never count out the Spartans when the NCAA tournament rolls around. It was guard Travis Trice who led the Spartans with 23 points, two rebounds, three assists and a steal. Also helping the cause were the six three pointers MSU hit compared to Virginia’s two. While numerically not a large difference, MSU hit 50% from three while Virginia hit just 11.8%.

March 20, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Kyle Wiltjer (33) reacts against North Dakota State Bison during the second half of the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KeyArena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Iowa had a tough go of it against Gonzaga in their game in the South Region losing 87-68 in a game that really wasn’t even that close. Jarrod Uthoff and Adam Woodbury went off for 20 and 19 points respectively, but it wasn’t enough against a Bulldogs team that had four double digit scorers, including Kyle Wiltjer who scored 24 points in 25 minutes of action. The Zags also controlled the boards outrebounding Iowa by 12.

In Omaha for the West Region, the Wisconsin Badgers cruised along to a 72-65 victory over the Oregon Ducks. Former Creighton coach and Nebrasketball rival Dana Altman coaches the Ducks squad and they competed well, especially Joseph Young who played all 40 minutes for the Ducks and scored 30 points to go along with three boards and four assists. Wisconsin was led by All-Everything forward Frank Kaminsky who was three rebounds short of a double-double, with this 16 points scored and seven rebounds. Notably, Wisconsin only played seven players and no starter played less than 28 minutes in the game.

The final Round of 32 game featured B1G Ten newcomer Maryland getting upended by the Mountaineers of West Virginia. It was a tight game, but the final score finished 69-59 to push WVU through. Melo Trimble, the superstar for the Terps scored 15 points and then reports came out that he would be returning to Maryland rather than taking his talents to the NBA. For Bob Huggins’ WVU squad they had impressively balanced scoring with four players totaling double digits and forward Devin Williams leading all scorers with 16 points.

Mar 20, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Sam Dekker (15) catches a pass as Coastal Carolina Chanticleers guard Warren Gillis (0) watches during the second half in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at CenturyLink Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Sweet 16 Preview

First up will be the top seeded Wisconsin Badgers taking on the 4th seeded North Carolina Tar Heels. These two will play at 7:47 pm eastern time, March 26 on TBS and the Badgers are favored by 6.5 points with a total set at 144.5.

Prediction: Wisconsin is one of the few teams that I believe can compete with Kentucky this season and I think they’ll take another step forward to getting that chance. Frank Kaminsky is simply too talented to be stopped by UNC (or nearly anyone). Sam Dekker is also a player to watch for Wisconsin. He is shooting 51.4% from the floor, 39.1% from three and has 194 rebounds. It’s hard to find a better one-two punch than the Badgers have.

Mar 22, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Denzel Valentine (45) drives to the basket against Virginia Cavaliers guard Malcolm Brogdon (15) during the first half in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

The other B1G Ten Sweet 16 match-up will feature No. 7 Seed Michigan State against the No. 3 Seed Oklahoma Sooners will play Friday March 27 with tip-off scheduled for 10:07 eastern time also on TBS. The Spartans are favored by two points with the total at 135.

More from Husker Corner

Prediction: The B1G Ten will have two Elite 8 teams after the dust settles on Friday. Tom Izzo’s Spartans will push past OU with better shooting and better ball movement on offense. I haven’t been particularly impressed with Oklahoma’s two wins so far in the tournament and obviously the Big 12 as a whole as shown to be down on the season with the early upsets in the NCAA. Keep an eye on Denzel Valentine who is shooting 44% from the floor, 41% from three and averaging 6.1 rebounds per game.