Texas Tech and Michigan return to the Sweet Sixteen this year with the hope of finishing what they started a season ago. Michigan won’t be happy with anything short of an NCAA Tournament championship, while Texas Tech certainly has realistic Final Four ambitions this March Madness.
Texas Tech vs. Michigan (-1.5)
- Date: Thursday, March 28
- Time: 9:39 p.m. ET
- Location: Anaheim, CA
- TV Channel: CBS
- Live Stream: fuboTV – 7-day free trial
No. 3 Texas Tech
After sealing their first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight in 2018, Texas Tech’s Red Raiders return to the big show in 2019 hoping they can mimic that performance and more. Coach Chris Beard is in his third season and has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in the last two of those, not to mention winning the Big 12’s regular season championship this year.
They opened their round of 64 against No. 14 Northern Kentucky on Friday and dispatched the Norse fairly easily. Their second-round matchup against a hot Buffalo team was more anticipated but produced the same result: a resounding blowout punctuated by how soundly Texas Tech stifled a potent Bulls offense.
The Big 12 Tournament didn’t go as smoothly for Beard’s side, who followed up an impressive 26-6 season (14-4 in the Big 12) by losing 79-74 to No. 10 West Virginia in the first round of the contest. They’ll face a seasoned foe in Michigan, but this team has the chops to shut down the Wolverines’ shooters and turn a defensive slugfest into a second consecutive Elite Eight birth.
#2 Michigan
Last year’s NCAA tournament runner-up Michigan is looking to take it one more step further and lift the trophy in Minneapolis after easily beating Montana in the first round and pulling away from Florida in the second round. While the Wolverines have been granted a No. 2 seed, one higher than 2018, they aren’t exactly coming into the tournament flying high. Their 28-6 record looks great, but they’ve lost three of their last seven games, including the Big 10 championship game to Michigan State.
Freshman Iggy Brazdeikis leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.1 points per game. The forward is versatile with the ability to score inside and beyond the three-point line. And of course, fans won’t soon forget Jordan “Swaggy” Poole – famous for his spread-legged buzzer-beating three as a freshman against Houston in the NCAA Tournament a year ago. John Beilein’s team has title hopes, but a Texas Tech buzzsaw could derail those if the threes aren’t falling.
Michigan is gunning for another championship run while Texas Tech is trying to get their first taste.
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