Northern Iowa Panthers the real sweethearts of this dance
Ben Jacobson and his Panthers look to take down another college basketball giant on Friday when Northern Iowa takes on Tom Izzo and the Michigan St. Spartans.
Cornell might be this year's Cinderella, but the Northern Iowa Panthers are the new hot chick at the dance as far as bettors are concerned.
The Big Red has enjoyed a phenomenal season and deserve every bit of the praise pouring out of every nook and cranny in the media. But Cornell's almost too sexy right now, the Ginger, if you will, of the remaining 16 castaways sill stranded on the college hoops island. Northern Iowa is Mary Ann, the cute, pigtailed innocent-looking lass that knows her way around both the kitchen and the bedroom.
The Panthers will meet up with one of the top skippers in college basketball Friday when NIU takes on Michigan State. Tom Izzo's Spartans are presently listed as one-point favorites.
Northern Iowa (30-4 SU, 23-10 ATS) is getting its fair share of media attention as well this week after knocking off No. 1 Kansas last Saturday in Oklahoma City. The added attention could be a concern as Ben Jacobson does his best to keep the Panthers focused on Friday's tilt. Jacobson himself is in the news with a new 10-year contract to keep him in Cedar Falls.
Ali Farokhmanesh, whose late three-pointer and free throws put the finishing touches on the Jayhawks, is featured on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated. If you put a lot into SI cover jinxes, there's your reason to fade NIU and follow State.
There certainly hasn't been any reason to fade Northern Iowa this season. The Panthers brought home winners in 23 of their 33 lined games, and enter Friday's battle on a 5-0 ATS streak. Northern Iowa entered the Tournament after it had cashed all three Missouri Valley Conference tourney games.
'Under' backers have also had a field day with the Panthers. NIU is 20-9 to the low side of scoreboards overall, though the last three games have each been 'overs.'
After allowing 66 and 67 points respectively to UNLV and Kansas, Northern Iowa sits second in the country in scoring defense (55.0).
Izzo and the Spartans (26-8 SU, 13-20 ATS) will have to face the Panthers defense without their leading scorer Kalin Lucas. The junior point guard suffered an Achilles injury to his left foot in Michigan State's win over Maryland. Lucas scored 25 in the Spartan's 70-67 win over New Mexico State in the first round of the dance.
That's the bad news. The good news is Lucas' replacement, Korie Lucious, stepped in with 13 points against the Terps, including the game-winning trey at the buzzer.
Durrell Summers also stepped up his game Sunday with 26 points to tie a career best. Summers canned 6-of-8 from outside to account for the bulk of his scoring after averaging about 8.4 per game in State's previous five games.
Statistically the two school matchup fairly well. Northern Iowa doesn't score as much as Michigan State, or allow as many points, but the point differential between the Panthers and Spartans is identical. State shoots a little better from the field, and NIU is better at the line. Working the glass very well could be the difference, and that edge goes to MSU.
Tip-time from Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis on Friday is listed at 9:37 p.m. (ET). I hate going against a coach like Izzo, but it's impossible to turn down Mary Ann.
Ben Jacobson and his Panthers look to take down another college basketball giant on Friday when Northern Iowa takes on Tom Izzo and the Michigan St. Spartans.
Cornell might be this year's Cinderella, but the Northern Iowa Panthers are the new hot chick at the dance as far as bettors are concerned.
The Big Red has enjoyed a phenomenal season and deserve every bit of the praise pouring out of every nook and cranny in the media. But Cornell's almost too sexy right now, the Ginger, if you will, of the remaining 16 castaways sill stranded on the college hoops island. Northern Iowa is Mary Ann, the cute, pigtailed innocent-looking lass that knows her way around both the kitchen and the bedroom.
The Panthers will meet up with one of the top skippers in college basketball Friday when NIU takes on Michigan State. Tom Izzo's Spartans are presently listed as one-point favorites.
Northern Iowa (30-4 SU, 23-10 ATS) is getting its fair share of media attention as well this week after knocking off No. 1 Kansas last Saturday in Oklahoma City. The added attention could be a concern as Ben Jacobson does his best to keep the Panthers focused on Friday's tilt. Jacobson himself is in the news with a new 10-year contract to keep him in Cedar Falls.
Ali Farokhmanesh, whose late three-pointer and free throws put the finishing touches on the Jayhawks, is featured on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated. If you put a lot into SI cover jinxes, there's your reason to fade NIU and follow State.
There certainly hasn't been any reason to fade Northern Iowa this season. The Panthers brought home winners in 23 of their 33 lined games, and enter Friday's battle on a 5-0 ATS streak. Northern Iowa entered the Tournament after it had cashed all three Missouri Valley Conference tourney games.
'Under' backers have also had a field day with the Panthers. NIU is 20-9 to the low side of scoreboards overall, though the last three games have each been 'overs.'
After allowing 66 and 67 points respectively to UNLV and Kansas, Northern Iowa sits second in the country in scoring defense (55.0).
Izzo and the Spartans (26-8 SU, 13-20 ATS) will have to face the Panthers defense without their leading scorer Kalin Lucas. The junior point guard suffered an Achilles injury to his left foot in Michigan State's win over Maryland. Lucas scored 25 in the Spartan's 70-67 win over New Mexico State in the first round of the dance.
That's the bad news. The good news is Lucas' replacement, Korie Lucious, stepped in with 13 points against the Terps, including the game-winning trey at the buzzer.
Durrell Summers also stepped up his game Sunday with 26 points to tie a career best. Summers canned 6-of-8 from outside to account for the bulk of his scoring after averaging about 8.4 per game in State's previous five games.
Statistically the two school matchup fairly well. Northern Iowa doesn't score as much as Michigan State, or allow as many points, but the point differential between the Panthers and Spartans is identical. State shoots a little better from the field, and NIU is better at the line. Working the glass very well could be the difference, and that edge goes to MSU.
Tip-time from Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis on Friday is listed at 9:37 p.m. (ET). I hate going against a coach like Izzo, but it's impossible to turn down Mary Ann.
