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The No. 8 seed LSU Tigers will be looking to knock off the favorites in the East Region when they face the No. 1 seed Michigan Wolverines in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
The game will be on Monday, March 22nd at 7:10 from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and broadcast live on CBS.
March Madness Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: Michigan -5
Total: 148
Moneyline: Michigan -220, LSU +180
No. 8 LSU 19-9 (11-6 SEC)
First round: Defeated No. 9 St. Bonaventure 76-61
KenPom rating: 27 Overall, 5 Offense, 130 Defense
NET ranking: 28 (6-8 VS Quad 1)
Leading scorer: Cameron Thomas (22.6 ppg)
The No. 8 seed Tigers and No. 9 seed Bonnies struggled to score in the first six minutes in the first half, but LSU finally broke through and won 76-61 on Saturday afternoon.
Heading into the first round matchup, SBU knew they had to keep the score under 80 points for them to have a chance. The Bonnies did just that, but could not stop freshman guard Cameron Thomas. The Tigers’ leading scorer had 27 points (7-18 FG, 2-7 3pt, 11-13 FT), four rebounds and three assists.
Thomas also received help from both Trendon Watford and Darius Days, who controlled the glass, which went a long way in Saturday’s win. Watford posted 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Days had 13 points and 11 rebounds. As a team, LSU won the rebounding battle (49-30) and held the Bonnies to 33.3% shooting from the field and 15% from three-point range.
No. 1 Michigan: 21-4 (14-3 Big Ten)
First round: Defeated No. 16 Texas Southern 82-66
KenPom rating: 4 Overall, 7 Offense, 6 Defense
NET ranking: 4 (8-3 VS Quad 1)
Leading scorer: Hunter Dickinson (14.2 ppg)
In a first-round game, where many fans expected it to be a blowout, the No. 1 seed Michigan Wolverines came away with 82-66 victory over the No. 16 seed Texas Southern Tigers.
The Wolverines were up 42-24 at the half over TSU, but Texas Southern did not wilt to the powerhouse squad out of the Big Ten. The Tigers closed the gap to 12 points with less than four minutes to go in the second half. But it was just too much Michigan and too large of a lead to comeback from.
Michigan had four starters in double figures led by Mike Smith, who had 18 points, five assists, and four rebounds. Freshman center Hunter Dickinson scored 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, but only had two rebounds. As a team, the Wolverines shot 48.1% from the field, while holding the Tigers to 35.9% shooting from the field and 8.3% from three-point range.