Texas vs. Minnesota March Madness Odds
Written March 18, 2009 by Jason Lowry
In first round action out of the East Region we get a good old Big Ten vs. Big 12 matchup, as the No.7 seeded Texas Longhorns are set to take on the No.10 seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Longhorns didn’t have a great year by their standards, as they finished in big pile up tied for 4th in the regular season, and were knocked out by Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament. The Gophers played solid basketball all season, but were just 9-9 in conference play, and couldn’t make it out of the 2nd round of the Big 10 Tournament. Here is a closer look at each team heading into this game, and my pick on who I see moving on to the round of 32.
No.7 Texas Longhorns -4 ATS at Bookmaker.com. The Longhorns are a talented bunch led by senior A.J. Abrams, who comes in averaging a solid 16.3 points per game, but he isn’t the only threat for the Longhorns, as Damion James is having a big season as well, averaging 15.4 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. The most important thing could be Dexter Pittman play inside, as the Longhorns need his presence in the paint if they want to show that they are much better than the No.7 seed they received.
No.10 Minnesota Golden Gophers +4 ATS at Bookmaker.com. The Gophers are a solid group and will likely have the size advantage in the two huge freshmen they have in 6-10 Colton Iverson and 6-11 Ralph Sampson, but will also need a big games from guys like Lawrence Westbrook, Damian Johnson, and the emerging junior college transfer Devron Brock. If the Gophers can win this game if they play good defense and keep the Longhorns from running all over them.
My Prediction: Longhorns -4 This was one of the toughest games to pick in the East Region, as both these teams have looked great at times and not so good the at other points. I think that the Longhorns will be to much for the Gophers in the long run, and I got them winning this game by 8-9 points.
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