Underdogs With Overlapping Games

Monster Day For Our Favorite Underdogs

(Kansas City, MO) – Gigantic challenges await the teams from the Ohio Valley and Missouri Valley Conferences. Thursday afternoon the tree teams from those two leagues are underdogs and play at virtually the same time. By Thursday night we’ll know how many of ‘our’ teams are still dancing.

Bradley launches the mini-marathon with a game against Big Ten champion Michigan State at 1:45. At 2:10 the Bruins of Belmont tip off with Maryland and at 3:30 Murray State tangles with Marquette. All three will be an underdog. Bradley and Belmont are in the East Regional and Murray State is in the West.

No. 15 – Bradley (20-14) v. No. 2 Michigan State (28-6) – 1:45 – CBS

No one gives Bradley a chance against mighty Michigan State and legendary coach Tom Izzo. The point spread is 18.5 points and ESPN’s Basketball Power Index gives the underdog Braves a 1.9% chance of winning.

Don’t forget the Braves defend well and have won 12 of their last 16 games. These two teams are similar in that they play rugged, physical defense and battle for every possession. They are different in that the Spartans are bigger at virtually every position.

The Michigan State ‘bigs’ and guard Cassius Winston should be too much for the Braves, but if Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye can slow down Winston and Elijah Childs, Koch Bar and Luuk van Bree can hold their own in the paint, they have a chance. Darrell Brown needs to have a big game.

Lautier-Ogunleye says the teams play similar styles.

“Their bigs run the floor really well, which is something we were impressed with,” said DLO. “They’re physical and they rebound, but they play a lot like us which is kinda cool. We ought to match-up really well.”

No. 11 Belmont (27-5) v. No. 6 Maryland (22-10) – 2:10 – TruTV

After a ‘First Four’ win the Bruins take on a Maryland team that has dropped three of their last four games. Rick Byrd’s squad has only lost once since mid January. ESPN calls this a three-point game and gives the underdog Bruins a 37.3% chance of winning.

The Bruins are a trendy upset pick, and they truly have a chance. After a subpar offensive performance by all-OVC forward Dylan Windler in Dayton, you can expect more production from the big lefty. I don’t expect him to turn it around because he’ll be motivated by a poor performance, but because he is that good and rarely has back-to-back subpar games.

Maryland’s size and physicality could be a problem for Belmont. Jalen Smith and Bruno Fernando are a pair of 6’10 productive players and guard Anthony Cowan Junior is legit. Belmont’s ‘one-in-four-out’ offense will have to be run to perfection.

Byrd says his underdog team doesn’t often play teams as talented and athletic as the Terrapins.

“I think our team is at a point where there’s probably not a whole lot of people that want to play us,” said Byrd. “But I’m sure Maryland is not really very scared right now. I mean, they’ve got plenty of good basketball players that we don’t — the kind that we don’t face, the length and the size and athleticism. We just don’t face that but maybe once or twice a year.”

No. 11 Murray State (27-4) v. No. 5 Marquette (24-9) – 3:30 – TBS

This might be the most entertaining game of the entire first day. Electric guards Ja Morant of Murray State and Markus Howard of Marquette both average 25 points per game, make all their free-throws and never leave the floor. ESPN says Marquette will win by 3.5 points and that the underdog Racers have a 33.4% chance of winning.

Morant says the two elite scorers got to know one another at the Chris Paul camp and he expects great things from the Marquette guard.

“I expect a lot from Markus tomorrow. He had a couple 50-point games,” said Morant. “He’s a great scorer, and we just going to go out there and try to play our defense and contain him. I saw that at Chris Paul camp he was able to get up and down a little bit and he score the ball very well.”

Howard has been dealing with a wrist injury and insists that it is fine. Shaq Buchanan and Morant will take turns guarding Howard. This game could come down to how center Darnell Cowart holds up against the ‘Hauser Boys’. Sam the junior averages 14.9 points and 7.1 rebounds, while the freshman Joey, averages 9.7 and 5.3. Cowart could have his hands full.

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