The 2013 CIT schedule is going to get started on Tuesday night with a slew of games, and the action is only going to get hotter as the tournament rolls on. If your favorite team is playing in the 2013 CIT Tournament, be sure to keep it glued right here to Bankroll Sports, as we will be providing you with CIT previews of all of the games, as well as game recaps and final scores from the first game of the tourney, all the way through the end of this 32-team bonanza.

List Of Past CIT Winners
2012 CIT Winner – Mercer Bears
2011 CIT Winner – Santa Clara Broncos
2010 CIT Winner – Missouri State Bears
2009 CIT Winner – Old Dominion Monarchs

CIT Semifinals Games: CIT Schedule For Saturday, March 30th (3/30/13)
5:00 p.m. ET Evansville Purple Aces @ East Carolina Pirates
8:00 p.m. ET Weber State Wildcats @ Northern Iowa Panthers

With three teams in the heartland of the country playing in the semifinaals of the CIT, Weber State really had no choice but to come on the road to a tough location. This is the first time that the Wildcats are going to be going up against a solid team like Northern Iowa in its gym. This is a game that is expected to be a bit of a tossup game, as is the first game on the CIT docket on Saturday. Evansville hits the road to take on East Carolina, and in spite of the fact that the Pirates are perceived to come out of the “better” of these two conferences, the Purple Aces are the ones laying the points in this one. This could be a huge day for the Missouri Valley Conference, as not only are its last two teams standing in the CIT fighting for the right to go to the CIT Final, but the Wichita State Shockers could be on their way to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament as well.

CIT Quarterfinals Games: CIT Schedule For Wednesday, March 27th (3/27/13)
Oral Roberts Golden Eagles 74 @ Weber State Wildcats 83

Is there anyone out there that is going to be stopping Weber State? The Wildcats are on a tear, and they are out to prove that they legitimately should have been in the NIT in spite of the fact that they were beaten in the Big Sky Final against Montana, albeit on the road. Weber State pulled away in the second half against a very good ORU team that had the ability to come on the road and beat any team in this tournament.

CIT Quarterfinals Games: CIT Schedule For Tuesday, March 26th (3/26/13)
Evansville Purple Aces 84 @ Canisius Golden Griffins 83
Loyola Maryland Greyhounds 58 @ East Carolina Pirates 70
Bradley Braves 77 @ Northern Iowa Panthers 90

What a day it was to be in the Missouri Valley, and what a horrid day it was to be in the Metro Atlantic! We’ll start off in the Valley, where a lot of things went right. Evansville was able to go on the road and knock off Canisius in essentially the same way that Canisius went on the road and won in the second round of this tournament. The Purple Aces stormed back from a nine-point halftime deficit to ultimately win the game in the dying seconds by a single point. Meanwhile, Northern Iowa disposed of Bradley in a battle of two of the Valley teams in this tourney. As bad of a day as it was for the Golden Griffins of Canisius, it was a worse day for Loyola Maryland. The Greyhounds stuck around with East Carolina at the outset of the game, but in the second half, the Pirates just proved to be far too much to tame.

Second Round CIT Games: CIT Schedule For Monday, March 25th (3/25/13)
UC Irvine Anteaters 62 @ Oral Roberts Golden Eagles 76

It was a long way for UC Irvine to have to travel to visit Oral Roberts, and we think that the road woes really hit home with the Anteaters right out of the blocks. Unlike most of the rest of the home teams that ran away and hit in the second round of the CIT in thes second half, the Golden Eagles came right out of the blocks and were scoring left and right. There’s no doubt that this is one of the teams to beat in this tournament at this point.

Second Round CIT Games: CIT Schedule For Sunday, March 24th (3/24/13)
Kent State Golden Flashes 59 @ Loyola Maryland Greyhounds 73

The domination of the home teams continued on the second day of the second round of games in the CIT, as Loyola dropped the MAC reps from Kent State by a dozen points. F Erik Etherly led the way for the Greyhounds by scoring 27 points and pulling down 11 boards.

Second Round CIT Games: CIT Schedule For Saturday, March 23rd (3/23/13)
Eastern Kentucky Colonials 72 @ Evansville Purple Aces 86
Rider Broncs 54 @ East Carolina Pirates 75
Illinois Chicago Flames 51 @ Northern Iowa Panthers 63
Canisius Golden Griffins 84 @ Youngstown State Penguins 82
Tulane Green Wave 72 @ Bradley Braves 77
Air Force Falcons 57 @ Weber State Wildcats 78

Blowouts were the theme of the start of the second round of the CIT, knowing that four of the six games were decided by at least 12 points. Weber State demolishing Air Force was probably the most impressive game of the bunch, knowing that both of these teams really could have been NIT bound this season and arguably should have been. The closest game of the tournament to date came when Canisius went on the road and took down Youngstown State in overtime. The Golden Griffins were down by as many as 19 points against the Penguins, and they stormed all the way back in the second half to get the victory in OT. Canisius was also the only team that went on the road and won on Saturday. The Missouri Valley represented itself well with Bradley, Evansville, and Northern Iowa all advancing into the third round of this tournament.

First Round CIT Games: CIT Schedule For Wednesday, March 20th (3/20/13)
Elon Phoenix 53 @ Canisius Golden Griffins 69
Fairfield Stags 71 @ Kent State Golden Flashes 73
North Dakota Fighting Sioux 66 @ Northern Iowa 77
Chicago State Cougars 69 @ Illinois Chicago Flames 80
Green Bay Phoenix 69 @ Bradley Braves 75
South Alabama Jaguars 73 @ Tulane Green Wave 84
Oral Roberts Golden Eagles 84 @ Texas Arlington Mavericks 76
High Point Panthers 71 @ UC Irvine Anteaters 80
Cal Poly Mustangs 43 @ Weber State Wildcats 85
Air Force Falcons 69 @ Hawaii Warriors 65

If you were a home team on the second day of the CIT, you probably advanced. The best game of the day was the 73-71 win for Kent State over Fairfield. F Derek Needham had 22 points for Fairfield, but it wasn’t enough for the MAAC reps. However, fellow Metro Atlantic Canisius was able to top a very good Elon team.

The Horizon League was represented well with Illinois Chicago taking down the Great West automatic qualifier, Chicago State. The Missouri Valley picked up a couple wins as well with Northern Iowa bouncing North Dakota out of this tournament and Bradley dismissing Green Bay.

Tulane knocked off South Alabama in a battle of regional teams that should be on totally different planes. Oral Roberts and Air Force were the only two teams that went on the road and got the job done. Elsewhere on the West Coast, High Point never had a chance against UC Irvine, while one of the favorites to win this event, Weber State put aside Cal Poly by 42 points for the biggest win of the first round of the CIT.

First Round CIT Bracket: CIT Schedule For Tuesday, March 19th (3/19/13)
Eastern Kentucky Colonels 69 @ Gardner Webb Bulldogs 62
Savannah State Tigers 65 @ East Carolina Pirates 66
Rider Broncs 63 @ Hartford Hawks 54
Oakland Golden Grizzlies 87 @ Youngstown State Penguins 99
Boston Terriers 63 @ Loyola Maryland Greyhounds 70
Tennessee State Tigers 72 @ Evansville Purple Aces 84

The first day of the CIT was an exciting one, to say the least. There were a couple games that came right down to the wire, the closest one of which was the 66-65 win for East Carolina over Savannah State. Eastern Kentucky picked up 26 points from G Corey Walden and represented the OVC well by beating Gardner-Webb. Rider was the only other road team that was able to pull off a victory on the first day of the CIT bracket.

Tennessee State was one of these teams that played really well at home all year long, but the Tigers just never got anything going on the road. Their season finished up with a loss against Evansville. Loyola dumped Boston U in a local clash, while Youngstown State and Oakland played in the highest scoring game thus far in the NIT, with the Penguins taking a 99-87 decision.

After the fields for the NIT and the NCAA Tournament were set, the CBI (College Basketball Invitational), had a chance to set its field of 16 teams for its tournament. Check out the 2013 CBI bracket, as well as a look at all of the CBI games on TV that you’ll be able to find. Keep it locked on this page if your favorite team is in the CBI as well, as we will have CBI previews and CBI game recaps for all of the games in this tournament.

CBI Finals Series (Best of Three)
Game 1 – Monday 4/1 10:00 p.m. ET: George Mason @ Santa Clara (AXS.TV)
Game 2 – Wednesday 4/3 7:00 p.m. ET: Santa Clara @ George Mason (AXS.TV)
Game 3 – Friday 4/5 7:00 p.m. ET: Santa Clara @ George Mason (AXS.TV)

This should be a great three-game series between two of the teams that probably felt a bit shunned by the NIT when push came to shove on Selection Sunday. F Jonathan Arledge has been the hero for the Patriots thus far in this tournament, scoring an average of 15.0 points per game after being held to just eight points per game during the regular season. Still, if Mason is going to figure out how to steal this game on the road and essentially wrap up the CBI title, it is going to need to figure out how to stop G Kevin Foster. Foster has been lighting teams up all over the place, scoring 67 points in his last two CBI games and coming up with an average of 30.0 points per game here in the postseason. Game 1 is a must have for Santa Clara, and it is favored by 7.5-points as a result in what should be a great game to watch on Monday night. Don’t be shocked if the CBI comes right down to the wire in the third and decisive game.

CBI Semifinals Games: Live CBI Games For Wednesday, March 27th (3/27/13)
Western Michigan Broncos 52 @ George Mason Patriots 62
Santa Clara Broncos 81 @ Wright State Raiders 69

You have to give credit where credit is due to the Broncos. They have had to play some hellaciously long road trips here in the CBI, including playing two in a span of just three days against Purdue and then Wright State. This many days on the road had to be tough for the boys from California, but in the end, Santa Clara was more than good enough behind 33 points for G Keith Foster to claim victory. George Mason is in the CIT Final as well after holding Western Michigan down to just 20 points in the first half. The Patriots ultimately pulled away in thes second half and came away with a 10 point victory.

CBI Quarterfinals Games: Live CBI Games For Monday, March 25th (3/25/13)
Houston Cougars 84 @ George Mason Patriots 88
Richmond Spiders 51 @ Wright State Raiders 57
Santa Clara Broncos 86 @ Purdue Boilermakers 83
Western Michigan Broncos 75 @ Wyoming Cowboys 67

A truly great set of games here in the second round of the CBI, as two of the four games went to overtime, and the other two were decided by a combined nine points. Wright State was the biggest winner of the day, as it shut down the Richmond offense and pulled out a six-point win thanks to a big time second half. Western Michigan actually had the largest margin of victory at eight, but this was a game that was closely contested the whole way until the overtime period when the Broncos took control and never looked back. G Kevin Foster had a humongous game for Santa Clara, scoring 34 points and dishing out eight assists in the big upset for the Broncos on the road against Purdue. George Mason finished off Houston in overtime 88-84 in the highest scoring game of the day.

List Of Past CBI Winners
2012 CBI Winner – Pittsburgh Panthers
2011 CBI Winner – Oregon Ducks
2010 CBI Winner – VCU Rams
2009 CBI Winner – Oregon State Beavers
2008 CBI Winner – Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Round 1 CBI Bracket: Live CBI Games For Wednesday, March 20th (3/20/13)
Western Illinois Leathernecks 67 @ Purdue Boilermakers 81
Richmond Spiders 76 @ Bryant Bulldogs 71
Tulsa Golden Hurricane 52 @ Wright State Raiders 72
North Dakota State Bison 71 @ Western Michigan Broncos 72
Texas Longhorns 72 @ Houston 73

It wasn’t quite the Robert Morris upset over Kentucky, but Houston’s victory over Texas had to be considered every bit as sweet, knowing that the Cougars are going after the same recruits in the Lone Star State as the Longhorns. One of the big boys that decided to go to the CBI was knocked out, but Purdue made no mistakes, destroying a very good Western Illinois team by two touchdowns. The other team out of the Summit League in the CBI, North Dakota State was knocked off by a point in OT in Kalamazoo against Western Michigan.

Bryant was playing in its first ever postseason game, but it just didn’t have the goods to take care of a stingy Richmond outfit in the second half. Meanwhile, Wright State pulled off a bit of an upset, taking down Tulsa by a whopping 20 points in a game that was never really all that interesting.

First Round CBI Bracket: CBI Games On TV For Tuesday, March 19th (3/19/13)
George Mason Patriots 78 @ Charleston Cougars 77
Lehigh Mountain Hawks 66 @ Wyoming Cowboys 67
Vermont Catamounts 67 @ Santa Clara Broncos 77

The first day of the CBI couldn’t have been any better, and if you didn’t see any of the action, you’ll wish that you did. Charleston stormed back from a double digit deficit in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to take care of George Mason. The Patriots survived by a single point. Meanwhile in the second half of the televised double dip, Wyoming knocked off Lehigh at home by a point. Vermont tried its best to take care of Santa Clara, but it didn’t have the goods on the road to get the job done.

The nets are going to be coming down at Staples Center on Saturday night, as either the Ohio State Buckeyes or the Wichita State Shockers are going to be off to the Final Four in Atlanta. Join us for our Elite Eight predictions, as we analyze the March Madness odds for what should be a remarkable clash between David and Goliath in the West Regional Final.

March Madness: Wichita State Shockers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes
Wichita State vs. Ohio State Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Wichita State vs. Ohio State Date/Time: Friday, March 29th, 7:05 p.m. ET
March Madness Television Coverage: CBS

Key #1: Someone on Wichita State is going to have to put a body on Deshaun Thomas
Can anyone stop this guy? We’ve been talking about Ohio State for weeks now, and the man that is always in the center of the discussion is Thomas. This is a man with great range, is lanky, can score from anywhere on the court, and can play defense as well. He’s legitimately got every tool in the bag that you would ask from a college basketball player, and he hasn’t been stopped here in the dance. Thomas put up 20 against Arizona on Thursday night, and he now has 20, 22, and 24 points in his three NCAA Tournament games. Wichita State has seen a lot of great players along the way, including a potential National Player of the Year in F Kelly Olynyk. However, Olynyk scored 26 points and put up nine boards against the Shockers as well. WSU has to do a better job on Thomas than it did on Olynyk if it realistically wants to have any chance of surviving against a very athletic team.

Wichita State vs. Ohio State Odds at Diamond Sportsbook
#9 Wichita State Shockers +4.5
#2 Ohio State Buckeyes -4.5
Over/Under 130
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Key #2: See the three. Be the three.
The three-point line is always crucial in these NCAA Tournament games, and the reason that Ohio State has survived to this point is because of the long range shot. The Buckeyes would have probably been knocked out of the dance in the first weekend by Iowa State had they not knocked down nine three-point shots, including the one by G Aaron Craft that won the game essentially at the gun. Ohio State is now knocking down a whopping 50.0 percent of its three-point shots, and it is averaging over seven threes per game. That’s a far shout from where the team was for most of the season. The Buckeyes were shooting just 35% from long range prior to the dance this season. Wichita State meanwhile, has been all over the place from beyond the arc in the dance. The team went a very respectable 5-of-12 against La Salle on Thursday, and that’s about what we are expecting to see again on Saturday. However, if there is an extreme to be seen from long range, we’ve seen both ends of it with the Missouri Valley reps. Wichita State hit 14-of-28 from downtown against Gonzaga in the Round of 32, but that came on the heels of hitting just 2-of-20 against Pittsburgh in the second round of the dance. As is usually the case, whichever team can stroke the three more successfully is going to be the one to watch out for come Saturday.

Key #3: Ohio State needs to make a renewed effort defensively
Understandably, NCAA Tournament games tend to be a little odd by nature. Teams have to do things that they aren’t used to doing just to advance, games sometimes take a little while to get going, and every now and again, you see just a ton of scores in the final three minutes of the game or so as one team is trying to make a feverish comeback on the other. For Ohio State though, it is extremely odd to see a team scoring 70 points against it. During the regular season, it only happened seven times in 36 games. Now all of a sudden, all three teams here in the NCAA Tournament that it has faced have been able to get to 70. It’s a Catch-22 for sure. While we’re thrilled to see the Buckeyes do a heck of a lot better on the offensive end of the court, we don’t think that they can win a National Championship if they continue to play defense like this. They’ll need to really buckle down on Saturday against the Shockers, as the challenges are getting more and more difficult on the road to the Final Four.

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The Syracuse Orange and the Marquette Golden Eagles were the only two Big East teams that started off in the East Region, yet they are the only two that are still standing as well. These two are going to square off at the Verizon Center on Saturday with a trip to the Final Four on the line, and we’re going to take one last look at both of these clubs and which one has the upper hand on the Final Four odds. SportBet Sportsbook.

#3 Marquette Golden Eagles (+160) – Marquette is going to be wearing the home whites in this one, but it is most certainly a severe underdog at the hands of the Orange on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Eagles have played three very solid defensive games here in the dance, but their offense has been all over the place. They’ve saved their better performances for their most recent games though, as their dominating win over Miami was truly the best game that they have played all season long. In this one, Marquette shot over 50 percent from the floor, including 50.0 percent from long range, and it left just nothing for the Canes to try to pick up when push came to shove on the the other side of the court. You can’t help but be a bit underwhelmed when you look at the numbers that Marquette is averaging this season. It is only good for 68.9 points per game, and it is allowing 62.8 points per game. The defense ranks 60th or worse in every major category, and the offense shoots the ball at just barely 30% from three-point range. That being said, this was a team that was channeling magic right at the outset of the year. It went 14-4 in the Big East, surprisingly won a share of the league title, and now has a shot to claim a second victory against Syracuse on the season, and this one would get it into the Final Four.

#4 Syracuse Orange (-170) – Who would’ve really thought that the Orange would be able to make it all the way here to the Sweet 16? This was a team that really struggled down the stretch of the season, losing games to teams like Louisville and Georgetown with terrible offensive showings. Many thought that the Orange would be bounced out of the Big East Tournament right away when taking on Pitt in what was their second game played at MSG. Instead, Syracuse just continues to get better. Its only loss in this stretch came against a very good Louisville outfit in what proved to be a very tiring game in the second half. Since then, it’s double digit victory after double digit victory and impressive showing after impressive showing. Even the six-point win over Cal in the Round of 32 was a solid looking game for the Orange. When they look in that 2-3 zone, they’re a tough team to score on, and if you take out the Big East Tournament Final, no one has scored more than 61 on this ‘D’ since… you guessed it… the loss at Marquette. And who says that the world doesn’t always cycle back around? Head Coach Jim Boeheim has a legitimate shot to get his team back to the Final Four once again, and if it were to happen, it really would turn out to be what looked like a statistical improbability just eight days ago.

2013 East Region Odds @ SportBet Sportsbook (as of 3/29/13):
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Marquette Golden Eagles (+3.5) +160
Syracuse Orange (-3.5) -170

With all of the talk of just how good the Big Ten was all season long, it is the Big East that is going to be showcased on the road to the Final Four on Saturday, when the #3 Marquette Golden Eagles and the #4 Syracuse Orange do battle in what will likely be the last time we ever see a pair of current Big East teams play against each other. Don’t miss our Marquette vs. Syracuse predictions and keys to the game for what should be an exciting encounter to start the weekend.

March Madness: Syracuse Orange vs. Marquette Golden Eagles
Syracuse vs. Marquette Location: Verizon Center, Washington DC
Syracuse vs. Marquette Date/Time: Saturday, March 30th, 4:30 p.m. (ET)
2013 March Madness On TV: CBS

Key #1: The Orange have to stay out of foul trouble this time around
Syracuse hasn’t had any issues here in the dance whatsoever, but it did lose the first time that it faced Marquette earlier this season. The game in Milwaukee basically ensured that the Golden Eagles would have a shot at a share of the Big East title, while it also proved to be a game that kept the Orange on the wrong side of the equation. In that game, G Brandon Triche ultimately fouled out, while F James Southerland ended with four fouls. The end result saw Marquette take a whopping 35 free throws in comparison to just seven for the Orange. Blind aggression has really been what has led Syracuse here to the Elite Eight, and it is going to be that blind aggression that will lead the team in this one when push comes to shove as well if it is given the opportunity to do so. The Orange don’t have the depth to ultimately be in a lot of foul trouble though, and it is key for them to stay out of it against Marquette.

Elite Eight Odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook
#4 Syracuse Orange -3.5
#3 Marquette Golden Eagles +3.5
Over/Under 128
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Key #2: The lengthy Golden Eagles have to continue playing defense in the half court
What we love about Big East basketball is that a lot of the teams play very similar styles, and it isn’t all that often that a team wins a game and the casual observer is left to wonder why. For anyone that has watched the three games that Marquette has played here in March Madness, the equation has been particularly simple: The Golden Eagles have to force the game into the half court, and from there, they have to let their athleticism take over. Marquette only allowed 62.8 points per game this season, so perhaps we shouldn’t be all that shocked that it has had three very good defensive games in the dance. However, the three clubs that have faced Marquette have combined to shoot under 40 percent from the floor, and that’s the type of number that can really stun some neutral observers. Syracuse has made a habit of forcing teams into bad shots, but the Golden Eagles have been pulling off that same stunt as well in the second season.

Key #3: Three-Pointers have to fly in for Golden Eagles
Marquette is a team that loves to get inside the paint and try to get things to happen. The first time that these two met this year, they only took 26 shots from inside the arc for the whole game, as opposed to 21 that came from the outside. What nearly cost the Golden Eagles that game is the fact that they shot just 5-of-21, 23.8 percent from three-point land. For the season, they’re only just barely shooting over 30% from long range, but here in the dance, they are knocking down a much more respectable 36.4 percent from downtown. It doesn’t take all that many threes to win a game, but the ones that are taken are going to have to be hit. Syracuse is just too good in the 2-3 zone to ultimately allow gobs of points in the paint. Just look back at the game against Indiana. The Orange literally had a block party against the Hoosiers, swatting away a stunning 11-of-47 shot attempts. Marquette won’t be able to challenge on the inside, so it has to take the game outside and be effective out there as a result.

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SportBet Sportsbook is ready to go with the odds to win the West Bracket. There is just one game left for us to bet on in this bracket, and it is the clash pitting the Ohio State Buckeyes against the Wichita State Shockers. Does Cinderella’s slipper have a chance to stay on all the way to the through to the Final Four? Find out right here as we break down the West Region odds and the odds to make the Final Four this year.

#2 Ohio State Buckeyes (-210) – The Buckeyes haven’t always been at their best thus far in this tournament, but they are winning games, and that’s about all that anyone could really ask for. Ohio State’s defense, after allowing just seven teams to reach 70+ points this season, has allowed at least 70 in three straight games here in the NCAA Tournament. Granted, we know that the pace with which the Buckeyes have been asked to play has been a lot faster than what they are accustomed to, and the truth of the matter is that the team has done well to keep up. However, how much longer can a team like Ohio State that isn’t always the best offensively be asked to keep shooting threes at the rate with which it is knocking them down? Not only does the team have a pair of threes with less than five seconds left to play in games, but it also is knocking down exactly half of its triples for the postseason. That’s absolutely unreal. However, we see teams catch fire all the time from the outside here in the dance. Normally, we’re talking about teams like Wichita State getting on fire. When it’s the great teams that do it though, that’s the stuff that National Championships are made out of.

#9 Wichita State Shockers (+190) – The Shockers are here in the Elite Eight, and they are probably the least deserving team of the eight that are left standing. We hear you. It’s a shock to hear that (no pun intended). Wichita State did knock off arguably the best No. 8 team in the land in Pittsburgh right at the outset of the tournament, and any time you take out a No. 1 seed, you deserve a lot of credit. Just how good were the Zags, though? Beating an upstart No. 13 seed that already had to play three games to reach that point in the season was no great shakes as we saw it either. What we do admit though, is that this is a team that deserves a lot of respect. It has played three very different games against three very different teams, and this is going to add a fourth different type of team to that list. The Shockers have a real chance to do some more damage to the average bracket, as Ohio State was the team most commonly picked to advance out of the West. If Wichita State pulls this one off, we’ll have a heck of a lot more respect for the boys from the Missouri Valley.

2013 West Region Odds @ SportBet Sportsbook (as of 3/29/13):
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Ohio State Buckeyes (-4.5) -210
Wichita State Shockers (+4.5) +190

The 2013 NCAA Tournament continues on Friday night in the Midwest Region, where the Duke Blue Devils and the Michigan State Spartans are going to renew what has become a very important rivalry over the course of the last few years. Head Coach Tom Izzo’s Spartans are the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region, and they are lined in what basically is a pick ’em game against the No. 2 seeded Blue Devils, who have to still feel slighted over the fact that they aren’t on the top line in the dance.

March Madness: Michigan State Spartans vs. Duke Blue Devils
Michigan State vs. Duke Location: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
Michigan State vs. Duke Date/Time: Friday, March 29th, 9:45 p.m. ET
March Madness Television Coverage: CBS

Key #1: Ryan Kelly needs to make his first legitimate appearance of the tourney
It’s clear that when the Blue Devils are at their best, Ryan Kelly is at his best as well. This is a man that is going to be a matchup nightmare for the significantly less athletic Spartans to try to handle if he gets going. Kelly is every bit of 6’11”, and he can step back from the outside and knock down some big time shots. However, Kelly has gone four straight games now, scoring a total of just 25 points in those outings, and that’s just not good enough at this level for a team that is expected to challenge for a spot in the Final Four this week. If Kelly is hitting his shots, either F Adreian Payne or F Derrick Nix is going to have to step out and try to guard him on the perimeter, and if that turns out to be the case, the battle on the glass is going to be won by the Dookies in easy form. Kelly really didn’t have to exist against Albany or Creighton because those teams weren’t going to challenge F Mason Plumlee on the glass anyway, but if Kelly can’t step back and draw a defender away from the basket, Plumlee could have some problems.

Michigan State vs. Duke Odds at Diamond Sportsbook
#3 Michigan State Spartans +2
#2 Duke Blue Devils -2
Over/Under 134.5
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Key #2: Keith Appling’s shoulder had better be good to go
The Spartans have put together two very impressive games here in the dance, but there is a big, big difference between playing against Memphis, playing against Valpo, and playing against Duke. The Blue Devils have legitimate NBA-type talent from one to five in this lineup, and there is no doubt that they are going to be in it for the full 40 minutes. That means that the Spartans have to be playing at full strength as well, and that might be a tad difficult. Appling hurt his shoulder in the win over Memphis on Saturday, and he ended that game with just two points, two assists, and a rebound. Granted, others like G Gary Harris were able to pick up the slack at that point for Sparty, but we just don’t know if there is enough talent here on this team to come up with a big time effort against the Blue Devils to carry the load for a player that might be carrying an injury.

Key #3: The Dookies have to be ready to get down and dirty
The one thing about the ACC this season is that there really weren’t a lot of teams that willingly played the knock down, drag out games that the NCAA Tournament is known for. This is where we are going to learn a heck of a lot about Duke and its prospects of not just winning this game, but its chances of winning the whole enchilada as well. When you really look at the games that the Blue Devils played this year, they really weren’t forced into a lot of half-court type of games. The Virginia Cavaliers did it to the Dookies in Charlottesville, and the hosts won that game 73-68. Duke does have a win over the Ohio State Buckeyes to its credit as well from back in November of the same caliber, but that game was a long time ago, and obviously, OSU is a heck of a lot better now than it was before. However, with so many great teams that could play some big time defense left in the dance, the Blue Devils are going to need to prove that they can play this gritty type of game if they are going to win and be successful.

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