News

NCAA Tournament 2019 First-Round (March 21) Preview: Minnesota Vs. Louisville And LSU Vs. Yale – Times, Channels, Stats, Odds

On Thursday, March 21, Minnesota and Louisville will face off. Tip-off will be at 12:15 p.m. EST at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. Though the two teams had similar amounts of success in the regular season, Louisville is the No. 7 seed compared to Minnesota’s No. 12 seed. Louisville is favored by five points.

March Madness 2019 First-round preview

Both teams are coming off of disappointing performances in their conference titles. Minnesota was demolished by Michigan in the semifinals, 76-49. Louisville fell to North Carolina in a depressing quarterfinals matchup, however, they kept it relatively close.

These two programs haven’t faced off since 2014. Louisville came into Minnesota as a nine-and-a-half road favorite and walked away covering the spread, winning 81-68.  Minnesota was last in the tournament in 2017 when they fell in the first round to Middle Tennessee State. Louisville’s last appearance came the same year as Michigan knocked them out in round two. Louisville is the better team on paper but the team has had some rough stretches following the ousting of Rick Pitino.

At 12:40 p.m. EST, that Thursday, LSU and Yale will fight to remain alive and advance another game closer to the NCAA Championship. Yale is ranked No. 14 in the East and LSU is the No. 3 seed. The LSU Tigers are favored by eight points.

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!

A week of sports news in your in-box.
We find the sports news you need to know, so you don't have to.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

The Yale Bulldogs stumbled closing out the season, going 1-2 in their last three games, but they picked it up and won the Ivy League Tournament. Yale enters the game ranked No. 24 in the nation in scoring. This squad lacks three-point shooters and can’t capitalize on free throws but they can grab boards and can come up with a bunch of plays in transition.

Even though the Tigers are distracted by coaching drama, don’t expect them to slip up here. The Tigers won nine of their last ten before a late three knocked them out of the SEC Championship. Oddly enough, that’s this team’s strong point. Expect LSU to out-rebound Yale and walk away with the win.

Bill Piersa

Recent Posts

Rob Manfred Insists That Athletics Are On Track For 2028 Move To Las Vegas

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred provided assuring words after questions arose concerning the Athletics' impending move…

22 hours ago

Geno Auriemma Breaks All-Time Coaching Wins Record In UConn Win Over Fairleigh Dickinson

UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma made history Wednesday, earning his 1,217th career victory in…

2 days ago

Braves’ Chris Sale Wins N.L. Cy Young Award After Stunning Comeback Season

Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale was named the 2024 N.L. Cy Young Award winner Wednesday,…

2 days ago

Paul George Exits With Knee Injury As 76ers Fall To 2-12 In Loss To Grizzlies

With their big three finally back in action Wednesday, the Philadelphia 76ers suffered another setback…

3 days ago

VIDEO: Nike Pays Tribute to Rafael Nadal With 30-Foot Projection In Front of Eiffel Tower

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tny--EWynOQ Nike paid tribute to Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal with a 10-meter-tall animated display…

4 days ago

VIDEO: Rafael Nadal Gets Emotional Tribute as He Retires From Tennis

https://youtu.be/dtJoJz9hC48 Tennis legend Rafael Nadal bid a heartfelt goodbye to his devoted Spanish fans as he brought…

4 days ago