If you didn't get a chance to see the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks, make sure you get a load of them on Sunday night against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the battle to go to the Sweet 16.
There will be NCAA Tournament odds at BookMaker.eu available up until the ball gets thrown in the air for this and all of the great Round of 32 games this weekend.
HOW THE STEPHEN F. AUSTIN LUMBERJACKS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Lumberjacks did everything right against West Virginia on Friday night. They forced 22 turnovers against turning the ball over just six times. They didn't commit a single turnover in the last 11 minutes of the game against a team which is one of the best in the nation in forcing blunders. They went to the charity stripe 39 times versus a team of superior talent by being aggressive and not backing down to any challenges.
No, Friday's win wasn't pretty for the Jacks, but it didn't have to be either. Any time as a No. 14 seed you can whoop a No. 3, you've accomplished something special, and if not for Middle Tennessee State, we'd be talking about Stephen F. Austin as the darling of this tournament.
Thomas Walkup scored 23 points in the second half alone against West Virginia. He's fantastic with the ball in his hands, he can drive to the hoop, and he can stroke threes as well. There's nothing that he can't do, and he'll have to put on another career game type of display in order to give the Southland champs a shot at another upset.
HOW THE NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Friday night was a tale of two halves for the Irish. They were awful in the first half against Michigan, and their offense was generally stagnant. The ball was pushed around the perimeter a ton, but there was never really much of an effort to get the ball inside either via passing into the paint or dribbling there.
In the second half though, the Irish were far more aggressive, and they used dribble drives to open up three-point shots for V.J. Beachem and Steve Vasturia, both of which had massive games.
Still, there was a lot left to be desired from that Michigan game. Zach Auguste was awful at times, and for a man who had the potential to really dominate in the paint, 10 points and 12 boards really wasn't what we expected. Auguste really needs to be setup in the post in this game against an undersized Stephen F. Austin team. If he gets a four or five post-up opportunities in isolation, it's a good sign for Notre Dame.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
This Stephen F. Austin team isn't your average mid-major. Yes, we know that West Virginia more or less pressed the self-destruct button on Friday, but this is what the Lumberjacks do to teams which just aren't all that disciplined.
The Fighting Irish have a tendency to get a little jump shot happy, and when that happens and Auguste doesn't take advantage of his size in the paint, that's when they can get beaten.
The Lumberjacks have now pulled off a pair of NCAA Tournament upsets in the last three years, and we wonder if they're in for something truly special here. Don't be surprised if Walkup has another one of these games where he's the most dominant player on the court. If that turns out to be the case, we know we want the points, and we wouldn't be shocked if this one ended in an upset.
Stephen F. Austin 68, Notre Dame 64
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Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks and Notre Dame Fighting Irish will square off Sunday, March 20, 2016, at 2:40 p.m. ET at the Barclays Center. The matchup will be televised live on CBS.
