2015 Sweet 16 Odds and Free Picks – Michigan State vs Oklahoma East Region Predictions

2015 Sweet 16 Odds and Free Picks – Michigan State vs Oklahoma East Region Predictions: The East Region Bracket of the 2015 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 round will take the court Friday night with two matchups and the matchup we are looking forward to the most is the Michigan State versus Oklahoma showdown. The odds makers at GT Bets Sportsbook have posted the odds on this matchup and the latest odds have #7 seed Michigan State listed as a -1.5 point favorite over #3 seed Oklahoma. This game is scheduled to tip off Friday at night at approximately 10:05PM EST from the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York.

2015 Sweet 16 Odds, Predictions and Free Picks – Michigan State versus Oklahoma East Region Matchup Preview

Head coach Tom Izzo has his Michigan State Spartans back in the Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive season and a remarkable 7th time in the last eight seasons. The guy is simply a sensational coach. Izzo’s Spartans enter this Sweet 16 matchup against the Sooners with an overall record of 25-11 and loaded with confidence after opening the NCAA Tournament Bracket with two impressive victories. Michigan State dominated an overmatched #10 seeded Georgia team in the 2nd round with a 70-63 win and then followed that up by upsetting #2 seeded Virginia to send the Cavaliers packing for a 2nd straight season with a 60-54 win in the 3rd round. The Spartans have now won 6 of their last 7 games with their only loss coming in the Big Ten Tournament Title Game against Wisconsin in overtime. Michigan State is led in scoring by 6-0, 175 pound senior guard Travis Trice who averages 14.8 points per game, 3.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists.

The Oklahoma Sooners return to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament for the 1st time since 2009 and for the first time under current head coach Lon Kruger. The #3 seeded Sooners are also feeling plenty confident about their abilities to keep winning in the tournament after easily taking care of #14 seeded Albany by a 69-60 score in the 2nd round and then took out a tough #11 seeded Dayton team by a score of 72-66 in the 3rd round. Oklahoma comes into this game against Sparty with an overall record of 24-10 out of the Big 12 Conference and winners in 4 of their last 5 games. The Sooners are led in scoring by 6-4, 212 pound junior guard Buddy Hield who averages 17.4 points per game, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists.

This matchup between the Spartans and Sooners could not be much closer on paper. Michigan State averages 71.5 points per game offensively and allows 63.1 points defensively, while Oklahoma pumps in 71.9 points per game on offense and gives up 62.8 on defense. Michigan State shoots the ball a little better then Oklahoma from the field as the Spartans average 47.1 percent as a team to Oklahoma’s 43.7 percent. Having said that, one big difference between the two teams is at the free throw line where Oklahoma shoots a solid 73.8 percent as a team and Michigan State struggles with a 63 percent team average.

This matchup should be just as close on the court as it is on paper. Both teams are plenty battle tested and are both well coached. Neither team has one player that is absolutely head and shoulders above the rest of the players on the court so this won’t be a game where some big time NBA prospect takes over and carries his team by himself. The best team will win this game and we have to put our money on Michigan State. The Spartans simply know how to win in March and they are the more experienced team in this matchup. It’s hard to make a living betting against Tom Izzo with our NCAA Tournament picks and we don’t feel Friday night is the right time to do it this year.

2015 Sweet 16 Free Picks: Michigan St -1.5 over Oklahoma(Check the most current NCAA Tournament Betting Odds from Bovada)