Sweet 16: Local Preview

     The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) men's basketball "Sweet 16" kicks off tonight for two schools from the state of Michigan.  Compare that to the state of North Carolina which qualified zero teams for the final four rounds of this years tournament.  University of Michigan, and Michigan State University will both play tonight, and both schools are favored by about a point in their respective matchups.
     The University of Michigan men's basketball team is in Indianapolis, and they are preparing for a 7:15 p.m. tip off against University of Tennessee.  The Wolverines are the #2 seed in the Midwest Region, and are the highest seed in their Region still playing in the tournament.  The Volunteers are the 11th seed in the Midwest, but have impressive tournament wins over University of Massachusetts 86-67, and Mercer University 83-63.  Tennessee also won a NCAA tournament play in game over University of Iowa 78-65.  The Volunteers have size, and length, and are a very good rebounding team.  Tennessee finished the season with an overall record of 24-12, and an 11-7 record in the SEC (Southeastern Conference).  Tonight's game is televised, and can be seen on CBS with the pregame show beginning at 7:00 p.m.  If the Wolverines can get by Tennessee, they'll play an "Elite 8" game against the winner of #4 University of Louisville vs. #8 University of Kentucky.  
     The Michigan State University men's basketball team is in New York (Madison Square Garden), and they are preparing for a 9:57 p.m. tip off against University of Virginia.  The Spartans are the #4 seed in the East Region, and they will attempt to knock off the top seeded #1 Virginia Cavaliers in tonight's nightcap.  The Cavaliers finished the season with an overall record of 30-6, and a 16-2 record in the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference). Virginia won the ACC Tournament, and the Cavaliers were also the ACC regular season Champions.  Tonight's game is televised, and can be seen on TBS at 10:00 p.m.  If the Spartans get get past Virginia, they'll play an "Elite 8" game against the winner of #3 Iowa State University vs. #7 University of Connecticut.  
     Click on the links below for more information about University of Michigan athletics, Michigan State University athletics, or the NCAA Division 1 men's basketball tournament.  You can always leave a comment, and you can email the Mitten State Sports Report directly at mittenstatesportsreport@rocketmail.com  Click on past months to check out exclusive photos from some college basketball games.







For more information about UofM athletics click on  http://www.mgoblue.com 



For more information about MSU athletics click on  http://www.msuspartans.com 



Follow the NCAA Tournament!  Click on  http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/tournament/bracket


                                                               or

Click on  http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/ncaa-tournament/brackets/viewable_men



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