Michigan State at Pittsburgh

This should be a good physical battle and we like the team who played in the tougher, better conference. Pittsburgh won the Big East tourney, besting Louisville, Marquette and Georgetown along the way. They can handle the Spartans who were just 9-8 on the road this season and have averaged only 63 ppg over their last five. Michigan State's defense gets the press but Pitt's isn't bad. The Panthers defense held one of the A10's top scorers (Dionte Christmas), who was averaging over 20 ppg to just 1-for-12 shooting last game. We like the more battle-tested and proven Pitt team to advance here.