1. The adoration of Northern Iowa makes me uneasy. I get all the reasons we are supposed to count out the Spartans – inconsistency, the Kalin Lucas injury, and so on. I also get why Northern Iowa is worthy of praise – woefully under-seeded, stunning upset of best team in the tournament, and so on. I just don’t feel great about the degree to which the action is on the Panthers – the game opened at MSU -1.5 but can now be found at pick ’em after almost 60 percent of bets have gone on the No. 9 seed. I do believe that that Northern Iowa can win this one. I just don’t think that this line movement reflects Michigan State’s superior talent even without Lucas, or the fact that Tom Izzo, one of the true kings of the tournament, has had five days to dissect this contest and spot what Northern Iowa does well and how to deal with it. I’m not even sure that I am picking the Spartans, though I am definitely leaning that way, but I just don’t think that this line or this movement is appropriate to the situation.
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