The Michigan State Spartans and Virginia Cavaliers will headline the NCAA Tournament in what is expected to be a brutal defensive showdown on Friday night.

The Spartans were getting a ton of hype coming into the NCAA Tournament, and they deserved every bit of it. The Spartans are coming off a Big Ten tournament title, and they are finally completely healthy. Michigan State beat Delaware and Harvard in their first two NCAA Tournament contests, but I wasn't impressed with how they closed out Harvard.

The Spartans have been led by Adreian Payne, who is averaging 26.5 points per game in the NCAA Tournament, but after scoring 41 against Delaware, he was held to just 12 points against Harvard. Michigan State will get a tough test in this game against Virginia, and I'm interested to see how the Spartans fare against the Cavaliers' stout defense.

Virginia plays some of the best team defense in the country, and that was evident in their recent 78-60 win over Memphis in the round of 32. The Cavaliers aren't a powerhouse on the offensive end, but they were very efficient against the Tigers as they made 30-of-54 shots.

If the Cavaliers can have another offensive performance like this today they will certainly be able to give Michigan State a run for their money. Virginia is led by Joe Harris and Malcolm Brogdon on the offensive end, and these guys need to each get at least 15 points if Virginia is going to pick up this win.

Michigan State Spartans vs. Virginia Cavaliers Betting Odds and NCAA Picks and Predictions

Michigan State is installed as a 1.5-point favorite at BetOnline with the "over/under" set at 127 points. Virginia is 16-5-2 ATS in their last 23 games overall. However, they are just 1-8 their last nine Friday games. This is going to be an interesting matchup in the round of 16, and I'm looking forward to seeing how Michigan State's offense performs against Virginia's defense. Almost everyone is picking Michigan State to win this game, and I can't argue the logic. The Spartans are a top team when fully healthy, and they finally got healthy coming into the NCAA Tournament. Take the Spartans to get this one in a great defensive affair.

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