Thursday, March 20, 8:50 PM on TNT

Amway Center, Orlando, Florida

Opening Lines & Odds - Louisville -16 -- Over/Under: 142.5

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

The 4 seed Louisville Cardinals (25-7, 15-5 MAAC) will face the 13 seed Manhattan Jaspers (29-5, 15-3 AAC) on Thursday. Although Louisville was expected by NCAA experts to come in a higher seed than they did, a number four seed will do just fine for the returning champs. This is a classic game of student vs teacher. Head coach of the Jaspers, Steve Masiello, will be going up against his teacher and friend, Rick Pitino.

With their run last year to the championship, Louisville has the advantage of experience and a team full of great players that can score and and play defense for a full 40 minutes. Fresh faces Terry Rozier and Chris Jones played big roles this season, while returning players like Russ Smith led the team with 18.3 points per game and 4.7 assists per game. Montrezl Harrell averaged 14.2 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game.

Being the underdogs, the Jaspers understand they have an uphill battle ahead of them. With quality players like George Beamon, who has been averaging 19.2 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game, and Michael Avarado has contributed 12 points per game, the Jaspers have a puncher's chance.

ATS Trends

Louisville is 19-13-0 ATS this season

Louisville is 14-13-1 against the over/under this season

Manhattan is 16-14-2 ATS this season

Manhattan is 13-12-1 against the over/under this season

Injuries to Watch

Louisville 

12/31/13 F Chane Behanan Dismissed has been dismissed
12/30/13 G Kevin Ware Shin out for season

Manhattan 

No injuries to report at this time

Josh's Pick: Take Louisville

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