Indiana Squeezes into Sweet 16

Christian Watford and Indiana survived a scare from Temple on Sunday.

Indiana advanced to the East Regional semifinals on Sunday, narrowly defeating Temple 58-52 at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio.

The Hoosiers will meet Syracuse – 66-60 winners over California on Saturday – when play resumes on Thursday (Mar. 28).

Sunday’s game against the Owls proved to be a tough task for Tom Crean’s top-seeded side.

Things started brightly for the Hoosiers, who took an 18-9 lead on an 8-0 run midway through the first half. Temple chipped away though and earned a 29-26 lead heading into the break.

Temple managed to push the lead to five in the opening minutes of a very scrappy second half. The sides combined for just 19 points in the opening 10 minutes of the frame, as the Owls maintained a lead behind an impressive performance from senior guard Khalif Wyatt, who finished the game with 31 points.

Indiana looked to be in trouble until Temple’s scoring dried up. The Owls went the final 3:09 without scoring a point. The Hoosiers took advantage. A three-pointer from Wooden Award-candidate Victor Oladipo with 0:14 left on the clock proved huge as the Hoosiers put together a 10-0 run to close out the game.

Oladipo finished the game with 16 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore forward Cody Zeller added 15 points and junior forward Will Sheehey added 10 off the bench.

Temple shot a woeful 3-24 (12.5%) from beyond the arc, while Indiana went 4-13 (30.8%).

The 58-point total represented the second fewest points Indiana has scored all season. The school’s previous low came in a 68-56 loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament. This was the Hoosiers’ only win of the season when scoring fewer than 66 points in a game.

Bettors were rewarded for taking Temple to cover the spread (+12.5) and the total (147.5) to go under.

The Hoosiers (28-6, 14-4 Big Ten) will now return to Bloomington before heading to D.C. to take on the No. 4 seed, Syracuse (28-9, 11-7 Big East).

Since 1979-80, the Hoosiers are 1-3 against the Orange. The two schools last met on Nov. 25, 1998, a regular season game that saw Syracuse win 76-63.

Indiana will meet Syracuse on Thursday. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:45 PM ET from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Keep up-to-date with the latest betting lines using the BettingSports.com NCAAB Odds page.

Hurricanes Inch Forward Too

The Miami Hurricanes narrowly avoided defeat against Illinois.

Indiana will be joined in Washington, D.C., by Miami, who was also managed to squeeze out a round of 32 victory. The second-seeded Hurricanes edged out Illinois by a score of 63-59. The win ensured that the East Regional semifinals will feature the top four seeds.

ACC player of the year Shane Larkin drained a go-ahead three-pointer with just 1:00 left in the second half, essentially turning the game into a free throw contest. The Fighting Illini got a Nnanna Egwu tip-in to move the score to 61-59, but the Hurricanes would ultimately hold on to a narrow victory.

Bettors were rewarded for taking the Fighting Illini (+7.5) to cover the spread and the total (127) to go under.

Miami now advances to the regional semifinals for the second time in school history. The side will meet No. 3 seeded Marquette, who held-off future Big East conference rival Butler on Saturday to win 74-72.

Between 1986 and 1989 – a period in which both schools were Independents – the teams met on four occasions, each winning a pair of games at home. The two schools last met on Jan. 28, 1989. The Hurricanes scored a 106-90 home win that day.

Miami and Marquette will meet at the Verizon Center on Thursday, with tip-off schedule for 7:15 PM ET. For the latest games odds, keep it locked to BettingSports.com’s NCAAB Odds page.

East Regional

Results (First Round)

(16) James Madison 68, (16) LIU Brooklyn 55

Results (Second Round)

(1) Indiana 83, (16) James Madison 62

(2) Miami 78, (15) Pacific 49

(3) Marquette 59, (14) Davidson 58

(4) Syracuse 81, (13) Montana 34

(12) California 64, (5) UNLV 61

(6) Butler 68, (11) Bucknell 56

(7) Illinois 57, (10) Colorado 49

(9) Temple 76, (8 ) North Carolina State 72

Results (Third Round)

(1) Indiana 58, (9) Temple 52

(2) Miami 63, (7) Illinois 59

(3) Marquette 74, (6) Butler 72

(4) Syracuse 66, (12) California 60

Schedule (Regional Semifinals)

(4) Syracuse vs. (1) Indiana (Thur., 9:45 PM ET)

(3) Marquette vs. (2) Miami (Thur., 7:15 PM ET)

Schedule (Regional Final)

To be played on Mar. 30