Penny Hardaway’s Memphis Tigers were locked into the field of 68 heading into the American Conference Tournament last week, but they won it for good measure. They got rewarded on Selection Sunday with the highest bid of Hardaway’s tenure in his third appearance, but the seventh-year head coach is still searching for his second NCAA Tournament win. The bad news is that the Tigers drew another red-hot conference champion in the first round.
Niko Medved’s Colorado State Rams have won 10 straight games including three in the Mountain West Tournament to slip through the back door into The Big Dance. This is also the third trip to March Madness for Medved across his seven years; a No. 12 seed is his lowest. This will be a popular upset pick in the bracket, but more than that, it will be a must-see showdown between two of the most dominating players in the field, PJ Haggerty and Nique Clifford.
Despite sitting on the five-line, Memphis is a first-round underdog. Here’s how you can watch this Round of 64 matchup and a look at the odds for Memphis and Colorado State in the West Region.
How to watch Colorado State vs. Memphis
- Date: Friday, March 21
- Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
- Venue: Ball Arena (Denver, CO)
- How to Watch (TV): TBS
- Streaming: fubo TV
- Colorado State record: 25-9
- Memphis record: 29-5
Colorado State vs. Memphis odds, spread and total
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Moneyline
- Colorado State -135
- Memphis +110
Spread
- Colorado State -1.5 (-110)
- Memphis +1.5 (-110)
Total
- 147.5 (over -105/under -115)
Colorado State injury report
- N/A
Memphis injury report
- Tyrese Hunter, G: Questionable (foot)
- Dante Harris, F: Questionable (ankle)
Memphis and Colorado State series history
- Memphis all-time record vs. Colorado State: 1-0
Colorado State vs. Memphis prediction
While both teams are constructed around volume scoring guards, Haggerty for Memphis and Clifford for Colorado State, they have two differing styles of offense. Memphis plays in translation as much as almost any team in the country, attempting 17.3% of its field goals in transition (94th percentile according to CBBanalytics.com). Colorado State operates at a much more methodical pace, thriving in the half-court with a 46.1% field goal percentage on those possessions.
The team that dictates the terms of engagement could be the one that comes out on top and injury concerns could tip the scales in Colorado State’s favor. Memphis could potentially be without its starting point guard, Tyrese Hunter who missed the AAC Title game because of an ailing foot. The Tigers still won without him on the floor and had 14 fast break points, but he’s averaging 13.7 points and 3.6 assists and helps to push the ball in transition.
If Hunter plays, I expect Memphis to have enough firepower, especially with Haggerty coming off a 42-point performance in the AAC semifinals against Wichita State. However, without Hunter, the Tigers may not have enough to outdo Clifford. The 6-foot-6 do-it-all guard is averaging 19.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.2 steals, all to lead the Rams. He averaged 25 points a game in the Mountain West Tournament while shooting 50% from the field.
The Rams are favored, but assuming health for Hunter, I’ll take the Tigers to win a close one.