March Madness First Four game preview: No. 12 Wyoming vs. No. 12 Indiana

Once the odds from DraftKings Sportsbook are made available for this game, we’ll add that information below. We’ll also add the game time and TV channel once it’s settled.

Game date: Tuesday, March 15
Game time: 9:10 p.m.
TV channel: TruTV
Location: Dayton, Ohio

Indiana

The Indiana Hoosiers made an impressive run in the Big Ten Tournament to take themselves off the bubble and into the NCAA Tournament in Year 1 under Mike Wodson. Indiana is in the big dance because of their play on the defensive end, and their offense needs to perform better than it has over the course of the regular season to make a run.

Indiana’s top player is Trayce Jackson-Davis, who does just about everything well under the hoop as a fantastic low post scorer, rebounder and defender. He will need some help from teammates who can make an impact from the outside, but Jackson-Davis is the real difference maker for this team.

Record: 20-13, 9-11 Big Ten
KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency: 91
KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency: 21
Against The Spread: 19-14
Over Total: 16-17
Odds to win NCAA Championship: +15000

Wyoming

Jeff Linder is in his second season as the head coach and took a team that won two conference games in 2019-2020 to a 13-5 conference record this year. They started out winning nine of their first 10 games in conference play and were led by forward Graham Ike and guard Hunter Maldonado. A quarterfinal win over UNLV saw the Cowboys head to the semifinals of the Mountain West conference tournament.

Record: 25-8, 13-5 MWC
KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency: 54
KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency: 66
Against The Spread: 17-13-2Over Total: 16-16
Odds to win NCAA Championship: +25000

Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook

Point spread: Indiana -3.5
Point total: 133
Moneyline: Indiana -170, Wyoming +150

The Hoosiers are the far better defensive team in this matchup, and that’s where we’ll go with this bet. Indiana’s offense makes it a little scary to place your hard-earned cash on them, but they made an impressive run in the Big Ten Tournament including a win over the Illinois Fighting Illini. Indiana’s defense will be the difference in this game, and Hoosiers fans should travel well in a game that’s relatively close to home.

Pick: Indiana -3.5

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