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2019 NCAA tournament: Best bets for Friday's Sweet 16 games

The favorites held their ground in the Round of 32, giving us some great matchups to look forward to.

Our college basketball experts -- Joe Fortenbaugh, Preston Johnson, Doug Kezirian and Jordan Schultz -- are here to help, giving their best bets for the Sweet 16.

If you're looking for more analysis, be sure to check out PickCenter, which has projections for every NCAA tournament game.

Note: All odds are via Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, as of March 26. All times Eastern.

Regions:
East | West
South | Midwest

East Region

No. 3 LSU Tigers vs. No. 2 Michigan State Spartans (-6)

Total: 148.5

BPI line: Michigan State -9.1

Friday at 7:09 p.m. in Washington, D.C.

Johnson: I would ultimately need a +6.5 before I jumped in and backed the Tigers (I make the number +4.8), but the matchup is certainly intriguing for a few reasons. Michigan State beat up on the Big Ten with its athleticism and advantage there against the likes of Michigan, Purdue and the rest of its conference foes -- except the Indiana Hoosiers. Indiana is at least somewhat comparable in size and athleticism to LSU, and it gave the Spartans fits during the regular season, as the Hoosiers won both matchups outright as underdogs. I anticipate the Tigers will be able to have similar success inside on the offensive glass and get to the free throw line, and Sparty's depth concerns might finally become an issue.