No. 9 Saint Louis University, fresh off its first NCAA Tournament win since 1998, will face a rough reintroduction to second-round play Sunday when they face the No. 1 Michigan State Spartans with a Sweet 16 berth on the line. Keep your TV schedule free: The Columbus, Ohio matchup will kick off at 1:45 PM CDT on CBS, with Tim Brando and Mike Gminski on the call.
Michigan State comes to the matchup having roared to life in the second half of their 1-16 matchup against Long Island on their way to an 89-67 win; the Saint Louis Billikens beat the No. 8 Memphis Tigers thanks to a suffocating pace and some sharp shooting from junior Kwamain Mitchell.
It'll be tougher for Rick Majerus's Billikens to stifle the Spartans, but after an upset-filled Friday slate nobody's expecting SLU to be a pushover. The Billikens have a chance to remold themselves into a legitimate Division I basketball program after five years of preamble under Majerus; beating the Spartans and reaching the Sweet 16 would just about do it.
More SLU coverage from SB Nation St. Louis:
- Count on Brando or Gminski to comment, at one point, on the fact that Rick Majerus has been named SLUperman.
- This tournament, for better or worse, is going to be a referendum on Majerus's tenure in town.