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Golden 1 Center, Sacramento - CA West Region - 1st Round 

Streaming: TNT

Utah St -1½ over Missouri

Thursday - 1:40 PM EST. Led by first-year head coach Dennis Gates, Missouri has experienced an incredible turnaround. Not only do the Tigers have a chance to make it out the first round for the first time in over a decade, they have the talent to make a real run this season. Top scorer Kobe Brown has been among the most steady scorers in the country when healthy, and his impact in the lineup cannot be overstated. Missouri's 18-0 record outside of Quad 1 this year is a big reason for the team's success. They beat the teams they were supposed to and the market will surely be influenced by it.  However, Utah State isn't an average 10-seed.

Utah State is better than its seed implies. KenPom (18th) and BartTorvik (25th) have them as a top-25 team. While Utah State is no slouch on D (64th by KenPom), they really shine on offense, coming in 14th in adjusted offensive efficiency. They get up plenty of threes, ranking 57th nationally in three-point attempt rate (42.6%), and they do a nice job getting to the line, finishing the regular season 69th in free-throw attempt rate. (35.0%). That's a good recipe for success, and they had a lot of it this season.

The Aggies went 23-8, and three of their losses were to a really good San Diego State team, with two of those defeats coming by two and five points. Utah State had three other losses by five or fewer points. The 10th-seeded Aggies opened as a 2½-point favorite in this first round versus Missouri, a side Utah State ranks ahead of in every key category by KenPom and BartTorvik. Utah State is a possible bracket buster.

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