Bodog Beat

The Kansas Jayhawks take on the Michigan State Spartans today. (AP Images)

If you like tractors and apple pie, you’ll love Friday’s Sweet 16 matchup between the Kansas Jayhawks (27-7 SU, 20-7-1 ATS) and the Michigan State Spartans (28-6 SU, 18-12-1 ATS). This is college hoops at its Midwest Region blue-collar roots. At least that’s the way CBS will portray it. In reality, these are two great teams because of the recruiting and fundraising efforts of Kansas coach Bill Self and his MSU counterpart, Tom Izzo.

This is the second time Self and Izzo have met this year. On Jan. 10, Michigan State welcomed the defending NCAA champions to East Lansing and handed the Jayhawks (+6) a 75-62 defeat. The inexperience on the Kansas roster showed up in the form of 16 turnovers. Since then, the ‘Hawks have been growing up very quickly at 16-3 SU and 15-3-1 ATS. The Spartans went 15-4 SU and 11-7-1 ATS after beating KU.

Get all your NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 odds in the Bodog Sportsbook.