The No. 1 seeded Virginia Cavaliers take on the No. 8 seeded Memphis Tigers in a game with “upset” written all over it. Sure, this year’s March Madness has held its share of surprises, but if Memphis beats Virginia tonight it may not raise too many eyebrows outside of those who just look at seeding. We’ll delve into the main reason why below. In the meantime, when the game tips off you can watch Memphis vs Virginia online free live March Madness using a few different services to see if Virginia is the second No. 1 seed to fall today.
Memphis has faced three teams this season (Florida, Louisville and Cincinnati) in the top 10 in the country in adjusted defense (points allowed per 100 possessions). Their March Madness game today against Virginia will be the fourth such matchup. The Tigers went 2-3 against those teams, so Virginia could be feeling pretty good going into their 5:40pm PST / 8:40pm EST game. The Cavaliers rank fifth in the nation in adjusted defense (90.1) and in the top 10 nationally in nine other defensive categories. So yeah, it’s not like an “upset” of No. 8 over No. 1 would really be all that surprising.
Still, when you watch Memphis vs Virginia online free live March Madness you’ll want to keep an eye on this battle of tempos and styles. Virginia’s slow tempo defense and grind-it-out offense will go up against Memphis’ transition and screen-based offense. The Tigers will have to knock down perimeter shots to beat the Cavaliers, as Virginia doesn’t allow opponents to drive the gaps. With that said, Virginia didn’t look impressive in their earlier Tournament game against Coastal Carolina, which Memphis fans must cling to headed into tonight’s primetime NCAA basketball game.
The key matchup in tonight’s Virginia basketball game is Virginia guard London Perrantes against Memphis guard Joe Jackson. Jackson, a senior, is the more experienced player but Perrantes has been an extremely steady hand on a team that asks him to care for the ball above all else. Perrantes made three of four three-pointers in the victory over Coastal Carolina, so while he is not a scorer by trade he still must be respected on the perimeter.
Perrantes isn’t a big scoring threat, but he’s a freshman playing the second-most minutes on the nation’s top-rated defense. He also has a 3.4 assist-to-turnover ratio and will be checking Memphis’ top scorer in Jackson, who has an equally solid 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Limiting miscues will be important for both players, because momentum can swing quick when the ball is turned over, as we’ve seen freshman do throughout this tournament and especially today (Andrew Wiggins, we’re looking at you).
Virginia is trying to reach the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time since 1995. The Cavaliers are also one win shy of tying their school season record for victories after earning a No. 1 seed for the first time since 1983. The Memphis Tigers, meanwhile, held off ninth-seeded George Washington 71-66 on Friday night and are trying to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009, John Calipari’s final year as coach.
You can watch Memphis vs Virginia online free live March Madness by heading to the NCAA Tournament website and finding the game there. The official NCAA website lets you watch every March Madness game free, including live broadcasts from CBS, TBS, TNT, truTV, etc. If you’re hoping to watch Virginia basketball online vs Memphis today in the Round of 32, you can tune into the 5:40pm PST / 8:40pm EST tipoff live on TNT or watch Memphis vs Virginia online free live March Madness using the link above. If you use the link, the live stream should work fine on a computer, laptop, tablet or even a mobile phone.
