The South Region's ninth seeded LSU Tigers will square off against the eighth seeded Butler Bulldogs on Thursday at 12:20pm ET. The game will be played at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. The prevailing team will earn a second round game with the winner of the Radford/North Carolina contest. 
Butler vs LSU March Madness Predictions at Sportsbook.com have the Tigers listed as a -2.5 against the spread favorite.
Butler captured another Horizon League title this year as they coasted to a 15-3 conference record and a 26-5 overall mark. The Bulldogs, who have won just four of their last seven games, were not able to win the Horizon League tournament, though. Cleveland State upset them in the championship game 57-54 to earn their first NCAA Tournament trip in 23 years.
The Bulldogs, who have not played in a neutral site game all season long, are averaging 67.6 points per game while giving up a meager 57.4 to their opposition. Forward Matt Howard is Butler's leading scorer at 14.6 per contest and he also grabs an average of 6.7 rebounds per game.
Louisiana State won the SEC this season on the strength of their 13-3 conference record. In total, the Tigers won 26 of their 33 games; however, LSU has not played well down the stretch as they have lost three of their last four games. The Tigers, who are listed at +10000 moneyline odds to win the Final Four, were taken out 67-57 by Mississippi State in SEC Championship last Saturday night.
LSU, which averages 74.9 points per game, is 1-1 in neutral site games this season. They will be depending on guard Marcus Thornton when the action begins on Thursday. The senior leads the team in scoring at 20.7 per game.
Sportsbook.com's Butler vs LSU March Madness Predictions:
Butler Bulldogs +2.5 (-110), Over 127.5 (-110),+120 (Moneyline)
LSU Tigers -2.5 (-110), Under 127.5 (-110), -140 (Moneyline)
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