This is your preview and open thread for the second day of the NCAA’s Sweet Sixteen.
(Photo from Adam Glanzman @ Flickr)
Region: South
Date: Friday, March 27th
Time: 6:15 pm
Teams: #2 Gonzaga vs #11 UCLA
Location: Houston, TX (H-town!!!)
TV/Stream: CBS
Tourney Preview: UCLA has already lost once to Gonzaga in the regular season 87-74 and has had weak competition in the tournament.
The Zags have only lost 2 games this season, and one was in overtime to top-ranked Arizona. I think the Zags have this one in the bag.
Region: South
Date: Friday, March 27th
Time: 8:45 pm
Teams: #1 Duke vs #5 Utah
Location: Houston, TX (H-town!!!)
TV/Stream: CBS
Tourney Preview: Utah had a strong start to their season but slipped up to end it getting some ugly losses. They have looked good in the tourney so far with wins over SFA and Georgetown.
Duke has whipped their competition in the Big Dance by an average of 24 points in each game. The only real kryptonite for Duke this season has been Notre Dame. So, I feel Utah is going to have a hard time dealing with the Blue Devils.
Region: East
Date: Friday, March 27th
Time: 6:37 pm
Teams: #4 Louisville vs #8 NC State
Location: Syracuse, NY
TV/Stream: TBS
Tourney Preview: There’s going to be an ACC battle! NC State has already upset the Cards once this season, can they do it again in the NCAA tournament? If “Cat” Barber is hot the Wolfpack stand a chance, but if not Louisville will likely take this one.
Playing an in-conference foe always makes for the greatest tourney games. Things should get intense.
Region: East
Date: Friday, March 27th
Time: 9:07 pm
Teams: #3 Oklahoma vs #7 Michigan State
Location: Syracuse, NY
TV/Stream: TBS
Tourney Preview: From watching a lot of Big 12 Oklahoma basketball (saw the Tech vs OU game in person), they are a team that seems to play down-or-up to their competition. But, there’s no denying Buddy Hield is a superstar.
Michigan State seems the same way, they beat anyone and lose to anyone at any given time. These two teams even have similar records. Though, looking at everything from the roster to the stats it seems MSU is the better team to me.