Friday’s Sweet 16 features both remaining No. 1 seeds and the NCAA Tournament cinderella No. 15 seed Princeton with teams searching for an Elite Eight appearance.
Friday, March 24
No. 1 Alabama vs No. 5 San Diego St.
The No. 1 overall seed Crimson Tide have cruised to the Sweet 16 and have a clear pathway to the Final Four while being led by freshman standout Brandon Miller. San Diego State stands in their way as the Aztecs pride their team with excellent defense; it will be the next test for Alabama. The theme of the second round was physical defense, and if the Tide are held to under 70, look out for the upset. Another battle will be the fight for rebounds as the Aztecs are prone to losing if they lose the rebounding battle. Points are hard to come by for San Diego State, and if they can’t come down with offensive rebounds, Alabama will pull away easily.
Prediction: Alabama
No. 1 Houston vs No. 5 Miami (FL)
The Hurricanes are the lone ACC team in the Sweet 16 and are one of the shortest teams in the NCAA Tournament, with numerous guards in the starting lineup. The target number for Maimi is 70, as Houston is 2-2 when allowing more than 70 points. Miami is strictly an offensive team, as their defense is an afterthought. The Cougars have the defense to shut down Maimi as Houston was down at halftime against No. 9 Auburn and shut down the Tigers in the second half to win 81-64.
Prediction: Miami
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
No. 6 Creighton vs No. 15 Princeton
The cinderella of the NCAA Tournament has garnered attention from viewers with back-to-back upsets to make their first Sweet 16 appearance. After beating No. 2 Arizona because of mistakes from the Wildcats, Princeton dominated against No. 7 Missouri as Princeton outrebounded Missouri by 13. The Tigers now face a Creighton team that is just as great at defensive rebounding but also shoots 47% in the tournament. The Blue Jays are also significant from the free throw line going 22-22 against No. 3 Baylor, while Princeton struggles from the line. If Princeton wants to continue its cinderella run, they’ll need some luck to shut down the Blue Jay’s offense.
Prediction: Creighton
No. 2 Texas vs No. 3 Xavier
This will be the ultimate offense vs defense matchup of the Sweet 16, as Texas is 23-0 when holding teams under 72 points, and Xavier is 22-1 when scoring 80 or more. The Mustakeers ranked fourth in the nation in shooting threes and sixth in the nation in field goal percentage. Xavier was on upset watch in the first two rounds, but their late offensive runs saved them from potential upsets. The Longhorns snuck past No. 10 Penn State as Dylan Disu gave Texas the lead late. Along with their defense, the Longhorns led the Big 12 in shooting, scoring and free throws.
Prediction: Texas
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