Sweet Sixteen Day 2 Preview
Day 1 of the Sweet Sixteen was headlined by 11 seed Xavier upsetting 2 seed Arizona, a Kansas 30 point blowout of Purdue, Oregon escaping red hot Michigan, and Gonzaga outlasting a stingy West Virginia squad, Hopefully day 2 will be as exciting as day 1. Here are our picks:
1 UNC Vs. 4 Butler
This matchup is more deceiving than people think. Butler is a very good basketball team and they are well coached. The Proclaimed “Butler way” is still in full effect despite the departure of coach Brad Stevens in 2013. Kelan Martin is an outstanding player that not many people know about, look for Martin to lead the way against UNC. UNC escaped last week by overcoming a 5 point deficit in the second half to come out on top of 8 seed Arkansas. Even though UNC struggled last week, Butler struggles at rebounding, which doesn’t bode well for them. Butler only has one player that averages 5.8 RPG which is not the winning recipe against a big experienced UNC squad. UNC has outrebounded their opponents this year by 13.1 rebounds per game. I expect the UNC bigs to be too much for Butler. Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks are a nightmare for opposing teams.
Prediction
UNC wins, does not cover spread (-7.5), and the total goes Under.
7 South Carolina Vs. 3 Baylor
I’m sure everyone had this game penciled into their Sweet Sixteen…Coach Scott Drew has done a masterful job this year from leading his unranked Bears at the beginning of the season to the Sweet Sixteen, he is a well-deserving Coach of the year candidate. But as we all know he doesn’t play the game his players do, one player to lookout for is Johnathan Motley. Motley is a 6–10 Junior forward that averages 17.3 PPG and 9.9 RPG. Baylor has been one of the most overlooked teams all year but i’m not overlooking them in this one. Sindarius Thornwell might have something to say about that, he is playing at an elite level but he can’t do everything by himself. Thornwell leads his team in scoring, rebounding, and assists if Baylor finds a way to take him out of the game they should prevail. South Carolina is a stingy defensive team that could just as easily neutralize Johnathan Motley. I find it hard to believe that South Carolina will shoot over 70% in the second half again like they did against Duke. I’m taking Baylor in this one.
Prediction
Baylor wins, does not cover spread (-4),and the total goes Under.
3 UCLA Vs. 2 Kentucky
UCLA Vs. Kentucky is easily the most anticipated game of the Sweet Sixteen. Honestly, I think i’m more excited to see what Lavar Ball has to say after his son gets outplayed by the best backcourt in the country. Hey, maybe if UCLA had steph instead of Lonzo like Lavar has elluded to in his rants UCLA might have a chance in this one. I’m not a big fan of the supporting cast around Lonzo, i’m not a fan of Steve Alford as a Coach, and i’m not a fan of Pac-12 teams in the tournament. Arizona, case and point, the team that shut down Lonzo and the UCLA Bruins for the Pac-12 CHampionship was upset by an okay Xavier team last night. Just a side note, UCLA has not been to the Elite Eight in 9 years. Lonzo Ball is a special talent but he can’t do everything by himself. The deadly combo of De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk average a combined 36 Points per game they can really pour it on. As long as Derek Willis and Bam Adebayo win the rebounding battle this game should favor the Wildcats.
Prediction
Kentucky wins, this game is a pick em, the total will go under.
8 Wisconsin Vs. 4 Florida
Another thriller in the Madison Square Garden…Not. The east side of the bracket decided to screw everyones bracket and give us two underwhelming matchups. This game features one of the most under seeded team in the tournament in 8 seed Wisconsin and a very underrated Florida squad that has quietly made its way to the sweet sixteen. This Florida domintaed an offensivley challenged Virginia team in the round of 32 and is lead by a great guard in KaVaughn Allen and Forward Devin Robinson. Watch out for Senior guard Kasey Hill as well, he has been playing great as of late. But this is a very veteran Wisconsin team featuring an outstanding Senior class in Nigel Hayes, Zak showalter, Bronson Koenig, and Vitto Brown. These four guys have played a ton of high level basketball for the Badgers over the last four years. Wisconsin has a great post presence in sophomore Ethan Happ who knows how to play to his strengths. I think the tempo controlling experienced Wisconsin team pulls this one out.
Prediction
Wisconsin wins, this game is also a pick em, the total will go over
-Brendan J. Sunday
