Sweet 16 Matchups - Pick Your Winners

[dukiejay]

Everyone gets a fresh start. Your brackets are back to perfect. So how do you see the games playing out on Thursday and Friday? I'll start.

Midwest Region
Wichita State over Notre Dame....I really think this matchup sets up well for the Shockers. Two similar teams but the Shockers seem to be playing better with less pressure this year.
Kentucky over West Virginia....I think the Mountaineers go the route of Cincy and try to muck this one up a bit. They hang around for a while but in the second half UK pulls away to a relatively comfortable win.

West Region
Wisconsin over UNC....I think this is a great matchup on paper, but I like the discipline of the Badgers to win out. They will try and play in the half-court and the Heels sometimes struggle with that concept. On top of that, Wisky is one of the better defensive rebounding teams in the country.
Arizona over Xavier....There's really nothing in this matchup that leads me to believe Xavier can shock 'Zona. The Wildcats are long and I see them imposing their will on the Musketeers.

South Region
Gonzaga over UCLA....The Zags looked really good this past weekend. I thought Iowa was the kind of matchup for them that could create problems but I was wrong. Gonzaga is strong at every position and I see this as a double-digit win.
Duke over Utah....We haven't seen a lot of teams with the kind of offensive and defensive balance as this bunch from Utah. But I think if we continue to focus and talk on defense that will ignite our offense. When we defend with a purpose we're a hard team to beat.

East Region
Louisville over NC State....I might pull for the Wolfpack here, but I just think Louisville will be disruptive and frustrate the hell out of them. State has a tendency to come apart at the seams, and after a win a lot of people didn't expect I see them returning to form Friday night.
Michigan State over Oklahoma....The Spartans kind of seem like the team of destiny in this region right now. The Sooners didn't impress me much in either of their games and I think they're happy almost just getting to this point. I'll take Sparty by a touchdown.

 

[The Dude#]

My original bracket has the elite eight still in tact:

Notre Dame v. Kentucky
Wisconsin v. Arizona
Gonzaga v. Duke
Louisville v. Michigan State

My original final 4: Kentucky, Wisconsin, Gonzaga, Michigan State

The only change I would make now is Duke over Gonzaga. Of course, anyone can win (or lose) on a given day, but Kentucky obviously appears to be on a different level, Duke and Wisconsin also, to a lesser extent.

 

[Crank_it_loud]

AZ
UNC
Wichita State
UK
Gonzaga
Duke
Nc State
MSU

 

[dbav]

Midwest:
I'll take ND over WSU. WSU had the better first weekend, but I have to think ND will play better next weekend.
I'll also take UK over WVU for the obvious reasons. I do think WVU's style could be an interesting story as UK may not have seen that yet.

West:
I've got Wisconsin over UNCheat. I actually believe this too, but I would pick anyone but UNCheat.
Arizona will take the other game too. They are just too talented and had a really good opening weekend.

South:
I'll take Gonzaga over UCLA in a close one. If anything about UCLA was apparent this weekend it was that they can put up points. I expect them to keep pace with Gonzaga but for the Zags to prevail in the end.
I also take Duke.

East:
I'm taking the Wolfpack. I think they are on a roll. That was a big win for Lousville last night, but I think the Pack keeps rolling.
I'm taking MSU over OU. Izzo's teams always play their best ball in March. This year is no exception.

 

[tedmon23]

I'm with DukieJay in every region except the East.
I will go NC state over the cards--I don't trust the cards ability to score and I think state has better shooters.

I will go Oklahoma over Michigan State- Don't trust Trice/Dawson to be good enough to win again and their foul shooting isn't the greatest.

 

[Showenuff]

AZ
Wisconsin
Wichita State
UK
Gonzaga
Duke
Nc State
MSU

 

[HuffyJB]

Midwest
ND over Wichita St. - not solid here, but ND is the ACC champ so I'll default to them
UK over WVU - as you said, this will go the same way the bulk of UK's games go

West
Wisconsin over UNC - I think this will be a very entertaining game
Arizona over Xavier - less entertaining, but sets up an epic regional championship

South
UCLA over Gonzaga - rolling the dice a bit here; UCLA has that elusive and largely unwarranted confidence
Duke over Utah - not the best team Duke has played, but there aren't many ahead of them on that list

East
Louisville over NC St. - Louisville is scoring now, which has been there problem
MSU over Oklahoma - Izzon wins here and then again in the weekend to cement yet another incredible March run

 

[pisgah101]

ND over WS- it'll eventually click and ND will get to draining shots, and they play for Brey now IMO.. UK over WVU, this one is gunna be close with WV having a real shot... Wisky over UNC but this one is close too.. Zona over Xavier.. State over Lville. MSU over OU. DUKE over Utah. And Zags over UCLA

 

[dukiejay]

Originally posted by Crank_it_loud:
AZ
UNC
Wichita State
UK
Gonzaga
Duke
Nc State
MSU

I think Wisc-UNC will be entertaining, but the Badgers just seem like the more disciplined and fundamental team. For as much as they think Oregon melted down yesterday --- and to an extent they did --- Wisconsin hit some big shots at winning time.

Paige will have to have a 20-25+ scoring night, IMO, to give them a chance....much like Young from Oregon had last night.

 

[VaBlueDevil33]

Midwest Region

Notre Dame over Wichita State(Should be a heck of a game)
Kentucky over West Virginia(could be alot closer than alot of people think)

West Region

Wisconsin over North Carolina(Smarter team will prevail)
Arizona over Xavier(Widcats very talented team)

South Region

Gonzaga over UCLA(Bruins magical run ends right here)
Duke over Utah(We look focused so let's keep it rolling)

East Region

NC State over Louisville(Louisville can't shoot,,,,NCState can)
Oklahoma over Michigan State(Sooners win a close one)

 

[FearTheBeard]

Wichita St.
Kentucky
Wisconsin
Arizona
Gonzaga
Duke
Louisville
Izzo

 

[DiehardDukeFan4Life]

Midwest
Kentucky
Notre Dame

West
Wisconsin
Arizona

East
NC State
Michigan State

South
Duke
Gonzaga

On a side note: I wish it was UNC and Louisville playing each other instead of NC State and Louisville in the Sweet 16 that way the "hypothetical all ACC Final Four" could happen without UNC being one of the ACC teams to make the Final Four.

 

[Tim1515]

I would love to see Wichita St play Kentucky after last year. They were better then Kentucky last season and lost...if nothing else it would be cool to see them take a shot at returning the favor.

 

[OldasdirtDevil]

Midwest
Wichita State
West Virginia

West
Wisconsin
Arizona

South
Gonzaga
Duke

East
Louisville
Oklahoma

OFC

 

[JCColsCane]

Senior moment event happened, will try again, right after my nap at the keyboard!!! Sorry, you will be old some day.


JC-OFC
This post was edited on 3/26 10:39 AM by JCColsCane

 

[JCColsCane]

Sorry for the mistake, hosed up the previous post. Let's try again.

Midwest Region
Wichita State over Notre Dame.....Just like the way the Shockers are playing right now. Van Fleet and Baker are the better guard combo.
West Virginia over Kentucky.....Had this one when I saw the brackets come out. If WVU plays their best, they can pull this off. Their pressure is devastating and they really crash the boards. Only problem is, they have now started "trash talking" and we all know the consequences of that. WVU is also very inconsistent and are capable of playing badly, due to a lack of discipline.

West Region
Wisconsin over UNC.....Much more disciplined team in Wisky, and UNC is also very inconsistent and impatient.
Arizona over Xavier.....Arizona is relentless and have the inside out play to beat anyone, + a terrific defense.

South Region
Duke over Utah.....Duke has been relentless since the Tourney started and have decided to talk on "D". When they talk, switch, and help, they are virtually unbeatable. Their offense feeds off of the "D".
UCLA over Gonzaga.....Shot in the dark here, but UCLA is playing better, and feeding off of the "not supposed to be here".

East Region
Louisville over NC State.....Tough one to pick since both are very inconsistent, but Louisville has the better "D" and seem to be shooting a little better. Don't like either team and wish they could both lose!
Michigan State over Oklahoma.....Really would like to go with Oklahoma here, and if they were to play their best, they will win this game. Problem is, they look great at times and can beat anyone, but they also look like a HS team at times. You just don't know which one will show up.

Go Duke!!


JC-OFC