The first two rounds of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament have been completed and the madness continues this weekend with the Sweet Sixteen bracket filled out.
Who will continue their run into the Elite Eight and eventually the Final Four?
Oregon versus Michigan
When: 10:09am Friday 24th March
Where: Sprint Center – Kansas City, MO
Michigan is another team who looks to continue an unlikely run after being forced to wear practice jerseys through early March after their plane skidded off of its runway. The scary incident hasn’t appeared to have affected the Wolverines too much with a one-point victory over Oklahoma State in the first round and a strong second-half rally boosting Michigan over #2 seed Louisville on the back of a career high 26 points from forward Moritz Wagner.
Oregon presents a difficult challenge for the Wolverines however with the Ducks outlasting a courageous and talented Rhode Island team in the second round. Sophomore talent Tyler Dorsey lead the Ducks with 27 points and a clutch three-pointer with 38 seconds left ultimately proving the difference.
Michigan will have to come up big on defence to stop an explosive Ducks offense that can hit from behind the arc.
Gonzaga v West Virginia
When: 10:39am AEDT Friday 24th March
Where: SAP Center – San Jose, CA
Gonzaga overcame a late charge by the heroic Northwestern Wildcats to punch their ticket into the Sweet Sixteen. Przemek Karnowski, the big Bulldogs very big Polish big man became one of the NCAA’s winningest player tying NCAA and NBA champion Shane Battier’s record of 134 career wins.
Karnowski will be looking to continue his winning form with the Bulldogs against a scrappy West Virginia team that prides itself on its strong defence.
The Mountaineers affectionately known as ‘Press’ Virginia throughout the season have shown they belong in the Sweet Sixteen edging out Bucknell in the first round before a dominating performance against Notre Dame, sending the Fighting Irish home for a delayed St Patrick’s Day celebration.
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins provides plenty of entertainment on the sidelines in his own right but if the Mountaineers can keep the ball out of the Bulldog’s hands their offense is more than capable of providing some entertaining basketball.
Should West Virginia progress to the Final Four the Mountaineers will play at the University of Phoenix Stadium, which will hold around 73,000 fans, more than doubling the entire 30,000 population of the Mountaineers home in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Kansas v Purdue
When: 12:39pm AEDT Friday 24th March
Where: Sprint Center – Kansas City, MO
Two superstars will go head to head in what is set to be the clash of the tournament so far. Frank Mason III of Kansas will face up against a hot Caleb Swanigan and the Purdue Boilermakers.
Both players have been named finalists for the Naismith player of the year award and Swanigan will be looking to continue his domination of the paint, notching 12 rebounds in a close 80-76 win over Iowa State with the big fella also contributing 20 points and 7 assists.
The Boilermakers will need to limit turnovers however, with Mason and the Jayhawks sure to punish any mistakes. With superstar Frank Mason III on the team, it’s easy to forget Josh Jackson, the freshman star coming off a outstanding performance against Michigan State in the second round scoring 23 points to ensure the convincing win 90-70.
Xavier v Arizona
When: 1:09pm AEDT Friday 24th March
Where: SAP Center – San Jose, CA
Fantastic coaching from Xavier head coach Chris Mack lead to an absolute domination of the hapless Florida State team which failed to show any real fight or willingness to play proper basketball, propelling the Musketeers to the Sweet Sixteen with all the confidence in the world.
Xavier limped their way into the Tournament but have since shown they are more capable of making a deep run into the month of March. Xavier have a well rounded team with solid players across the court in Trevon Bluiett, Sean O’Mara and Kaiser Gates and will need a good performance from all three to get past an incredibly good Arizona team.
Tipped by many to make a deep run before the Tournament began, the Wildcats haven’t lost since February and were able to close out the win against a scrappy St Mary’s team that failed to go down quietly to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. This fantastic match-up is just another on the slate of games that will make for very entertainment viewing.
UNC v Butler
When: 10:09am AEDT Saturday 25th March
Where: Fedex Forum – Memphis, TN
North Carolina kept it close against Arkansas, a tip in from Kennedy Meeks with less than a minute left saw the Tar Heels go on to win 72-65 in what was a very entertaining game. Meeks scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against the Razorbacks. North Carolina will need to be far more clinical offensively than what they showed in the second round to get past a good Butler team.
The Bulldogs were tested early by Middle Tennessee before pulling away with a 74-65 victory, ending the Blue Raiders’ entertaining run.
The Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the floor, however, the step up in competition from their early rounds to the Tar Heels is dramatic. The Bulldogs beat Villanova twice earlier in the season so they aren’t new to knocking off outstanding teams, but will need to shut down Meeks and Joel Berry II to have a chance against Roy William’s men.
Baylor v South Carolina
When: 10:29am AEDT Saturday 25th March
Where: Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
Baylor edged out a spirited comeback by the comeback kings in the USC on the back of a second half run of 7 points in just 12 seconds and ending what started as an unlikely run for the valiant Trojans after playing into the tournament in the First Four.
Baylor will again be looking for a dominating performance off the bench from Terry Maston who scored an equal team high of 19 points off the back of 9 rebounds. Baylor will need star Johnathan Motley to stay out of foul trouble, the dominating big man also contributing 19 points.
If your bracket wasn’t completed busted by now chances are South Carolina’s conquest of Duke has confirmed it. The Gamecocks seemed to be incapable of missing and never really looked like losing in a chirpy game, Sindarius Thornwell dropping 24 to sink Coach K’s men.
Played only 100 miles from South Carolina’s campus the Gamecocks closed out a defining win resulting in the first Sweet Sixteen visit in school history. Baylor will have to stop Thornwell and limit high percentage looks to have any chance of toppling a hot South Carolina offense.
UCLA v Kentucky
When: 12:39pm AEDT Saturday 25th March
Where: Fedex Forum – Memphis, TN
UCLA have superstars all over the court in Lonzo Ball, T.J Leaf and Thomas Welsh and will face a true test in the Kentucky Wildcats after comfortable first and second rounds win over Kent State and a solid Cincinnati side respectively.
The Bruins will have to avoid a slow start against a Kentucky side that has seen closer finishes in the first two rounds than they probably would have liked against Northern Kentucky and a thrilling 65-62 victory of Wichita State. The Wildcats will need star Malik Monk to continue his season domination scoring over 30 points on 3 occasions so far this season. If Kentucky can get their offense going this match-up will be very entertaining.
Wisconsin v Florida
When: 12:59pm AEDT Saturday 25th March
Where: Madison Square Garden- New York, NY
Wisconsin showed a blatant disregard toward just about everybody’s bracket with a 65-62 win over overall #1 seed Villanova and will be looking to limit Florida’s offense with the same aggressive defence that crippled the defending national champions. Stopping Florida on the offensive side of the ball will prove no easy task however, in what is set to be a fantastic defensive match-up.
If Wisconsin crippled Villanova offensively, there’s no words for what the Gators achieved limiting Virginia to just 39 points to reach the Sweet Sixteen for the fifth time in the last seven seasons. Look out for Florida sophomore KeVaughn Allen currently averaging 13.4 points.
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