- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 404,889
- Reaction score
- 43
There aren't too many different flavors in the Sweet 16.
Only four conferences are represented. It's the first time in NCAA tournament history the Sweet 16 is made up of all power conference teams. The lowest seed left after No. 10 Arkansas' all-time collapse on Thursday is No. 6 Ole Miss, which takes on No. 2 Michigan State on Friday as an underdog.
However, the favorite-heavy first weekend does lead to one of the strongest sets of Sweet 16 matchups you'll find. Every game has a brand-name program and hopefully that leads to more competitive matchups this weekend. Here are the picks for the Friday's Sweet 16 games, with all odds from BetMGM:
(All times Eastern.)
Ole Miss was one of the teams that just needed to get out of SEC play. The Rebels looked a lot better than their 10-8 conference record would indicate in beating North Carolina and Iowa State. They are capable of winning this game. But, at the end of the day, the Spartans are playing well and we all know their track record in the NCAA tournament. You're unlikely to regret blindly taking Tom Izzo in March.
Tennessee lost twice to two teams this season. Florida, which had a great case to be the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, beat the Volunteers two times. As did Kentucky, which beat Tennessee 78-73 in Knoxville and 75-64 in a rematch at Lexington two weeks later. Is it a case of Tennessee not matching up well against the Wildcats? Kentucky hit 50% of its 3-point attempts in each game against Tennessee, which will be tough to replicate a third time. It's a tough call because Tennessee is the better team and favored for a reason, but obviously Kentucky isn't going to be intimidated in this one.
Auburn was one of the dominant teams in the sport through most of the season. But the Tigers that earned the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament haven't been that great lately. Auburn lost three of its last four games before the tournament, wasn't dominant against No. 16 seed Alabama State in the first round and trailed Creighton at halftime in the second round. Maybe the second-half surge against Creighton, which led to Auburn winning and covering, was the sign of them getting out of that malaise. But it still doesn't seem like this should be tied for the largest spread of the Sweet 16. The Wolverines are playing well enough to trust they can keep it close.
Houston shouldn't be pleased with the selection committee. First, the committee missed seeding Gonzaga as a No. 8, when the Bulldogs' metrics showed they were much better than that. That led to Houston having by far the toughest second-round matchup of the No. 1 seeds. Houston survived that game, but now has to face Purdue in Indianapolis, about an hour bus ride for the Boilermakers. Simply, it's a mistake by the committee to give a No. 4 seed what amounts to a home game in the Sweet 16. Houston is good enough to overcome that disadvantage and beat the Boilermakers, perhaps even covering the spread. But it doesn't make it right.
Continue reading...
Only four conferences are represented. It's the first time in NCAA tournament history the Sweet 16 is made up of all power conference teams. The lowest seed left after No. 10 Arkansas' all-time collapse on Thursday is No. 6 Ole Miss, which takes on No. 2 Michigan State on Friday as an underdog.
However, the favorite-heavy first weekend does lead to one of the strongest sets of Sweet 16 matchups you'll find. Every game has a brand-name program and hopefully that leads to more competitive matchups this weekend. Here are the picks for the Friday's Sweet 16 games, with all odds from BetMGM:
(All times Eastern.)
No. 2 Michigan State (-3.5) over No. 6 Ole Miss, 7:09 p.m. Friday
Ole Miss was one of the teams that just needed to get out of SEC play. The Rebels looked a lot better than their 10-8 conference record would indicate in beating North Carolina and Iowa State. They are capable of winning this game. But, at the end of the day, the Spartans are playing well and we all know their track record in the NCAA tournament. You're unlikely to regret blindly taking Tom Izzo in March.
No. 3 Kentucky (+4.5) over No. 2 Tennessee, 7:39 p.m. Friday
Tennessee lost twice to two teams this season. Florida, which had a great case to be the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, beat the Volunteers two times. As did Kentucky, which beat Tennessee 78-73 in Knoxville and 75-64 in a rematch at Lexington two weeks later. Is it a case of Tennessee not matching up well against the Wildcats? Kentucky hit 50% of its 3-point attempts in each game against Tennessee, which will be tough to replicate a third time. It's a tough call because Tennessee is the better team and favored for a reason, but obviously Kentucky isn't going to be intimidated in this one.
No. 5 Michigan (+8.5) over No. 1 Auburn, 9:39 p.m. Friday
Auburn was one of the dominant teams in the sport through most of the season. But the Tigers that earned the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament haven't been that great lately. Auburn lost three of its last four games before the tournament, wasn't dominant against No. 16 seed Alabama State in the first round and trailed Creighton at halftime in the second round. Maybe the second-half surge against Creighton, which led to Auburn winning and covering, was the sign of them getting out of that malaise. But it still doesn't seem like this should be tied for the largest spread of the Sweet 16. The Wolverines are playing well enough to trust they can keep it close.
No. 1 Houston (-7.5) over No. 4 Purdue, 10:09 p.m. Friday
Houston shouldn't be pleased with the selection committee. First, the committee missed seeding Gonzaga as a No. 8, when the Bulldogs' metrics showed they were much better than that. That led to Houston having by far the toughest second-round matchup of the No. 1 seeds. Houston survived that game, but now has to face Purdue in Indianapolis, about an hour bus ride for the Boilermakers. Simply, it's a mistake by the committee to give a No. 4 seed what amounts to a home game in the Sweet 16. Houston is good enough to overcome that disadvantage and beat the Boilermakers, perhaps even covering the spread. But it doesn't make it right.
Continue reading...
