- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 392,451
- Reaction score
- 43
Two more wins, and it’s on to San Antonio.
Missouri basketball’s tournament is long since over, but the event marches on. The NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 games will be played over the course of Thursday and Friday, and the Elite Eight games are set for Saturday and Sunday.
No mid-major teams made it to the second weekend this season, meaning March Madness is missing a little bit of its usual upset flavor. The benefit of more games going chalk than not, however, is that there are some dreamy matchups on deck. Tigers or no Tigers, it’s a good time to use those sick days.
Which teams pick up two wins this weekend to earn a trip to the Final Four? Here's our picks:
South Regional (Atlanta): This is perhaps the most open regional remaining. 5-seed Michigan is on a hot streak with a Big Ten title in hand, and No. 1-overall seed Auburn hasn’t quite looked like the powerhouse it once was. Ole Miss, a 6-seed, made light work of North Carolina and Iowa State, and 2-seed Michigan State owns the third best adjusted defensive efficiency rating in the country over the past month, per Bart Torvik. Two close Sweet 16 games here would not be too much of a surprise.
But, Tom Izzo’s Spartans are a couple wins away from sending the veteran head coach to his ninth Final Four, which only an elite crew of former head coaches have achieved. We're not betting against MSU to get there over Auburn, if the Tigers don't get back to where they were before March.
∎ Prediction: Michigan State
West Regional (San Francisco): This year’s Cinderella is … John Calipari? Sure. The 10-seeded Razorbacks knocked off Kansas and St. John’s to reach the Sweet 16, and Calipari’s team now will face 3-seed Texas Tech for a matchup in the Elite Eight with either 1-seed Florida or 4-seed Maryland, which provided the first true buzzer-beater of the tournament in a controversial win over Colorado State.
Don’t overthink this one: No team in the country, save perhaps Duke, is playing better than the Gators, which fought off UConn in a tremendous second-round game to book their spot out west. Texas Tech is the likeliest opponent, and the Red Raiders are an offensive juggernaut, but Florida is operating a cut above any other team. If that happens, Missouri can still claim it’s the only team that beat the Gators at home or on a neutral court this season, too.
∎ Prediction: Florida
East Regional (Newark): Nobody has made March look more simple than 1-seed Duke to date with a 67-point differential over their opening two games. But, a couple of mouthwatering matchups await Cooper Flagg and the Blue Devils. Caleb Love and 4-seeded Arizona are first in the Sweet 16, and, yes, that’s the same Love who Mizzou chased on multiple occasions. Potentially the game of the tournament is on deck with 6-seed BYU and 2-seed Alabama set to pit their high-flying offenses against one another.
We could be looking at three extremely close games in this regional, but there’s no sense in ignoring what our eyes are telling us when it comes to this region's 1-seed.
∎ Prediction: Duke
More: Missouri basketball transfer portal tracker: Here’s who is in, out for Mizzou
More: First Missouri basketball player enters the transfer portal: Forward Aidan Shaw
Midwest Regional (Indianapolis): This region has gone chalk so far, with the 1-4 seeds all set to match up in the Sweet 16. It’s 1-seed Houston versus 4-seed Purdue, and 2-seed Tennessee versus 3-seed Kentucky. If those games continue to run down their seed line, then the Cougars and Vols will match up in the Elite Eight in what may be one of the best defensive duals of the year.
We could see Houston and Tennessee suffocating their openings in the Sweet 16, and it’s anybody's guess for a spot in the Final Four. After a lot of back and forth trying to predict this region …
∎ Prediction: Tennessee
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Which teams will be Final Four bound after Sweet 16, Elite Eight?
Continue reading...
Missouri basketball’s tournament is long since over, but the event marches on. The NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 games will be played over the course of Thursday and Friday, and the Elite Eight games are set for Saturday and Sunday.
No mid-major teams made it to the second weekend this season, meaning March Madness is missing a little bit of its usual upset flavor. The benefit of more games going chalk than not, however, is that there are some dreamy matchups on deck. Tigers or no Tigers, it’s a good time to use those sick days.
Which teams pick up two wins this weekend to earn a trip to the Final Four? Here's our picks:
Predictions: Who will make NCAA Tournament Final Four?
South Regional (Atlanta): This is perhaps the most open regional remaining. 5-seed Michigan is on a hot streak with a Big Ten title in hand, and No. 1-overall seed Auburn hasn’t quite looked like the powerhouse it once was. Ole Miss, a 6-seed, made light work of North Carolina and Iowa State, and 2-seed Michigan State owns the third best adjusted defensive efficiency rating in the country over the past month, per Bart Torvik. Two close Sweet 16 games here would not be too much of a surprise.
But, Tom Izzo’s Spartans are a couple wins away from sending the veteran head coach to his ninth Final Four, which only an elite crew of former head coaches have achieved. We're not betting against MSU to get there over Auburn, if the Tigers don't get back to where they were before March.
∎ Prediction: Michigan State
West Regional (San Francisco): This year’s Cinderella is … John Calipari? Sure. The 10-seeded Razorbacks knocked off Kansas and St. John’s to reach the Sweet 16, and Calipari’s team now will face 3-seed Texas Tech for a matchup in the Elite Eight with either 1-seed Florida or 4-seed Maryland, which provided the first true buzzer-beater of the tournament in a controversial win over Colorado State.
Don’t overthink this one: No team in the country, save perhaps Duke, is playing better than the Gators, which fought off UConn in a tremendous second-round game to book their spot out west. Texas Tech is the likeliest opponent, and the Red Raiders are an offensive juggernaut, but Florida is operating a cut above any other team. If that happens, Missouri can still claim it’s the only team that beat the Gators at home or on a neutral court this season, too.
∎ Prediction: Florida
You must be registered for see images attach
East Regional (Newark): Nobody has made March look more simple than 1-seed Duke to date with a 67-point differential over their opening two games. But, a couple of mouthwatering matchups await Cooper Flagg and the Blue Devils. Caleb Love and 4-seeded Arizona are first in the Sweet 16, and, yes, that’s the same Love who Mizzou chased on multiple occasions. Potentially the game of the tournament is on deck with 6-seed BYU and 2-seed Alabama set to pit their high-flying offenses against one another.
We could be looking at three extremely close games in this regional, but there’s no sense in ignoring what our eyes are telling us when it comes to this region's 1-seed.
∎ Prediction: Duke
More: Missouri basketball transfer portal tracker: Here’s who is in, out for Mizzou
More: First Missouri basketball player enters the transfer portal: Forward Aidan Shaw
Midwest Regional (Indianapolis): This region has gone chalk so far, with the 1-4 seeds all set to match up in the Sweet 16. It’s 1-seed Houston versus 4-seed Purdue, and 2-seed Tennessee versus 3-seed Kentucky. If those games continue to run down their seed line, then the Cougars and Vols will match up in the Elite Eight in what may be one of the best defensive duals of the year.
We could see Houston and Tennessee suffocating their openings in the Sweet 16, and it’s anybody's guess for a spot in the Final Four. After a lot of back and forth trying to predict this region …
∎ Prediction: Tennessee
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Which teams will be Final Four bound after Sweet 16, Elite Eight?
Continue reading...
