With a ton of time on my hands today I have been making up from time away from my blog all day. Today I will be giving you my preview and some keys points to the Sweet Sixteen matchups for Thursday night. It should be a good night!
#1 UNC/#4 WASHINGTON ST 7:25 - Like most people I do believe that the Tarheels should have no problem winning this game, but I think that it might be closer than many think. What is weird to me is that the Cougars usually play close games but through the first two rounds they have outscored their opponents 103-52. If they want any chance to keep this game close they will have to make the Tarheels play their type of game and their defense, which has been great, has to be better if that is possible. The Tarheels are playing the best ball right now with Ty Lawson looking like himself at the point. I like the Tarheels to win and move on in the East Region but the Cougars will keep it within 8 throughout.
#3 XAVIER/#7 WEST VIRGINIA 7:10 - There is no question that the Xavier Musketeers have been the class of the Atlantic 10 and have been in the AP top 25 all year, but I still see some question marks and if there is anyone that will exploit the questions with smart players it's a Bob Huggins squad. He has never had many "smart" kids on his team, so with a team like this one I really like their chances. Their rebounding is absolutely incredible to go along with a great perimeter defense. On top of that the Mountaineers have had a different kid along side of Joe Alexander every night step up. Xavier needs a great floor game from Drew Lavender and my key to the game will be Xavier shooting vs. WV's defense. I like West Virginia in this game, I just like the way they have been playing and it is not at all like other Huggins' squads. This team is pretty special and with Alexander shooting well this will be a tough team to stop.
#1 UCLA/#12 W. KENTUCKY 9:40 - I really don't think that the Bruins will be looking past anyone the rest of the tournament run, so don't expect them to even be watching the Xavier/WV game before theirs. The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers have given us the best drama thus far with them being a 12 seed and beating 5 seeded Drake at the buzzer in overtime. There is no question that the Hilltoppers can shoot the rock, and if it wasn't for a guy named Curry from Davidson, Tyrone Brazelton would be the talk of the tournament. He is the key to keep them close, but after the the Bruins close call verses Texas A&M I don't believe this one will be close. UCLA will beat the Hilltoppers and unfortunately I think that it won't be close at all.
#2 TENNESSEE/#3 LOUISVILLE 9:57 - The game of the night features two schools who really love to run. I am definitely going to take a nap after work to stay up for this one. I really don't know why this was given the last game of the night but oh well I am going to have to suck it up. While the Cardinals have been really impressive against Boise St. and Oklahoma, Tennessee has had a tough time dealing with American and Butler. This revolving point guard situation for the Volunteers is not looking good and something is going to need to be done by Thursday night. I would just have Chris Lofton run the point and use a motion offense to keep the ball moving as well as him. My key to the game is will David Padgett stay out of foul trouble with the physical Volunteer big men as well as the point guard situation. If Tennessee can get these two things done they will win big. But, if they continue to play undisciplined basketball and allow Louisville to get easy baskets it will be a early season for Tennessee. This is a tough game to pick because either one can win this in a blow out, but since I need Tennessee to keep winning for my bracket I am going to pick the Vols to win in another overtime game and go on to face UNC.
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