NCAA Tournament: Sweet 16 preview

BY KEVIN NIELSEN

sportsnet.ca

There are probably a third of you out of contention already in your NCAA brackets, possibly more if you listened to my pre-tournament predictions (and for that I apologize), but there are still plenty of reasons to watch all of the action this weekend even if you struggled in your office pool.

The drama was relentless on opening weekend as brackets were busted left and right and the Canadian contingent, once 20 strong, has been whittled down to two. Richmond’s Francis-Cedric Martel and Marquette’s Junior Cadougan both remain alive heading into the Sweet 16.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at Thursday and Friday’s games:

Thursday:

Connecticut vs. San Diego St.

UConn coach Jim Calhoun is not exactly Mr. Personality but his teams always perform at a high level and this year’s team is playing its best basketball at the right time.

The Huskies won five games in five days to win the Big East tournament and with superstar Kemba Walker at guard, anything can happen.

The problem is that after Walker, the team has little offence to speak of and a good team with a solid coach could shut him down.

The San Diego St. Aztecs may not be that team. With former Michigan head coach Steve Fisher he’s rarely coached his teams to play above expectations. His only championship came in 1989, and he was coaching someone else’s players.

This is a game of the chicken vs. the fox and we all know how that plays out.

BYU vs. Florida

The fiancée suggested that we name our firstborn Jimmer Nielsen. I personally want to name our first child LeSean since I think that would stun some teachers. That being said, I could imagine that the name Jimmer could become very popular with Mormons over the next few years if Jimmer Fredette can carry BYU deep into the tourney.

It was believed that the loss of Brandon Davies would be crippling for the Cougars but they easily handled Wofford and Gonzaga over the weekend.

Now, BYU will run into their toughest test when they take on the mighty Florida Gators. The Gators are deep and experienced and their coach, Billy Donovan, is one of few coaches remaining in the tournament who have led squads to back-to-back titles.

Keep an eye on back-up freshman forward Patric Young. He is a rim rocker who usually contributes at least one monster dunk every game. He will be a serious force one day.

Duke vs. Arizona

Duke — the team everyone loves to hate. They are seemingly always in contention and their fans are obnoxious as can be. Alright — the Blue Devils disclaimer is officially out of the way.

They are the defending champs and should easily roll past Arizona but the Wildcats have the potential top pick in Derrick Williams, who might be the most exciting player in the tournament. He rises up for his dunks like Shawn Kemp.

Arizona also has a great young coach in Sean Miller. He recruits well and his Xavier teams always played above their capabilities.

Duke also has an excellent coach in Mike Krzyzewski and freshman point guard Kyrie Irving has a legitimate shot to be the top pick in the draft. Irving has rarely played this season so we shall see if he can shake off the rust or not.

Butler vs. Wisconsin

I am praying that Butler can pull off another upset and dispose of the Badgers.

Two words perfectly describe Wisconsin: Boring! I know that is only one word but it’s worth two in trying to describe how boring this team is. They scored less than 40 points in a Big 12 tournament game. Bo Ryan is a great tactician but watching his teams is akin to drinking a bottle of Nyquil.

As for Butler, this is a team I really believed would miss 2010 hero Gordon Hayward but they are veteran team who knows how to get the job done. It has been a treat to watch the awkward stylings of Matt Howard in the paint for the Bulldogs.

Friday:

Marquette vs. North Carolina

It was a tough start to the season for North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes. After being voted as a pre-season All American, many expected Barnes to be the second coming of Michael Jordan, but after a slow start, he was universally bashed. To Barnes credit, he worked on his game and has completely turned his game around over the last couple months of the season.

Much like Barnes, the Tar Heels also struggled for the first half of the season until they installed another freshman, point guard Kendall Marshall, in their starting line-up and that really turned things around.

The Golden Eagles of Marquette have a mountain to climb when they face Carolina but they already climbed a couple of hurdles last weekend. Heading into the tournament, Marquette was believed to be the 11th-best team out of the Big East but now, nine are gone and Marquette still remains.

I give the edge to UNC based on talent but will be rooting for Marquette because of their Canadian content and who doesn’t love rooting for the dog.

Kansas vs. Richmond

The path is clear for the Kansas Jayhawks to reach the Final Four but can they take advantage of being in the upset bracket?

A year ago, they were pre-tournament favourites but flamed out on opening weekend. They have climbed that hurdle this year but just because their region is full of double-digit seeds doesn’t mean it will be a cakewalk for them.

The Richmond Spiders have won nine straight since a loss to Temple on Feb. 17 and have already knocked off No. 5 Vanderbilt before destroying Morehead St.

The Spiders have likely completed their Cinderella Story as they don’t have the horses to keep up with the powerful Jayhawks frontcourt. The Morris twins, Marcus and Markieff, team up with Thomas Robinson to provide a stout force inside.

Ohio St. vs. Kentucky

This battle puts the best team in the tournament against what may be the most-talented team. Two members of the Kentucky Wildcats could be first round picks, including Terrence Jones and Brandon Knight. That would immediately lead you to favour Kentucky, but they will struggle to hang with Ohio St, who is more experienced and more cohesive.

As well, the Buckeyes have a pair of players who could be first round picks in Jared Sullinger and William Buford. The beastly power forward (Sullinger) is vying to be the top pick in this year’s NBA draft.

Wildcats coach John Calipari is a legendary roll-out-the-ball coach who has few peers when it comes to recruiting but has failed to win championships with some of the most talented teams in the nation.

That being said, Buckeyes coach Thad Matta is also a stellar recruiter and may not be much better than Coach Cal as he has failed to win a title despite having top-five recruiting classes consistently since he arrived in Columbus.

I would guess the Kentucky will give the Buckeyes a game early but eventually lose by double digits.

VCU vs. Florida St.

Virginia Commonwealth. Who saw this coming? After playing in one of the first round games as one of the last teams admitted to the tournament, the Rams proceeded to destroy Georgetown and then simply demolish Purdue.

The Florida St. Seminoles were another major surprise on opening weekend. They play stifling defense and have some NBA talent on their roster but so did the Hoyas and Boilermakers.

FSU has been installed by Vegas odds makers as a four-point favourite. which has been growing. After watching VCU in the opening weekend, I am stunned that this spread was not a little bit tighter.