Fansided

5 bold predictions for the Sweet 16

By Andrew Garda

Mar 22, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; Wichita State Shockers mascot and cheerleaders perform during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at CenturyLink Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 22, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; Wichita State Shockers mascot and cheerleaders perform during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at CenturyLink Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 22, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; Wichita State Shockers guard Tekele Cotton (32) passes the ball away from Kansas Jayhawks guard Frank Mason III (0) during the second half in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at CenturyLink Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 22, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; Wichita State Shockers guard Tekele Cotton (32) passes the ball away from Kansas Jayhawks guard Frank Mason III (0) during the second half in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at CenturyLink Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /

Wichita State will beat Notre Dame

Here’s a straight up prediction, how bold it is might depend on how much you believe in the Shockers.

Wichita State has been on my radar since they pounded Seton Hall last fall. Now, conference meltdowns aside, Seton Hall was playing well at the time and while I didn’t actually think they could go on the road to beat Wichita State, I came away impressed with what the eventual regular season Missouri Valley Conference Champions could do.

Aside from what I saw this season, the way the Shockers have been playing in the NCAA Tournament has been impressive and they look like a bad matchup for Notre Dame, which hasn’t been playing very good basketball in the tournament so far.

The Fighting Irish squeaked by Butler, while Wichita State decimated Kansas in the second half. While Wichita State is averaging 79.5 points per game, the Fighting Irish are totaling just 68 a game. While it’s only a two game sample in both cases, it’s also a huge gap.

Of course, the flipside of this is that Notre Dame has held their opponents to an even lower average, right? I don’t expect that to continue, not against a Shockers team which had all five starters reach double-digits against a good Kansas team, including Tekele Cotton who is much better known for his defense than his offense.

The more dangerous shooters are guys like Fred VanVleet, Ron Baker and Darius Carter. VanVleet has been especially hot, hitting 27 points against Indiana and 17 against Kansas.

Notre Dame can play tough defense and we’ve seen some good things from them. You don’t get to the Sweet 16 by collecting bottle caps, so you know they’re for real. However, the tournament has not shown them at their best.

In the last game against Butler, Notre Dame turned the ball over 13 times, which led to 12 points off those turnovers and they allowed the Bulldogs 11 second chance points. They were also outscored in the paint, 32-24.

Even in the win over Northeastern, Notre Dame had issues. Both teams scored 42 of their points from the paint, but while Notre Dame only turned the ball over 7 times they were outrebounded 33-17.

While by no means a sure thing, it seems to me as if the Shockers are in place for another victory Thursday night.

Next: Michigan State will upset Oklahoma

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