Mar 22, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Isaiah Cousins (11) reacts during the second half against the Dayton Flyers in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports
How are your brackets? In just 96 hours, we went from 64 teams all the way down to 16. And yes, I watched all 48 of the games. So I have no life. Don’t judge. I can assure you that I am not the only one that did the same thing. I am convinced that DVR’s were invented for the NCAA Tournament and the rest of the uses are just collateral damage.
What this does is keep me alive in the round-by-round picks. Whoever came up with this way to keep people in interested in the tournament after their bracket is long shredded deserves some recognition. And it gives me another reason to make some more predictions.
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So far I am 35-13 with the round by round picks, which is not terrible considering how badly I did on Thursday. This is much easier than the football picks! Then again, I’m not picking these games against the spread either.
Here we go with the rest of the Sweet Sixteen predictions! In case you missed it, here are the Thursday games.
EAST REGION:
Stormin in Norman
(3)Oklahoma vs. (7)Michigan State at Syracuse, NY:
Oklahoma got rid of a pesky Dayton team with defense and the sharpshooting of Frank Booker off the bench. Buddy Hield was cold once again for the Sooners, but he was nearly perfect from the line, as was Jordan Woodward. The Sooners were 9-18 from beyond the arc. That great shooting propelled them to victory.
Branden Dawson was a beast in the middle for Michigan State. The Spartan defense tied up an offensively challenged Virginia team to begin with. They got virtually no help from guards Malcolm Brogdon (3-12) and London Perrantes (2-10). The Cavaliers as a whole shot just 29.8% from the field and a putrid 2-17 from beyond the arc. Michigan State shot 50% from downtown and 42.5% from the floor. That allowed them to control the game after gaining an early lead.
Buddy Hield is going to have a tough time getting going against this defense. The Spartans are not someone you want to go against when you are in a shooting slump. The Sooners are going to need Ryan Spangler and TaShawn Thomas to contain Branden Dawson without getting into foul trouble.
The chances of both teams shooting like they did in the second round are slim to none against the respective defenses. Michigan State did pretty well against a tough Virginia defense, so they may have a slight advantage there. Oklahoma’s guards are going to have to knock down open shots and make the extra pass; something that they have done well all season. That could be the difference in the game. Pick: Oklahoma
Betsided
(4)Louisville vs. (8)North Carolina State at Syracuse, NY:
Louisville flat out beat Northern Iowa. The Panthers had one of their worst shooting nights of the year, shooting just 39% from the field and 32% from three. Louisville had one of their best nights, going 46% from the floor and beyond the arc. UNI couldn’t stop Rozier and Harrell. Even though this Louisville team looks a little different than last year, the formula is the same: play good defense and shoot good shots. They were falling on Sunday.
North Carolina State didn’t just beat Villanova, they dominated the game! The final score doesn’t show it, but they took the lead early and never relinquished it. They ran it to double digits a couple of times. Much like Louisville did to UNI, the Wolfpack held Villanova to just 31% shooting and 32% from behind the arc. They outrebounded them by a large margin and hit 45% of their shots. Abu and Freeman did a great job on Ochefu. He only went 1-7 from the floor. Abu also had more offensive rebounds (6) than any Villanova player had besides Ochefu.
Louisville and NC State played back on Valentine’s Day in Louisville. The Wolfpack won that game 74-65. It was the guard play that put the Wolfpack over the top. Anthony Barber, Trevor Lacey, and Ralston Turner all scored in double figures. They held Harrell to seven points on 1-5 shooting and Rozier to seven points on 3-11 shooting. If they can do that again, NC State will be one step closer to the Final Four as an eight seed again! Pick: North Carolina State
Next: South Region
Mar 22, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils center Jahlil Okafor (15) celebrates with Duke Blue Devils forward Justise Winslow (12) during the second half against the San Diego State Aztecs in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
SOUTH REGION:
Go Joe Bruin
(1)Duke vs. (5)Utah at Houston, TX:
Duke came out full throttle against the Aztecs, and led by double digits before the first TV timeout. San Diego State never recovered. The Aztecs were abused by Jahlil Okafor on the interior. He went 12-16 from the floor, finishing with 26 points. Justise Winslow posted a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Utah used great shooting from the floor (58%) and three point range (57%) to take down Georgetown. Their perimeter defense was also pretty good. D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera was 0-7 from downtown and held to just 12 points on 6-15 shooting. Isaac Copeland’s three point shooting and L.J. Peak on the inside kept the Hoyas in the game, but they couldn’t slow the Utes down. The only thing they can say is that they didn’t let Delon Wright (2-7 for 12 points) beat them. Utah had five guys in double figures, and used contributions from each at different points of the game.
For the first time since February 25th, Duke will be forced to leave the state of North Carolina. While that may have some impact, Utah is going to have trouble controlling both Okafor and Winslow. Jacob Peotl has good size and is a strong defender, but Jordan Loveridge is more of a stretch-four type. He is not built for the beating on the interior.
Delon Wright needs to have a big game on both ends of the floor to keep Utah in this. They are going to have trouble scoring on the interior, and they need to stop Tyus Jones and Quinn Cook. Somehow Utah needs to limit the damage from Okafor and Winslow. It would take a nearly perfect game by Utah on both ends of the floor to spring the upset. Pick: Duke
Busting Brackets
(2)Gonzaga vs. (11)UCLA at Houston, TX:
There was no hope for Iowa keeping up with Gonzaga. Their outside shooting (10-16 from three) and 62% from the floor sank the Hawkeyes. This is nothing new for Gonzaga; they were the best shooting team in college this year. Kyle Witjer was 10-12 from the floor, and 4-6 from three en route to 24 points. Iowa got production from Aaron White and Jarrod Uthoff (39 points combined) on the interior, but they were unable to hit the outside shots to keep this game close.
The one team that didn’t deserve a tournament bid according to most experts, and myself, is the only double digit seed still alive. Of course, the Bruins got a big of a break when UAB won a street brawl with Iowa State, but all that matter are wins and losses. And UCLA didn’t lose. They survived Robert Brown’s 25 point effort, but they never let William Lee get going. He did have ten points, but only six rebounds. Meanwhile, Tony Parker was a dominant force in the post for the Bruins, scoring 28 points and hauling in 12 rebounds. All of the rest of the starters were in double figures as well. Bryce Alford wasn’t quite as hot as he was against SMU, but he still poured in 22 points on 6-13 shooting.
UCLA is one of the few teams that can hang with the Bulldogs as far as scoring goes. They won’t stop Gonzaga’s shooters, but Alford and Powell can keep them in it from the outside. They need Parker and Looney to be forces in the middle the same way that Uthoff and White were for Iowa. That said, I don’t think there is any way that UCLA shoots 60% from the floor against Gonzaga. They need to find some way to cool off the Bulldogs’ hot hands to have a chance. Pick: Gonzaga
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I will be back with the Elite Eight previews later this week!
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