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NCAA Tournament 2017: Sweet 16 Watchability Rankings

By Will Schreefer

Feb 1, 2017; Pullman, WA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Lonzo Ball (2) walks off the court after a win against the Washington State Cougars at Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum. The Bruins won 95-79. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 1, 2017; Pullman, WA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Lonzo Ball (2) walks off the court after a win against the Washington State Cougars at Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum. The Bruins won 95-79. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports /
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Ranking the eight Sweet 16 matchups in order of how much the casual fan will enjoy watching them.

The madness of the first weekend is over. A sleepy first round of games gave way to a Round of 32 that torched four of the twelve top-3 seeds, and gave legitimate scares to the rest. But now that the field has been whittled down to 16 teams from 64 it’s time to recalibrate how we watch March Madness.

The great part of the first four days is that you rarely have to settle for boring basketball. If one game turns into a blowout, two more are usually tipping off within the hour. You can flit from game to game, searching out the best stories and most likely upsets. Rarely are you stuck watching teams — or basketball — you don’t want to.

It changes in the Sweet 16. With only four games happening each day — two of them at about the same tipoff time — you need to become more discerning. Is it really worth staying up til midnight to watch Xavier (probably) get blown out by Arizona? Do you really want to watch two slow-paced, defense-first grind each other into dust on a Friday night? These are the questions we’re here to help you answer.

Without further ado: presenting the Sweet 16 watchability rankings.

Sweet 16
Mar 18, 2017; Buffalo, NY, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Nigel Hayes (10) reacts in the second half against the Villanova Wildcats during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /

8. Wisconsin-Florida (Friday, 9:59 PM ET tipoff)

This is the worst of a good bunch — it’s tough to go too wrong watching Sweet 16 games. The talent and pressure are ratcheted up, and every game is bound to have something fun for a real college basketball fan. We can’t all be them, though, and if you’re not big on the sport, Wisconsin and Florida is one to skip.

The calling card for both teams is defense. Florida has the third-best defense in the country, per KenPom, and is coming off a game against Virginia where they allowed 39 points. For the entire game. Wisconsin is at seventh in the country for defense, and they combined their prowess on the defensive end with a painfully slow tempo — one of the 10 slowest in the country.

While Wisconsin’s finishing touch to the upset against Villanova was certainly thrilling, don’t let that distract you from the fact that the game saw just 58 possessions. The AVERAGE game usually has more like 67. Ugh. Expect more of the same on Friday night — Wisconsin bleeds clock like Virginia, and you saw how that turned out against Florida last game.

Combine it with the 10:00 p.m. tipoff on a Friday night, and you’ve (hopefully) got better things to do. Leave this one for the Wisconsin and Florida fans, and check back in on the winner for the Elite Eight game.

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