March Madness predictions 2022: Predicting every Sweet 16 game
March Madness resumes on Thursday night with the beginning of the Sweet 16. Here are predictions for all eight games in the next round.
March Madness has lived up to its name as the road to the Sweet 16 was littered with upsets and shocking moments. Saint Peter’s became just the third 15-seed to ever reach the Sweet 16 while Mike Krzyzewski’s quest to go out on top stayed intact as the Blue Devils rallied late to survive an upset bid from Michigan State on Sunday.
There are eight games on tap on Thursday and Friday to help set the stage for Elite Eight action over the weekend. Let’s take a look at each Sweet 16 game and project the most likely winner.
March Madness: Sweet 16 Predictions for Thursday, March 24
West Region: No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 4 Arkansas – 7:09 p.m. ET on CBS
Gonzaga has had a rough time in its first two games but found a way to advance thanks to some excellent work from Drew Timme, who has scored 57 points in the first two rounds. The depth of the Bulldogs’ roster is also a tremendous advantage against Arkansas, who struggled to get past a pair of double-digit seeds and won their first two games by a combined nine points.
The Razorbacks will try to slow down the fast-paced Gonzaga offense by playing bully ball against the Bulldogs. Unfortunately for Eric Musselman’s team, the Bulldogs are big enough to bully Arkansas right out of the tournament.
Prediction: Gonzaga
South Region: No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 11 Michigan – 7:29 p.m. ET on TBS
The Wolverines caught fire in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament thanks to huge performances from Hunter Dickinson. The sophomore big man has dominated on the interior, delivering 27 points and 11 rebounds on Saturday to help Michigan upset Tennessee to get to this point.
Villanova has a ton of firepower at its side, however, and has shown an ability to win both higher scoring and lower scoring games in the tournament. That doesn’t fare well for Michigan, which will need to produce more points in order to keep up with the Wildcats than they might be capable of at the moment.
Prediction: Villanova
West Region: No. 2 Duke vs. No. 3 Texas Tech – 9:39 p.m. ET on CBS
The highlight of the night is this game which sees Duke’s explosive offense go up against Texas Tech’s smothering defense. The Blue Devils showed some tremendous guts with their late rally against Michigan State, perhaps indicating that a very young team has matured at the most important point of the season.
Texas Tech dominated its first-round matchup but had to fight tooth and nail to get past a scrappy Notre Dame team on Sunday, struggling to get the ball in the basket. Defense does travel well, however, and the white knuckler will prove to be enough to help the Red Raiders send Krzyzewski into retirement with a close win.
Prediction: Texas Tech
South Region: No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 5 Houston – 9:59 p.m. ET on TBS
The nightcap in the South Region is fantastic as Houston looks scary good right now. The Cougars have been playing without two key starters for months but absolutely demolished UAB and Illinois to put the country on notice that they are more than capable of getting back to the Final Four.
Arizona did struggle with TCU in the Round of 32 but their talent did rise to the occasion as Benn Mathurin put the Wildcats on his back down the stretch to help steal a win. Starting slow against Houston wouldn’t be advised but the Wildcats’ wakeup call against the Horned Frogs serves them well here.
Prediction: Arizona