March Madness predictions 2022: Predicting every Sweet 16 game

Sweet 16 Predictions for Friday, March 25

East Region: No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 15 Saint Peter’s – 7:09 p.m. ET on CBS

The Cinderella story of the tournament is Saint Peter’s, which stunned Kentucky and knocked off a very good Murray State team to get to Philadelphia. The Peacocks have simply executed their game plan and defended at a high level without being overwhelmed by the moment, a credit to head coach Shaheen Holloway and his staff.

The magic carpet ride will come to an end here, however, as Purdue simply has too much firepower for the Peacocks to stop. Zach Edey and Trevion Williams should feast against an undersized Saint Peter’s frontcourt.

Prediction: Purdue

Midwest Region: No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 4 Providence – 7:29 p.m. ET on TBS

KenPom has deemed the Friars the luckiest team in America and that luck continued in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Providence beat up on a pair of double-digit seeds to get to the Sweet 16 but they are taking a major step up in weight class against Kansas.

Bill Self’s team runs primarily a six-man rotation but all six players are extremely talented, as evidenced by sixth-man Remy Martin’s 20-point effort against Creighton in the Round of 32. The Jayhawks’ talent advantage takes hold here as Kansas sends Providence home in a rout.

Prediction: Kansas

East Region: No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 8 North Carolina – 9:39 p.m. ET on CBS

The highlight of Friday night’s slate is this blue blood battle in Philadelphia between UCLA and North Carolina. One of the most dominant teams in the tournament thus far has been the Tar Heels, who blew out Marquette and were on pace to do the same to Baylor before Brady Manek’s ejection led to a near-collapse.

UCLA has also been uneven in the tournament, struggling to get past 13-seed Akron before putting together an excellent effort against a very strong Saint Mary’s team in the second round. This game should be tight but UCLA’s perimeter firepower will be too much for North Carolina to stop.

Prediction: UCLA

Midwest Region: No. 10 Miami vs. No. 11 Iowa State – 9:59 p.m. ET on TBS

It would be shocking to find a bracket in the country that had Miami facing Iowa State in the Sweet 16. The Hurricanes have shown more high-end ability thus far thanks to a dominant performance against Auburn in the second round to earn their ticket to Chicago.

Defense has been the name of the game for Iowa State, which reached the Sweet 16 despite scoring just 113 combined points in their two wins. That level of offensive production simply won’t cut it as the Cyclones’ remarkable season ends here.

Prediction: Miami

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