Tonight's Games:
#3 Marquette (25-8, 14-4 Big East) vs. #2 Miami (FL) (29-6, 15-3 ACC) @ 7:15 on CBS
Road to the Sweet 16:
Marquette: Defeated #14 Davidson 59-58 and #6 Butler 74-72
Miami: Defeated #15 Pacific 78-49 and #7 Illinois 63-59
Both teams were on the verge of elimination over the weekend with Marquette struggling in both of their games and Miami having trouble with Illinois. I don't think Marquette is as good as their record says they are. Outside of Vander Blue I'm not impressed with any of Marquette's other players. They would have been eliminated in the round of 64 if it hadn't been for Blue's late bucket against a Davidson team that let him get right to the basket.
I think the small-big combo of Shane Larkin and Kenny Kadji will be too much for the Golden Eagles to handle. The son of the former Cincinatti Reds great has made a name for himself all season and has helped give his school's basketball program the much needed attention it received all season. This game should be close for a majority of the game, but I think towards the end Miami will pull away with Vander Blue not being able to carry his team on his shoulders for a third game in the tourney.
My Prediction: #2 Miami (FL) win 70-62
#6 Arizona (27-7, 12-6 Pac-12) vs. #2 Ohio State (28-7, 13-5 Big Ten) @ 7:47 on TBS
Road to the Sweet 16:
Arizona: Defeated #11 Belmont 81-64 and #14 Harvard 74-51
Ohio State: Defeated #15 Iona 95-70 and #10 Iowa State 78-75
Arizona has played very impressively this entire tournament and am really starting to worry about picking Ohio State in the Final Four. Arizona and the rest of the Pac-12 have played well the entire tournament as a slap in the face to the NCAA Selection Committee. This is definitely the marquee match-up of the West bracket as whichever team comes out of this game will be the favorite in their Elite 8 game on Saturday.
As well as Arizona has been playing I just think Ohio State is the better team. Deshaun Thomas will likely lead the Buckeyes in scoring as he has done all season, but I'm expecting the play of the pesky Aaron Craft to be the game-changer. Craft had a huge game for Ohio State in the round of 32 as he hit the game-winner with less than a second left on the clock. Craft has come up big all season on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. If the Buckeyes are to advance it will be because of him.
My Prediction: #2 Ohio State win 83-79
#4 Syracuse (28-9, 11-7 Big East) vs. #1 Indiana (29-6, 14-4 Big Ten) @ 9:45 on CBS
Road to the Sweet 16:
Syracuse: Defeated #13 Montana 81-34 and #12 California 66-60
Indiana: Defeated # 16 James Madison 83-62 and #9 Temple 58-52
A couple of months ago this game could have looked like a possible championship match-up. If not for the Orange struggling in the later part of the season in the always strong Big East that still could have happened. A lot of the attention about Syracuse's team this surrounded point guard Michael Carter-Williams this season with C.J. Fair in the shadows. Fair in my opinion has been the Orange's best player all season and always seems to make the big basket when necessary. Carter-Williams might be a lottery pick in the NBA Draft in June, but as far as the most important player to this Syracuse team it's definitely C.J. Fair.
The big three of Cody Zeller, Victor Oladipo and Christian Watford are why Indiana contended all season. Zeller and Oladipo have gotten most of the attention while Watford has taken a backseat. Oladipo and Zeller are two of the best players in the country this season and a potential match-up with Kansas in the Final Four could be huge. Match-ups between Zeller and Jeff Withey as well as Oladipo and Ben McLemore would really help determine who the the best big man and best guard in nation currently are.
Oladipo has been the Hoosiers lockdown defender all season and has usually ended up guarding the other teams best guard. With him having his hands full with Carter-Williams and Triche I think Zeller will have to step up on the offensive end if the Hoosiers are going to be victorious. This and Kansas-Michigan game will likely be the two to watch the next two days. This one will be close but I'm not picking against Jimmy Chitwood yet.
My Prediction: #1 Indiana win 75-73
#13 La Salle (24-9, 11-5 Atlantic 10) vs. #9 Wichita State (28-8, 12-6 MVC) @ 10:17 on TBS
Road to the Sweet 16:
La Salle: Defeated #4 Kansas State 63-61 and #12 Ole Miss 76-74
Wichita State: Defeated #8 Pittsburgh 73-55 and #1 Gonzaga 76-70
The people that decide when games will be airing on television knew what they were doing with this match-up. It is definitely by far the least sexy game of the week which is why the game is the last to air on Thursday night. Neither team is likely to be in most people's sweet 16 so most people will likely avoid watching this game tonight. Nothing against either team, but even in the press conferences yesterday players on both teams didn't know where the other school was located.
Both teams have played impressively thus far in the tournament. Neither team had dominant seasons in their conferences with La Salle earning one of the last at-large bids for the tournament and Wichita State failing to stay consistent in a rather weak conference this season. I figured both teams would've been knocked out in the first round and am shocked to see them both here in the sweet 16. I've seen very little of both but Wichita State has been more impressive up to this point. I'm expecting the Shockers to advance.
My Prediction: #9 Wichita State win 74-70
