The first of the Sweet 16 teams will be crowned on Saturday. Some teams will consider that achievement just a step towards a much larger goal. Others will consider their trip to the Sweet 16 all the accomplishment they could have hoped for. Either way, you can bet there will be lots of good basketball to go around.
12:10PM, CBS - (14) UAB vs. (11) UCLA - In one of the more surprising Round of 32 match-ups, UAB will take on UCLA. The Blazers needed to get hot in the Conference USA Tournament to even get their NCAA Tournament bid, but after their upset of Iowa St. they are in position to get back to the Sweet 16. UCLA was involved in the most controversial game of the Tournament so far. The goaltending call on Bryce Alford's three pointer was questionable, but that's in the past now. The Bruins are looking to make back-to-back appearances in the Sweet 16 for the first time since '07-'08.
2:40PM, CBS - (8) Cincinnati vs. (1) Kentucky - Cincinnati got all they could handle from Purdue in what was one of the better games from the first round. The Bearcats will need to bring the fight they had in that game to the game against Kentucky if they have any chance. And even that might not be enough. Kentucky is a special team, and Cincinnati would need to play a nearly perfect game to get the win.
5:15PM, CBS - (10) Ohio St. vs. (2) Arizona - Ohio St. has one of the best Freshman, and players, in the country in D'Angelo Russell. He will need a big game if the Buckeyes are going to knock off Arizona. The Wildcats haven't lost since February 7 and are coming off a 21 point win over Texas Southern.
6:10PM, TNT - (14) Georgia St. vs. (6) Xavier - Georgia St. pulled off an amazing comeback victory over Baylor in the first round. Xavier won fairly comfortably over Ole Miss. The Musketeers should have the advantage here, but Baylor learned that you can't count out Georgia St. The Sun Belt Champs won't be an easy out.
7:10PM, TBS - (8) NC State vs. (1) Villanova - It seemed like picking the Wolfpack to upset Villanova was a popular choice on Selection Sunday. After Villanova's performance in the first round, people may have reconsidered. Nova crushed Lafayette, while NC State struggled at times with LSU. The Wolfpack did comeback and win the game on a last second shot, but they will need to play better if they are going to survive and advance again.
7:45PM, CBS - (5) Utah vs. (4) Georgetown - We wrote on this blog about how much we liked Stephen F. Austin and Eastern Washington. Oops. Utah and Georgetown dismissed both of those teams and now face each other in an interesting 4/5 game. If the Hoya team from the first half against EWU show up, it will be a great game. If the second half Hoyas are playing, Utah could run away with it.
8:40PM, TNT - (5) Arkansas vs. (4) North Carolina - Both Arkansas and North Carolina were tested in their first round match-ups. Arkansas escaped Wofford and North Carolina held on to beat Harvard. This game should be fast and fun. Expect both teams to run and score in transition.
9:40PM, TBS - (6) Butler vs. (3) Notre Dame - The ACC Tournament Champions looked a little rusty against Northeastern. Still, at the end of the day they advanced. They get Butler now who escaped Texas to get to this point. Butler was probably not a pre-season choice to be playing in the second weekend of the Tournament, but they have been proving people wrong for years. Don't expect either team to pull away by much in this one.
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