Sweet 16 Preview

UPDATE: The Friday Sweet 16 previews are now up. We were 4-4 in our picks yesterday, by the way (h/t myself).

The NCAA Tournament's first weekend was, in a word, uneventful. While teams like Memphis and Pitt and Louisville all received early round scares, the first two rounds of the greatest spectacle in sports left us with a chalky Sweet 16. Each of the top three seeds won two games for the first time since the tournament expanded to 64/65 teams. Two regions had their top four seed make the Sweet 16, also a first. The other two teams to make the second weekend - fifth seed Purdue, who was a preseason favorite in the Big Ten, and twelfth seed Arizona, who is making their 25th straight tournament appearance.

To some, the first weekend was a bust. But what the this year's version of the dance lacks in cinderellas, upsets, and buzzer beaters, it makes up for with dynamite Sweet 16 match-ups.

So without further ado, here is your Sweet 16 preview:

Best Match-up, Storyline: We could go with Eric Devendorf and inundation of hate/anti-hate he has gotten in the last few days, but I feel like we've written about that before. We could go with UConn and the distractions they are going to face heading into their date with Purdue tomorrow, but the tournament is supposed to be college hoops bliss, not a reminder of how unethical and corrupt the landscape of college athletics has become. We could even go with the fact that there are seven coaches remaining who have a national title on their resume (two of whom, Tim Izzo and Bill Self, are squaring off) or that Taylor King transferred from Duke to Villanova during the off-season, but that bores us.

So we will go with this: Sean Miller vs. Pitt. Miller ran the point for Pitt from 1987-92 before graduating and joining the coaching ranks. But Miller is also one of the hottest coaching commodities this side of Anthony Grant. Do we dare mention that Miller is considered by many to be the heir to the throw at Pitt whenever Jamie Dixon decides to move on? Apparently, we do. Boom.

Best Match-up, Stylistically: This one is easy. Villanova versus Duke. Both teams are loaded with perimeter talent, both teams love to spread the floor, and both play a tough, pressuring style of defense. We originally had Nova winning this game, but at the last minute went with Duke because, among other things, we were swayed by an article talking about offensive efficiency and tournament success. It was 2 am, and for the record, I regret the decision after seeing Texas come within two borderline foul calls of having a shot at the end of regulation to beat Duke and seeing Villanova pummel three-time Final Four participant UCLA.

Best Match-up, Mano-a-Mano: There are some intriguing match-ups all over the Sweet 16 landscape (C-Bud#34 vs. T-Will, DeMarre Carroll/Leo Lyons vs. Shawn Taggart/Robert Dozier, anyone on UNC vs. anyone on Gonzaga), but the best is going to be Sherron Collins going up against Kalin Lucas. Lucas (the Big Ten player of the year) and Collins (the Big XII player of the year had Blake Griffin gone pro) are both scoring point guards that can also distribute. Lucas is lightening quick with the ball in his hands, especially in transition, and can get around even some of the best defenders. Collins is a broader, stronger player with the ball that can over power smaller guards. It should be fun watching these two go at each other all game. And yes, I know mano-a-mano means hand-to-hand, not man-to-man.

Best Match-up, Just Because: I don't know why, but I cannot wait for the Memphis-Missouri match-up. Maybe it is all the athletes in the game. Maybe it is because perennial powerhouse Memphis is playing newcomer Missouri. Maybe it is the contrasting, but tough nonetheless, defensive styles (Missouri playing their 40 minutes of hell defense while Memphis plays the best half court defense in the country). I don't know, I'm just pissed that this game is on at the same time as Duke-Nova.

He is your Sweet 16 schedule of games and announcers (follow the links for a preview of the games):

- Thursday, 7:07 PM, West Region: #5 Purdue vs. #1 UConn - Dick Enberg, Jay Bilas
- Thursday, 7:27 PM, East Region: #4 Xavier vs. #1 Pitt - Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery
- Thursday, 9:37 PM, West Region: #3 Missouri vs. #2 Memphis - Enberg, Bilas
- Thursday, 9:57 PM, East Region: #3 Villanova vs. #2 Duke - Lundquist, Raftery

- Friday, 7:07 PM, Midwest Region: #12 Arizona vs. #1 Louisville - Gus Johnson, Len Elmore
- Friday, 7:27 PM, South Region: #3 Syracuse vs. #2 Oklahoma - Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg
- Friday, 9:37 PM, Midwest Region: #3 Kansas, #2 Michigan State - Johnson, Elmore
- Friday, 9:57 PM, South Region: #4 Gonzaga vs. #1 UNC - Nantz, Kellogg Continue reading...

Xavier vs. Pitt Sweet 16 Preview

Why Xavier Can Win: The Musketeers match-up very well with the Panthers up front. Jason Love, Kenny Frease, and Derrick Brown provide enough muscle to, in theory, bang with DeJuan Blair and company. Pitt, and Blair specifically, dominates teams on the glass. But Xavier is also one of the best in the country, out rebounding their opponent's by an average of 8.5 rpg. The Musketeers will also have an experience edge over the Panthers. X has reached the Elite 8 twice in the previous five NCAA Tournaments, including last season. Pitt was bounced in the second round last year, and hasn't reached an Elite 8 since 1974.

Why Pitt Can Win: Pitt has built a national reputation on their tough defense and tenacious work on the glass, and as such have beaten teams this year that play the same way (ask UConn). Xavier is also a team that relies on tough defense and board work in order to win games. Pitt has trouble with teams that can spread them out and force DeJuan Blair to defend on the perimeter. Frease and Love are not going to be playing all that much on the perimeter. Terrell Holloway and Dante Jackson are not exactly stars at the offensive end, and defending them in the pick-and-roll is probably not costing Jamie Dixon any sleep. The other reason Pitt can win is that they have a great point guard, a great scorer on the wing, a dominant big man on the interior, a number of excellent role players and a great coach. They truly are a complete team, and will be scary if they can put it all together.

Key To The Game: DeJuan Blair's fouls. It has been said so many times, but Pitt loses when Blair is in foul trouble because that they are simply not the same team without him on the floor. As I said, Xavier does not have many players that are going to force Blair to defend on the perimeter, so X is going to have to get the ball into the paint (either via penetration or a post touch) and go aggressively to the rim if they want to get the big guy out of the game.

BIAH Pick: Pitt. I just don't think X has enough this year.

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Purdue vs. UConn Sweet 16 Preview

Why Purdue Can Win: Defense. The Boilermakers are one of the best defensive teams in the country. I don't say that because of stats, and I don't say that because hype, I say that from watching them play. There may not be a more fundamentally sound defensive team in the country than Purdue. There also may not be a coach better at putting together a game-plan defensively than Matt Painter. Every one on this team, especially the guys on the perimeter, can play lockdown defense. The best of the bunch is Chris Kramer, who was the Big Ten's defensive player of the year in '08 (and may have repeated this year had he not been injured). Among other impressive performances, he held Steph Curry to 5-26 shooting and 13 points in December. The only guy on UConn that can penetrate and create a shot is AJ Price. If Kramer can keep him in check, the Huskies may struggle to put points on the board.

Why UConn Can Win: Size and athleticism. Purdue is not all that big and not all that athletic, especially along their front line. The opposite is true for the Huskies. Stanley Robinson, Jeff Adrien, Hasheem Thabeet - these guys are big, they're strong, and they're aggressive going to the glass. Purdue gave up 14 offensive rebounds in both of their games with Michigan State, and the Huskies are bigger and more athletic than MSU. Purdue struggled down the stretch against an athletic Washington team, so JaJuan Johnson, Robbie Hummell, and Keaton Grant are going to need to play very big if they want to have a shot at springing the upset.

Key To The Game: You mean besides avoiding the distractions of yesterday's Yahoo! report? This game is going to be close. Yes, UConn has been blowing out opponent's so far in this tourney, but Purdue is just too good defensively to get run off the court like that. Anyone that watched the Cuse-UConn 6 OT thriller can attest to the fact that the Huskies struggle to get big baskets, especially against good defensive teams (the Orange didn't lead until the sixth OT, but UConn could not put them away). If this game is close down the stretch, UConn is going to have to find some way to score, especially if Kramer is hounding Price.

BIAH Pick: UConn. Their size is just going to be too much.
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