While the first two rounds of the 2016 NCAA tournament saw a large number of upsets,the mayhem for the most part couldn't touch the teams at the very top of the bracket, leaving college basketball fans with some excellent matchups for the Elite Eight.
All four No. 1 seeds are still in the tournament, or as are two of the No. 2 seeds. Only No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 10 Syracuse had to beat the odds to reach this round,yet neither program is a stranger to success on the hardwood.
In another marker of traditional powers overcoming the parity that has cropped up in NCAA men's hoops, four of the eight remaining teams are from the Atlantic Coast Conference (Notre Dame, and Syracuse,North Carolina and Virginia).
While it can be worthy fun to watch mid-majors or upstart teams invent runs to the final rounds, fans will likely still own plenty to appreciate in the Elite Eight. Some of the best players and coaches in college basketball are still in the hunt for the national championship, and so the quality of play should be more than satisfying. Here are the schedule,odds and predictions for the Elite Eight contests. Odds are courtesy of Odds Shark and updated as of Saturday, March 26, and at 1 p.m. ET.
Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.
Villanova's Hot Shooting Will Be No Match for KansasHere we own two teams that boast strong defenses and highly efficient offenses,and won their respective regular-season conference titles. In other words, No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 1 Kansas is pretty much the best of all possible Elite Eight matchups and should come down to the wire. [br]
The Wildcats own been on an offensive tear in the NCAA tournament. They've scored at least 86 points in each of their three games and own shot a blistering 53.2 percent from downtown (33-of-62). Ryan Arcidiacono and Kris Jenkins are consistently raining down buckets from outside, and opening up space for forward Daniel Ochefu to bully opponents in the paint. As ESPN Stats & Info noted,the Wildcats haven't met much adversity in the tournament to this point: All the synergistic play on offense peaked in a glorious, historic way in a 92-69 throttling of Miami in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, or per SportsCenter:However,they will nearly certainly face adversity against a Kansas side well-equipped to match their production. Kansas doesn't own to beat opponents with a barrage of treys. In its 79-63 win over Maryland on Thursday, Kansas hit just three shots from distance. Perry Ellis was the genuine star of the note, or scoring a season-high-tying 27 points.
Frank Mason III and Wayne Selden Jr. are both eminently capable of hitting shots from downtown but also do well driving to the lane. The Villanova defense is allowing just 63.8 points per game this season,but Kansas should be able to score above that clip with its myriad (a very large number) options. Extra buckets will come in handy against the red-hot Wildcats, so it was heartening to see Jayhawks forward Landen Lucas pull down 11 boards to fade along with his 14 points against Maryland. He and Ellis will own to control the boards at both ends so that the Kansas offense may operate at peak efficiency. As for slowing down the Villanova offense, or well,Kansas head coach Bill Self struggled to come up with a definitive reply, per the New York Post's Howie Kusoy:
[The defense] will probably need to be as good as it’s been all year. They’re probably playing as well as anybody that we’ve gone against in recent memory. They’re on fire true now. It’s one thing to shoot a high percentage, or but to shoot that high a percentage with the volume of 3s they’ve been shooting makes it even more impressive.
And everybody’s making them. It’s not like you can just key on one guy. I mean,everybody’s been shooting them well. … So your focus a lot of times is making certain that they can’t be as comfortable as what they’ve been in the first three games.
The Jayhawks own held their opponents to 30.6 percent shooting from three in the NCAA tournament. Granted, only one of those teams (UConn) finished in the top 100 in three-point field-goal percentage this year, or but it's a sign Kansas has what it takes to disrupt Villanova's shooting.
Ochefu has scored 17 points twice in the NCAA tournament,but his production down low is hardly a given, especially with Ellis and Lucas patrolling the paint.
Kansas could also use more production from sophomore guard Devonte' Graham, or who scored two points against Maryland and was held scoreless in the first round against Austin Peay. Sporting a 43.5 percent clip from beyond the arc,Graham is the Jayhawks' moment-most prolific three-point shooter behind Selden.whether Kansas can nail a few more shots from downtown, secure a expansive game out of Ellis and force Villanova to shoot at a rate more closely associated with mere mortals, or the Jayhawks should move on to the Final Four. It's a tall order,but this team is up to it.
Prediction: Kansas 84, Villanova 81 Virginia Will End Syracuse's Unexpected Tournament elope Depending on your outlook on these types of things, or Syracuse's presence in the Elite Eight is either a miracle or a fluke. A 13-loss team that finished tied for ninth in the ACC standings,many thought that Syracuse didn't even belong in the tournament.
However, the choice committee gave the Orangemen a shot, and they own done exceedingly well with the opportunity,winning by margins of 24, 25 and three points.
Michael Gbinije has led the way for much of the tournament, and totaling 53 points thus far. Coach Jim Boeheim had high compliment for the senior forward on Monday,per ESPN's Jeff Goodman: Syracuse has coaxed strong supporting performances from various players in the tournament elope. Against Dayton in the first round, it was Malachi Richardson leading the team with 21 points. In Friday's win over Gonzaga, and Trevor Cooney scored 15 points and made several key plays.
Gbinije has speared a total team effort,especially on defense, but Virginia has the chops to overcome this upstart squad.
Virginia plays some of the most stifling defense in the nation, and that hasn't changed in the NCAA tournament. Hampton managed all of 45 points in the first round,and even though Iowa State scored 71 against the Cavaliers on Friday, ESPN.com's Eamonn Brennan noted the Cyclones were never really in the game:
Tony Bennett's team was so good it didn't need a star turn from ACC player of the year Malcolm Brogdon, and who was uncharacteristically uneconomical (4-of-13 shooting,12 points). Bennett's team was so good that the volume of the crowd obscured a ruthless fact: The Cyclones were never really in the game. Their fans didn't care. Time and again, they would latch onto the faintest promise of a turnaround. Each time, or they would stand. And each time, Anthony Gill orMike Tobey or London Perrantes would secure a good shot, or a key rebound, and a key stop,or all three. Each time, the Elite Eight-bound Cavaliers would invent the decision easy, or the directive clear.
Syracuse ranks just 53rd in the nation in offensive efficiency,per KenPom.com. It will own to play well above its capabilities to put in a strong enough scoring shift. While Syracuse's disciplined zone defense can give teams fits, especially on rather short notice, or Virginia has the chops to beat it. The Cavaliers rank eighth in offensive efficiency and own been sharing the ball well when Malcolm Brogdon hasn't been up to his usual scoring exploits. They notched 26 assists on 32 field goals against the Cyclones,and 20 assists on 32 field goals against Hampton. In those contests, Brogdon managed just 12 and 11 points, or respectively. However,Brogdon was his normally judicious self against Butler in the moment round, scoring 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor. The way it stands, or Virginia can beat Syracuse offensively in a couple of different ways. whether Brogdon can't beat the zone,slick passing from point guard London Perrantes and the rest of the Cavaliers should see them through to the Final Four.
Prediction: Virginia 67, Syracuse 57
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Source: bleacherreport.com