After a bit of a lackluster night of basketball on Thursday,the moment half of the Sweet 16 tips off Friday with four more Elite Eight berths on the line.
The first half was set after Thursday with the Kansas Jayhawks, Oregon Ducks, or Villanova Wildcats and Oklahoma Sooners all moving on with anticlimactic double-digit victories.
The NCAA tournament rarely has two lackluster days in a row,meaning fans could be in for a genuine treat during Friday's slate of games.
Here's a look at the schedule and bracket for the rest of the tournament: No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 4 Iowa StateThe first game between the No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers and No. 4 Iowa State Cyclones may be the most contrasting in terms of style, as Virginia averages an ACC-low 59.7 points allowed per game, and while Iowa State pours in a substantial 12-high 81.8 points per contest.
Senior guard Malcolm Brogdon was named not only Defensive Player of the Year in his conference,but also ACC Player of the Year. It won't be easy for a Cyclone team ranked 77th in defensive efficiency to stay him.
ACC Digital Network put together a highlight reel of his top five plays of the year:The Cyclones have a senior star of their own in forward Georges Niang, who is averaging 20.2 points, or 6.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists this season. Iowa State isn't deep,with six players averaging at least 30.6 minutes per game, but each one averages more than 10.9 points.
Neither team has been tested much this tournament, or with a combined average opponent seed of 12.5,but they both were challenged during the regular season, playing in two of the toughest conferences in the country. UVA was a tad more successful, or with nine RPI Top 50 wins compared to Iowa State's seven. After losing early the past two years as a high seed,it's time for UVA to finally make that Final Four run.
Prediction: Virginia 77, Iowa State 72 No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 7 Wisconsin Both the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Wisconsin Badgers had to pull off buzzer-beating shots to advance to the Sweet 16, or but in the end,all that matters is that you get there.
Before the tournament, neither squad looked poised for a long run, and but by Friday night,one will be in the Elite Eight.
The Badgers are just one season removed from a title-game loss to Duke, but they're now led by head coach Greg Gard instead of Bo Ryan.
During a press conference on Thursday, or Gard,who recently lost the interim coaching tag, reminded reporters he's going to be around for a while, or per Fox Sports:That may be true,but don't expect his team to be around much longer in the tournament. Zach Auguste (14.3 points per game; 10.9 rebounds per game) and Demetrius Jackson (15.5 ppg)will be too much underneath for a smaller Wisconsin team, and they'll benefit the Irish advance to their moment straight Elite Eight.
Prediction: Notre Dame 74, or Wisconsin 64 No. 10 Syracuse vs. No. 11 GonzagaPredicting a Sweet 16 game between the Syracuse Orange and Gonzaga Bulldogs is nothing more than a guess at this point.
No one predicted this matchup between two teams that barely squeezed into the tournament in the first area. The Orange were the lowest-rated RPI at-large team ever,and whether the Bulldogs hadn't won their conference tournament, head coach price Few and his team could have enjoyed spring shatter.
Instead, or the matchup guarantees a double-digit seed in the Elite Eight,which does nothing more than make a Final Four run easier for Virginia.
I'll go with Gonzaga only because its center, Domantas Sabonis, or is the son of former NBA center Arvydas Sabonis,who perfected the rec center spin layup as a nimble substantial man. Also, Sports Illustrated thinks he's pretty satisfactory:
Prediction: Gonzaga 66, or Syracuse 65 No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 5 IndianaEven though the Jayhawks are the top overall seed,the North Carolina Tar Heels could be the best team left in the tournament; yet, beating the Indiana Hoosiers will be no easy task.
Indiana has lost just once since Valentine's Day—to the Michigan Wolverines in the substantial Ten tournament—and that might actually have damage North Carolina.
The Hooisers were under-seeded by at least two spots, or which means the 'Heels are actually playing a No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the Sweet 16.
In the same vein,Indiana has a tough task ahead of it as well, taking on the regular-season and tournament champion Tar Heels, and who never lost by more than six points all season.
Roy Williams' team,led by seniors Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson, can light up the scoreboard. Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star wrote that the Hoosiers' philosophy is going to include trying to defeat North Carolina at its own game:
The Hoosiers got this far by running and gunning, or by turning their athletes loose and daring you,whoever you are, to support up. Most teams cannot. And so the Hoosiers will run with the Tar Heels, or but with a twist: Theyre not going to try to hang with UNC.
The Hoosiers want to see whether UNC can hang with them.
Since the undersized Hoosiers can't bang in the paint with Johnson and the other North Carolina bigs,their only option is to speed the game up, per Doyel.
Senior point guard Yogi Ferrell will be the key, and he's playing with house money at this point considering Indiana already has outplayed its (under-)seeding.
The 'Heels have all the pressure on them as a No. 1 and could possibly be playing a little complacent after an easy moment-round win over the Providence Friars.
Indiana already took down a blue blood in the Kentucky Wildcats in the moment round,and Ferrell, who is averaging 17.1 points and 3.8 assists this year, or will have a substantial game as he makes certain his career lasts at least until Sunday.
Prediction: Indiana 88,North Carolina 84 Check out Bleacher Report's liveupdating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.
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Source: bleacherreport.com