Sweet 16 preview: A quick look at Thursday's 4 games
The Sweet 16 gets started Thursday night with four games, two No. 1 seeds, one of the four double-digit seeds still standing and Mike Krzyzewski.
Krzyzewski’s pending departure has been a big storyline all season, and it obviously has gotten ramped up during the NCAA tournament because Duke’s next loss is his final game as a coach.
Here’s a quick look at each Sweet 16 game, with two in the South Region and two in the West (including Duke’s matchup with Texas Tech).
South Region
No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 11 Michigan
Location: AT&T Center, San Antonio
Time/TV: 7:29 p.m., TBS (livestream info is here)
Announcers: Brian Anderson play-by-play, Jim Jackson analyst
How they got to the Sweet 16: Villanova def. No. 15 Delaware 80-60, def. No. 7 Ohio State 71-61; Michigan def. No. 6 Colorado State 75-63, def. No. 3 Tennessee 76-68.
The line: Villanova by 5
The buzz: The health of Michigan starting PG DeVante’ Jones remains a big storyline. True freshman Frankie Collins has performed ably in Jones’ absence, and one positive is that Villanova’s guards aren’t as pesky defensively as Tennessee’s Zakai Zeigler. But Villanova’s guards are bigger and will look to post up; in addition, the Wildcats are both proficient and efficient from 3-point range, and that figures to cause some issues for the Wolverines. Michigan needs a big game from Hunter Dickinson, but that’s the case every game. He dominated Tennessee’s bigs. How much success will he have against Villanova’s frontcourt, which is smaller than the Vols’ but, overall, more talented? Moussa Diabate is another big body Villanova has to worry about. In a lot of ways, this is Michigan’s size vs. Villanova’s backcourt. Don’t forget that Villanova is deadly from the line; the Wildcats hit 82.6 percent of their free throws, which would be an NCAA single-season record.
No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 5 Houston
Location: AT&T Center, San Antonio
Time/TV: 9:59 p.m., TBS (livestream info is here)
Announcers: Brian Anderson play-by-play, Jim Jackson analyst
How they got to the Sweet 16: Arizona def. No. 16 Wright State 87-70, def. No. 9 TCU 85-80 (OT); Houston def. No. 12 UAB 82-68, No. 4 Illinois 68-53.
The line: Arizona by 1.5
The buzz: Arizona looked beatable for about eight minutes against woefully undermanned Wright State, then for much of the game against TCU, especially down the stretch.The Wildcats are big and athletic, but also inexperienced. Houston is experienced and physical, and the physicality Arizona saw against TCU is going to be ramped up against the Cougars. Houston’s defense gets all the attention, but the Cougars are an extremely effective offensive team, mainly because they pound the offensive glass. Worth noting: Memphis, which is big and athletic, swept the season series with Houston and did a good job of keeping Houston off the offensive boards. Arizona isn’t bad itself on the offensive boards. Arizona figures to get good production from Bennedict Mathurin — genuine stars tend to get theirs in big games — but also needs big-time production from 7-1 Christian Koloko. He has had three consecutive double-doubles after having just seven double-doubles in the first 33 contests. Koloko especially has to do good work on the boards. Houston struggles from the free-throw line (66.9 percent, 312th nationally in the regular season).
West Region
No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 4 Arkansas
Location: Chase Center, San Francisco (livestream info is here)
Time/TV: 7:09 p.m., CBS
Announcers: Jim Nantz play-by-play, Grant Hill and Bill Raftery analysts
How they got to the Sweet 16: Gonzaga def. No. 16 Georgia State 93-72, def. No. 9 Memphis 82-78; Arkansas def. No. 13 Vermont 75-71; def No. 12 New Mexico State 53-48.
The line: Gonzaga by 9.5
The buzz: To be truthful, Gonzaga hasn’t looked like an overall No. 1 seed except for spurts against Georgia State and Memphis. The Zags were outplayed in the first half of both games; if that happens against the Hogs, they’ll be going home. Arkansas’ defense can be stifling. But Gonzaga’s size should be a real problem for Arkansas, on both ends of the court. The Hogs don’t shoot the 3-pointer all that well and rely on scoring in the paint; that’s hard to do against Gonzaga because of Chet Holmgren and Drew Timme. And Arkansas has just one player, 6-11 Jaylin Williams, taller than 6-7 who sees time. Williams needs to do yeoman work on the boards and provide at least a modicum of offense — all while avoiding foul trouble. Arkansas certainly doesn’t mind a fast pace, but the Zags thrive in an up-and-down game, so that’s something to watch.
No. 2 Duke vs. No. 3 Texas Tech
Location: Chase Center, San Francisco
Time/TV: 9:39 p.m., CBS (livestream info is here)
Announcers: Jim Nantz play-by-play, Grant Hill and Bill Raftery analysts
How they got to the Sweet 16: Duke def. No. 15 Cal State Fullerton 78-61, def. No. 7 Michigan State 85-76; Texas Tech def. No 14 Montana State 97-62, def. No. 11 Notre Dame 59-53.
The line: Texas Tech by 1
The buzz: Duke’s players have to play with the pressure knowing that their next loss ends coach Mike Krzyzewski’s career. Will Texas Tech’s Mark Adams be the last coach to beat Krzyzewski? Adams’ team is, by kenpom.com metrics, the most efficient defense in the nation; the Red Raiders create a bunch of turnovers, play solid defense on the perimeter and grind away on you in the paint. Thus, it’ll be Tech’s elite defense against Duke’s elite offense. The status of Duke’s A.J. Griffin, one of the nation’s top 3-point shooters, is big; he injured his ankle and missed the final eight minutes of the victory over Michigan State. If he can’t go or is hampered, C Mark Williams’ offensive contributions become more important. He has had back-to-back 15-point games, only the eighth time this season he has had as many as 30 points in back-to-back outings. Paolo Banchero (17.0 points per game) and Wendell Moore (13.5 ppg) figure to get theirs; it’s vital that a third Blue Devil step up, especially if Griffin can’t play. Texas Tech doesn’t do much from 3-point range offensively and can be sloppy with the ball. But the Red Raiders do a good job in the paint and from mid-range, and hit the boards hard.