Sweet 16 Predictions

The first round of the the NCAA tournament went pretty much according to seeding with the exception of VCU and Winthrop who pulled of some upsets over higher teams. The games were pretty good but lacked some of the emotion and excitement that a typical first round has.

The Saturday and Sunday second round games were fantastic and full of dramatic finishes. It easily made up for any one's complaints about the first round. My bracket selections on Yahoo are turning out OK with all of my final eight teams still in the hunt with the exception of Villanova who exited the tournament earlier than I though they would. But enough with that...here are my predictions for the Sweet 16 games.

Florida vs. Butler
Butler has been very impressive in its first two games demonstrating that it can go on a tear at any time and fill the bucket in a hurry. I still think they do not have much of a chance against Florida unless they can jump out to an early lead and hope that the Gators get into foul trouble with their stars. I'm still waiting to see Joakim Noah really step up and show the emotion we saw last year. I predict Florida by 15 points.

Oregon vs. UNLV
This is potentially going to be the best matchup in the Sweet 16. I like the fact that Oregon has been playing so well and really took it to a very talented Winthrop team in their last game. They are a solid team but they have also been known to "not show up" in some games during the regular season. UNLV on the other hand has been pretty consistent and knocked off the #2 seed Wisconsin Badgers and were easily the better team in the game. Many are arguing that Wisconsin was a weak #2 seed and I agree in many respects but they were there for a reason. Although I have Oregon selected in my bracket...I didn't expect UNLV to play this well. For that reason I'm going to predict the #7 seed Runnin Rebels to shoot down the Ducks in this one. It will likely be close but I think that in the end if UNLV can get to the line...they'll pull away in the last few minutes.

Kansas vs. Southern Illinois
I was very unhappy to see Villanova drop out of the tournament to Kentucky in the first round as I think they were the only team with a legit chance to take down the Kansas Jayhawks early in the tournament. I also had Virginia Tech making it past the Salukis. I really blew this section of the tournament. Southern Illinois has played well...they can run...they play aggressive defense but they also turn over the ball a lot and that will cost them in this matchup. Kansas will move on to the next round with a fairly comfortable win. I don't think it will be a blowout...but it will be a comfy win for the Jayhawks.

Pittsburgh vs. UCLA
This is a game I'm really interested in seeing especially since I have UCLA predicted to win the whole thing. This will be a good game...UCLA is strong in every area of the game with no significant weaknesses but Pitt is a scrappy and hard working team that is able to grind out victories consistently. The key to a UCLA victory is to minimize the impact of Aaron Gray and Levon Kendall for Pitt. If they do this...they will win so I am predicting UCLA by 10 points or so with the game in the mid 70's.

North Carolina vs USC
I have been thoroughly impressed by the play of USC so far in the tournament so much so that I'm going to go out on a limb and predict a major upset taking the Trojans of the Tarheels. This again goes against my early bracket selections but I think UNC has been pretty casual so far and USC could be the team to surprise them. If USC can jump out to a lead..they will be hard to catch and after they easily took apart Kevin Durant and the Longhorns...they certainly could pull this one off. This is a risky prediction but it's a real possibility.

Georgetown vs. Vanderbilt
I have Georgetown making it to the Finals this year but I'm now wondering if that is really going to happen based on their last game in which they struggled against Boston College but came out on top. Vanderbilt is an interesting team that has played very well so far especially against Washington State but I think Georgetown should have this one. They are too strong at too many positions for the Commodores. How they play in this game will really decide how far they go....i know that sounds common sensical but if they struggle again i see them going out in either this round or the next but they still should get by Vandy.

Ohio State vs Tennessee
Another really good matchup here with the Volunteers playing phenomenal basketball and peaking at the right time of year. Ohio State has a great deal of expectation placed on them...especially their youngsters in Oden and Conley Jr. Greg Oden got into foul trouble last game and that really hurts the Buckeyes and if this is a close game..that could be big time trouble. I have only seen one game where Oden has fouled out though and I don't think it's a high percentage possibility to happen here. Ohio State should make it to the next round.

Texas A&M vs. Memphis
The Memphis Tigers have had a great season and are continuing to roll in the tournament. Nevada was a tough team from a pretty weak conference and Memphis took care of them. Now Memphis is the good team from a weaker conference when compared to the Aggies. Texas A&M beat up on a Louisville team that is offensively talented. They controlled the pace of the game and seem to be able to do that in pretty much every game they play. I predict Texas A&M to put an end to the Tigers' season in this round in a close and hard-fought game.