The Sweet 16 is nearing and the storylines are endless. For the second year in a row, there are no mid-majors playing in the second weekend. High Point and their point guard Rob Martin gave Arkansas all they could handle late Saturday night, but ultimately couldn’t finish the job. As the Sweet 16 takes place tonight, and tomorrow night, let's take a look at each region and the biggest storyline surrounding each of them.
East Region - The Region of Historic Coaches
The East Region semifinals and final will be played in Washington D.C. on Friday and Sunday night. In those Sweet 16 matchups, Duke will battle St. John’s and UConn will take on Michigan State.
Jon Scheyer vs. Rick Pitino. Dan Hurley vs. Tom Izzo.
This region features two Hall of Famers in Pitino and Izzo. Then Dan Hurley, who is looking for his third national title in the last four seasons at UConn. Finally, Coach K’s predecessor, Jon Scheyer, who has four tournament appearances; with a Final Four, and three ACC titles. These four coaches know nothing but winning. A possible Duke-Michigan State or St. John’s-UConn round four could be in store in the Elite Eight. Either way, one of these coaches will be adding yet another historic season to their historic careers. Duke will battle St. John’s first on Friday night at 7:10 p.m. Eastern, with UConn-Michigan State to follow.
South Region - Big Ten Country hits the Road in Houston
One of the biggest upset of this year’s tournament, so far, came in round two when No. 9-seed Iowa took down the defending national champion Florida Gators. Year one of the Ben McCollum era has been a smashing success with Iowa advancing to their first Sweet 16 since the year 1999. Who do they match up with? The Nebraska Cornhuskers. Who, by the way, got their first ever tournament win against Troy in round one. They followed it up with a thrilling win over Vanderbilt to advance to their first ever Sweet 16. One Big Ten team is already guaranteed to play in the Elite Eight.
The other matchup may just be the best of the second weekend with Illinois taking on Houston, in Houston. The battle of the bigs will be key to watch in that game. So three Big Ten teams will clog in the South Region that happens to be a home game for Kelvin Sampson’s Houston Cougars. This region will be fun. Iowa-Nebraska will tip at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on Thursday evening with Illinois-Houston following shortly after.
West Region - Elite Guard Play out West
When looking at this region we see Arizona taking on Arkansas and Texas taking on Purdue. With the exception of the No. 11-seed Texas Longhorns, who are making this year’s ‘Cinderella run”, guard play in the west is next level elite. Jordan Pope and Tramon Mark have been amazing for Texas this season, no doubt about it. But when comparing them to the combos of Burries and Bradley of Arizona; Acuff and Thomas of Arkansas, and Smith and Loyer of Purdue, they unfortunately slide into that fourth spot. Darius Acuff and Brayden Burries might be the most exciting guard matchup we get to see all tournament. With Arizona being the heavy favorite in this region, some of these other guards are going to have to outplay the stout backcourt of Bradley and Burries. Texas and Purdue will get underway on CBS at 7:10 p.m. Eastern on Thursday night in San Jose. Arizona and Arkansas are scheduled to tip at roughly 9:45 p.m.
Midwest Region - The Region of Missing Pieces and Uncertainty
The Midwest Region is going to be the most unpredictable. Michigan is the No. 1-seed and certainly the favorite to advance to Indianapolis and the Final Four. We have not seen it bite them yet, but remember that backup point guard LJ Cason is out for the season for head coach Dusty May.
Other teams in this region are shorthanded as well. Alabama will likely still be without star guard, Aden Holloway, as he was found in possession of over two pounds of marijuana with the intent to distribute. Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson went down very early on in their first round game against Tennessee State, and he did not play against Kentucky. Is he hoping to return this weekend, but official word on his status has not been released. The Tennessee Volunteers are the most interesting team in this region. They had an up and down season with big time wins and some questionable losses. After an upset of Virginia in round two, they seem to be hitting stride at just the right time. The Midwest will be played at the United Center in Chicago where Michigan fans will certainly flock. Michigan-Alabama will tip at 7:35 p.m. Eastern on TBS Friday evening. Tennessee-Iowa State will conclude the night, with tip scheduled for 10:10 p.m.
It is March after all, expect the unexpected.
