Men’s NCAA March Madness – SUNDAY Sweet Sixteen Breakdown

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  • This article is dedicated to the memory of Grand Canyon basketball’s Oscar Frayer who passed away in a car accident on Thursday, just days after playing in the NCAA tournament.

So the first day of NCAA ‘March Madness’ action this weekend has been covered.

This year’s sweet sixteen is set and in my previous article, we broke down the matchups taking place tomorrow, a jam-packed day of college basketball on both the men’s and women’s side of the bracket.

If you missed that one (here’s the link), I’m going with Loyola-Chicago over the Beavers of Oregon State, the Baylor Bears taking down Villanova, Arkansas blowing out the cinderella story Oral Roberts, and an upset in the night-cap with Syracuse beating Houston.

So now that half of the ‘Elite 8’ has been projected, it’s time to take a deep dive into day two of the sweet sixteen on Sunday.

The East and West regions in this year’s tournament have their own select “special qualities” I like to call them. Something they all have in common is the fact that they’re all big-name programs, in not only basketball but all-across collegiate sports.

Each of the remaining teams out of these regions has been faced with a diversity all year long, long COVID stoppages coming at different times for all, it is hard to tell which teams are fully hitting their stride.

Something else that is notable on this side of the bracket, is that there is plenty of NBA-ready talent, and projected draftees that are set to faceoff.

Evan Mobley of USC and the dynamic point guard Jalen Suggs from Gonzaga are both considered top-five NBA talents, close behind them there is fellow Gonzaga Bulldog Corey Kispert and Florida State big-man Scottie Barnes.

All of these young men are going to be gone in the top ten of the draft, and that’s not even half of it.

This makes me even more excited for what is to come on Sunday. Not only will these players be suiting up for their programs, but draft positioning will be one of the talking points of next week after these huge matchups are over.

Breaking down the Sweet Sixteen (Sunday Games) –

West: #1 Gonzaga vs. #5 Creighton:

To kick off the day on Sunday morning we have a battle between two of the more consistent basketball programs in the United States.

Gonzaga and Crieghton are similar just based on how often they find success in this tournament, although it hasn’t amounted to much in the matter of trophies, they always seem to hang around long enough to give themselves a chance.

The difference between this Gonzaga Bulldogs team from years past is that they finally believe in themselves. The Bulldogs have built a reputation for being a really good team, but somehow falling up short in the big moments.

This time around has a different feeling to it. Entering the game an undefeated 28-0 on the year, they truly know how good they are and use that aura to play exactly how they want.

They control other teams and manage how their opponents run the offense. They can score from all five positions on a basketball court and have the personnel to call isolation plays at any given time.

It has been a long two years without the NCAA tournament for this Bulldogs team, who was upset in the Elite 8 last time out in 2019. I think for all these reasons that Creighton doesn’t stand a chance on Sunday.

The Blue Jays will keep this game close for as long as they can, maybe until about 10 minutes left or so, but Gonzaga will break them down. Whether it is foul trouble or inability to guard one on one in the late stages, I think Creighton falls to Gonzaga and the Bulldogs move on to the elite eight once again.

Gonzaga 89 – Creighton 78

East: #1 Michigan vs. #4 Florida State:

GAME OF THE WEEKEND? This one should be very close until the final moments and I totally expect to see some March magic.

The top-seed Wolverines outlasted a high-powered LSU team to punch their ticket to the sweet sixteen, all without the services of their star forward Isaiah Livers, out for the season with a foot injury.

Michigan is run by head coach Juwon Howard, an animated and persistent leader in respect to the emotions of the game. FSU’s head coach is Leonard Hamilton, who used to coach Howard with the Washington Wizards of the NBA.

Student vs. Mentor in the sweet sixteen for a chance to move on.

I’m taking Florida State. Their defense has stymied a Colorado team that was known for its ability to shoot the ball. The Seminoles are a squad that matches up very well inside with the Wolverines, and they manage to produce more on offense in terms of all-around scoring.

Where Michigan can take this game is at the free-throw line, where they are significantly stronger than FSU. Except Michigan to shoot a lot fewer threes than normal and look to attack the paint all game long.

Florida State 71 – 70 Michigan

East: #2 Alabama vs. #11 UCLA:

UCLA is in the sweet sixteen after playing the extra tournament game in the first four, beating Michigan State, BYU then Abilene Christian en route to where they stand this weekend.

I don’t think they stand a chance. Alabama is a dream team that is fully capable of ending this game in the first half with the way they shoot the three-pointer.

Bama HC Nate Oats has this team confident and playing at a supreme level. I also believe they have a chip on their shoulder from everyone calling them a ‘football school’…

Alabama in a sleeper.

Alabama 91 – 69 UCLA

West: #7 Oregon vs. #6 USC:

Two teams that have had to face zero adversity will most definitely have to face it in this one. A back and forth matchup of the two PAC-12 conference powers.

Oregon who has had less game action due to their first-round bye is up against a team in USC that has won their first two games of the tournament by a combined margin of 50 points.

In February, the Ducks and Trojans faced off in a 16-point victory for USC. Although I fully believe this game stays close the whole way through, there is no reason for me to pick against the Mobley brothers and the USC Trojans.

Rebounding, free throws, and three-pointers. Fundamental areas that USC is just a bit better than Oregon. This one may come down to the last shot though…

USC 74 – 71 Oregon

Enjoy the weekend everyone.

Evan Power, Evolution 107.9

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