College Basketball: Sweet Sixteen Friday Preview

Eight teams, four spots. Al Dannity makes his picks on Friday’s four big Sweet Sixteen games.

Gunning down the Musketeers
Hi there Xavier. Nice run you’re having. Pity it has to end so abruptly. In all seriousness, no team benefitted from the first Friday of March Madness more than the Musketeers. It was one thing to upset a Notre Dame team quickly developing a reputation for choking in March Madness. It was quite another to end up playing Lehigh and not Duke for a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. The Musketeers are entering a whole different world of hurt on Friday night. I like Baylor to win and I mean big. These Bears know a big opportunity when they see it and won’t mess around.

Beware the Bobcats
Cinderella, you just got a big shot. So far the Ohio Bobcats have beaten two big conference schools, most notably Michigan. Now it’s time to see if the mightiest of MAC teams can take down College Basketball betting royalty. They may never get a better shot. The UNC Tar Heels are loaded with talent but have no viable point guard. If you can’t create, it’s really hard to score. That’s doubly true for North Carolina who relied heavily on Kendall Marshall. Even if he plays, and it’s highly unlikely, Marshall won’t be close to 100 percent. I like the Bobcats to run the Tar Heels really, really, close. Unfortunately for Ohio, I see UNC finding a way to win.

This is going to hurt
You may think -9.0 is a big number for the Wildcats to cover in the Sweet Sixteen, especially against a good Indiana team. You wouldn’t like Coach Cal when he’s angry. Only two teams beat Kentucky all year. Vandy’s season is done so the Wildcats have their eyes squarely set on making an example of the Hoosiers. This is not a bad Indiana team. In fact it’s a rather good one. Kentucky’s line-up is flat-out other-worldly. If Space Jam had been about College Hoops, these guys would have been the Mon-Stars. I like the Wildcats to win.

The Wolfpack is back
Oh hi Bill Self. Well on the upside, there’s no mid-major team waiting to dump your Jayhawks out of the Big Dance. On the other hand, there is a school with a history of unlikely victories. This is undoubtedly the worst team Bill Self has coached at KU in terms of sheer talent. That the Jayhawks have succeeded in spite of this points to how well-drilled they are. NC State may be a year away from hitting their true potential. These Jayhawks are closer to their peak. I like Kansas to win.

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