How Sweet it is.
Tomorrow starts the second weekend of the NCAA tournament, where we separate the wheat from the chaff, boiling down 16 teams into the final 4.
After a first day where chalk was the rule, and a second day during which Tampa turned many a bracket upside down, the second round provided a number of upsets that will make for some interesting matchups in the Sweet 16. Tomorrow's matchups are:
WEST REGIONAL (Phoenix, AZ)
7:10 PM
#3 Xavier (29-6) vs. #7 West Virginia (26-10)
The first game Thursday in the West region brings us the Xavier Muskateers out of the Atlantic 10 Region and the West Virginia Mountaineers out of the Big East. One can imagine all of the stoner debates going on in the basements of college students everywhere about who would win in a fight, a pirate or a mountain man, and the debate about the game itself seems equally difficult to determine.
Xavier has shaken off two late-season losses to St. Joseph's and a first round scare from SEC champion Georgia to get themselves to this point. West Virginia made it to the semifinals of a very tough Big East tournament before falling to Georgetown, and their tournament run has been impressive thus far, defeating Arizona before knocking off #2 seeded Duke. A high-scoring affair would likely benefit the offensive-minded Mountaineers, led by forward Joe Alexander. The Muskateers will try to slow the ball down and play some serious D, led by senior Stanley Burrell, the Atlantic 10 defensive player of the year. Bob Huggins has been preparing his team very well thus far in the tournament, and Huggy bear will likely allow the Mountaineers to eek out a victory in a close one here.
9:40 PM
#1 UCLA (33-3) vs. #12 Western Kentucky (29-6)
UCLA survived a scare in the second round against Texas A&M, but they should not overlook the 12 seeded Hilltoppers. The Western regional has been a minefield thusfar, and Western Kentucky looks to play the George Mason role and get themselves into the elite eight.
UCLA defeated the Delta Devils of Mississsippi Valley State soundly in round one, but struggled before sending Texas A&M packing in round two. Western Kentucky knocked off Drake in the battle of the mid-majors in round one, before defeating 13-seeded San Diego in round two. This matchup will likely turn into the Kevin Love show, and a UCLA victory by double digits is the most likely result here, but they don't call it March Madness for no reason.
EAST REGIONAL (Charlotte, NC)
7:27 PM
#1 North Carolina (34-2) vs. #4 Washington State (26-8)
The first game in the East region pits overall number one seed UNC and #4 in the East Washington State. The Cougars will try and pull off what no one has done since the beginning of February, and that is hang an L on the Tar Heels. After two mid-season losses to Maryland and Duke, UNC has regained their early-season swagger, and remains the team to beat in this tournament.
After knocking off "Opening Round Game" victor Mount St. Mary's and Arkansas, UNC seems poised to head to San Antonio for the Final Four. Standing in their way is Washington State, who beat Winthrop before trouncing Big East stalwart Notre Dame. Despite this big win, Washington State will likely come up short in this one, and Psycho-T will bring the Tar Heels one step closer to the promised land.
9:57 PM
#2 Tennessee (31-4) vs. #3 Louisville (26-8)
In the late game, Bruce Pearl leads the second-seeded Tennessee Volunteers up against Rick Pitino and his third-seeded Louisville Cardinals. After a February in which they didn't lose, Louisville suffered losses in their regular season finale against Georgetown and the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament against eventual winner Pittsburgh. It seems, however, that Pitino has the Cardinals believing again. Tennessee was not without their own late season losses. The regular season champions of the SEC fell to Arkansas during the SEC tournament. The rest of their season has been impressive, as they've lost only two in-conference games, both on the road, and one out-of-conference game to fellow tournament two seed Texas.
Louisville beat Boise State in Round one, preventing the Broncos from another NCAA Cinderella run, and destroyed Oklahoma by 30 points in round two. Tennessee beat American University in first round, but struggled before beating Butler 76-71 in the second round. There are two schools of thought on close losses. One thought is that it builds character, and gives a team experience the next time they're in a tight game. The other is that it's detrimental, especially for such a highly seeded team, because it makes them question if they're as good as everyone says they are. The time off will help Bruce Pearl and co. track towards the first option, as they will eek out another close win. Don't be surprised if this one goes to OT also.
-- Tim Fiorvanti
