Sweet 16: Will Big Ten Teams Move on to Elite 8?
Two Big Ten teams will try to move on to the Elite 8 tonight.
The NCAA Tournament resumes tonight with four games on tap. Two of those games will involve Big Ten Teams, with Purdue facing Kansas and Michigan taking on Oregon.
Each team is the lower seed so it will be quite a challenge to move on to the Elite 8. Here is a look at tonight’s games:
No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 7 Michigan 7:09 ET CBS
Can Michigan stay on their magical run? It will be an uphill battle against favored Oregon. The Ducks are an offensive minded team like the Wolverines and are averaging 79 points a game. Oregon has five players averaging double figures led by Dillon Brooks at 16.4 ppg and Tyler Dorsey at 14 ppg.
Derrick Walton Jr., D.J. Wilson, Mo Wagner and others will have to continue to put up points if Michigan wants to keep pace with Oregon. It should be a shootout and I favor the team on a roll in those kinds of games, and that would be Michigan. The Wolverines will move on to the Elite 8.
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No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 4 Purdue 9:30 ET CBS
This is the classic matchup of outstanding perimeter play vs. a strong inside game. Kansas has the top point guard in the country in Frank Mason III and forward Josh Jackson who can play inside or in space as well.
Purdue will be countering with Player of the Year candidate 6’9 Caleb Swanigan and 7’2 Isaac Haas inside. Swanigan is averaging 18.5 ppg and Haas 12.6 ppg. Purdue has been playing exceptionally well, but with the roll Jackson has been on lately, I have to give the edge to Kansas in this one.
Here are the other games on tap:
No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 4 West Virginia 7:39 ET TBS
No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 11 Xavier 10:09 ET TBS
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Too much firepower on the higher seeded teams in these games. Gonzaga and Arizona advance to the Elite 8.