Mar 22, 20185 min read

CBB: Sweet Sixteen Predictions

No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 7 Texas A&M Preview: Michigan's opening round victory was fairly easy defeating Montana, 61-47, behind 20 points from Charles Matthews. But that's how it's supposed to go when there is that much of a talent discrepancy. In the Second Round, there was a battle waiting for them and it seemed like they were going to lose until the final second of the game. Jordan Poole hit a miraculous game-winner to keep the Wolverines' season alive. As for Texas A&M, it was pretty much the opposite. Their first game with Providence was a close one, and then they blew out a Final Four favorite and defending champions, North Carolina, with ease. Michigan's defense has been effective these two games in the tournament, but their offense has to get going if they want to continue playing. With Texas A&M beating a great team like North Carolina, I think they are ready for a challenge like Michigan and have enough size and guard to play to match John Beilein's team. It will be a close game, but the Aggies will be able to edge a win out in the end. Robert Williams and Tyler Davis, who are averaging 26.5 points per game in the tournament, will have their way inside and help get Texas A&M to the Elite Eight, after failing to do so in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 3 Texas Tech Preview: Purdue is coming off a close game against Butler without their big man Isaac Haas. With Haas gone, it has been up to Vincent Edwards to pick up the slack, which he has, scoring 20 points on 6-8 shooting. Carsen Edwards struggled however, scoring 13 points on 4-17 shooting and 3-10 from three. Texas Tech is coming off a close victory against Florida, led by their star player Keenan Evans who led the Red Raiders on 8-14 shooting. With both teams strong in guard play, it is going to be a battle of the backcourts this game, and whoever plays the most efficient of the backcourts will win the game. Evans is averaging 17.8 points per game on 48.2 percent shooting. Carsen Edwards is right there as well, going for 18.2 points on 45.4 percent. The winner of this game will likely come down to whichever star guard can play better, but the big men are still going to play an integral part. Zach Smith has been electric so far in March and the Red Raiders will need him to keep that pace up. He's averaging 4.9 rebounds per game, but with Purdue having so much size, it may be difficult for him to create more opportunities on the offensive glass. Texas Tech averages 5.9 points per game less than the Boilermakers, so it seems Purdue is the pick here.

No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 5 Clemson Preview: Kansas is coming off of a tight game against a game Seton Hall club who had Angel Delgado playing one of the best games of an illustrious four-year career. But the Jayhawks survived, and that's all that matters right now. Devonte' Graham is playing well, averaging 18.5 points per game so far in the NCAA Tournament, but 29 of those points came against Penn in the opening matchup. Despite his struggles against Seton Hall, they were able to come away with a huge win because of their "other" guard, Malik Newman. He dropped 28 points on just 14 shots in the 83-79 win. As for Clemson, they pulled away from New Mexico State, and then absolutely ran over Auburn in the Second Round, earning the Tigers their first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 1997. I think we all know what we're going to get with the guards: A lot of outside shots and limited amount of turnovers. Which means it's going to be the big men who end up deciding which team advances. Kansas' main (And only?) big man is Udoka Azubuike, a seven-footer that is scoring 13.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Clemson doesn't have anyone his size, but Elijah Thomas is no slouch, recording 8.1 boards per outing. It's going to be a fun one, but Kansas' experience should prevail.

Sweet Sixteen Rankings:

1. Villanova (32-4, +1, 99 Pts)

2. Kansas (29-7, +1, 95 Pts)

3. Duke (28-7, +2, 92 Pts)

4. Michigan (30-7, +6, 88 Pts)

5. Gonzaga (32-4, +10, 86 Pts)

6. Kentucky (26-10, +14, 82 Pts)

7. Purdue (30-6, +1, 79 Pts)

8. Texas Tech (26-9, +4, 77 Pts)

9. Clemson (25-9, +11, 68 Pts)

10. Nevada (29-7, +18, 63 Pts)

11. West Virginia (26-10, +9, 60 Pts)

12. Loyola (CH) (30-5, +32, 57 Pts)

13. Kansas State (24-11, +23, 50 Pts)

14. Syracuse (23-13, +30, 43 Pts)

15. Texas A&M (22-12, +13, 39 Pts)

16. Florida State (22-11, +20, 31 Pts)

Most Outstanding Player: The losses by Arizona, Oklahoma, and Texas gave us an opportunity to watch players other than DeAndre Ayton, Trae Young, and Mo Bamba. While all of those players will be heading to the NBA Draft, none of them reached the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, which means they're out of our Most Outstanding Player rankings. The new leader? Villanova's Jalen Brunson (+1). He's averaging 19.1 points and 4.7 assists per game for the best team left in the tournament. The Duke freshman, Marvin Bagley III (+1), is also making a great impression on the biggest stage, going for 44 points and 16 rebounds in the two games combined. Devonte' Graham (+5) tied for the largest leap of anyone this week, as we mentioned that he scored 29 points against Penn in the opening game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+5) is improving his NBA Draft stock every single time he steps on the floor, averaging 23.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game in the two tournament games against Davidson and Buffalo. Keenan Evans (+5), the senior leader from Texas Tech, rounds out our top five players of the tournament so far, as he's gone for 45 points and six assists. The next three best players have been Robert Williams, Malik Newman, and Carsen Edwards.

Most Outstanding Player:

1. Jalen Brunson.

2. Marvin Bagley III.

3. Devonte' Graham.

4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

5. Keenan Evans.

6. Robert Williams.

7. Malik Newman.

8. Carsen Edwards.

Game Picks: The opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament was anything but predictable, as it always is, but our experts handled their own, going 14-6 in their game picks. But this week is going to be a little bit more difficult with Elite Eight and Final Four berths potentially on the line. For the Thursday night games, we're all pretty much going chalk, except in the Michigan vs. Texas A&M matchup. We have Kentucky, Nevada, and Gonzaga moving on without a hitch. Then two of is have the Wolverines moving on, while Chinedum Wejinya is holding out hope for the Aggies to continue their surprising run. Moving to the Friday night matchups, there seems to be an obvious winner in each game besides Purdue vs. Texas Tech. While all three of us are selecting the Boilermakers, it's really the only game that raises an eyebrow. The other matchups have a clear cut better team in Villanova, Kansas, and Duke. Although, that doesn't mean that West Virginia, Clemson, and Syracuse can't pull off an upset. With the NIT also going on, we decided to pick a couple of the quarterfinal games that will be played prior to the Sweet Sixteen games. Even though they have had an up-and-down campaign, we're taking Louisville to move on. In another matchup, we're split between picking Marquette or Penn State.

Prediction Records:

Charles Post: 53-27, 14-6.

Chinedum Wejinya: 47-33, 14-6.

Max Heningburg: 48-32, 14-6.

Final Four Picks (March 15, 2018):