I need me some Sweet Sweet Sixteen
- The Dudes
- Mar 22, 2023
- 5 min read
Dude….
The Sweet Sixteen is right around the corner and the anticipation has this writer almost over the edge. We will break down each matchup and give our “expert” opinions on who will win. Don’t worry, Kyle Stetling’s opinions will be shared as well (even though they are probably wrong). We’re going to keep track of each others predictions and see who stands at the top of the mountain.
“The felons” Alabama Crimson Tide play a scrappy defensive team in San Diego State. The issue is that the Alabama Crimson Tide looks like a national championship team, and SDSU doesn’t. San Diego State holds most opponents to under 65 points. However, the “run and gun” (literally and figuratively) Crimson Tide are averaging over 80 points a game. Alabama has also faced WAY better competition. The Mountain West contained 3 teams to make the tournament. The other two teams (Utah State and Boise State) both lost in their first-round matchups. On the other hand, Alabama faced a slew of ranked and well-established programs throughout the regular season. Two other SEC schools are also in the Sweet Sixteen, which demonstrates how good Alabama’s opponents have been throughout the season. They almost beat them all. Alabama’s forward Brandon Miller is an elite prospect that can score from anywhere. With the extended bench that proved they can score when the starters aren’t on the floor, their experience should have the Crimson Tide rolling past the Aztecs to move on to the Elite Eight. -Payton Christensen
Alabama out-performs the Aztecs and their scrappy defense: Being the number 1 overall seed hasn’t been the best-case scenario for teams in the past 10 years, but this Alabama team has more than just top-notch “shooters” this season. They have tournament experience and the best player in the country. The Aztecs were able to pass two high-powered offensive mid-major schools, but the good offense for mid-major schools doesn’t come close to the athletic and offensive performance of the best team in the nation. Alabama will handle SDSU and its tough defense. -Kyle Stetling
A #6 seed vsa #15 seed is something not many people expected to happen. The #6 Creighton Bluejays were projected to be a top-25 team in the preseason. However, in early December, the Bluejays lost their star player, Ryan Kalkbrenner, to a bad case of mono. Creighton then lost 6 games straight and dropped completely off the national radar. Since Kalkbrenner has returned, the Creighton Bluejays have been tough to beat. Princeton hasn’t looked like a 15 seed. After destroying the Missouri Tigers, the Princeton Tigers look for it next prey. An Ivy League school hasn’t done well in previous tournaments. Princeton’s rigid defense may cause a few problems for the bluejays. However, the tigers simply don’t have an answer for Kalkbrenner. The Bluejays peck their way into the Elite Eight for the first time in their school history. -Payton Christensen
The Princeton Tigers have put together a clinic in two good teams and it seemed to go unnoticed. They’ve played well and looked like one of the best teams out of the Ivy League in a long time. Taking care of an overrated Arizona team and a well-coached Missouri Tiger squad. But unless your school’s name is Purdue, a high-flying Creighton
squad should take care of the 15th-seed Ivy League champs. The score may be close for most of the game, but Creighton is well-coached and matches up well against Princeton, which in theory should result in an elite 8 spot for the Jays. - Kyle Stetling
FAU vs. Tennessee are two teams that I actually had losing in the first round. FAU made it to the Sweet Sixteen in a very controversial way. When they played Memphis in the first round, I had them losing. I thought Memphis was on a hot streak after beating Houston AAC Championship. FAU pulled out a nailbiter on a very controversial jump ball call. This ref must have been Stevie Wonder because multiple blue jerseys had the symbol up for a timeout, but hey lucky break. Nicholas Boyd makes the layup to seal the game. The Owls then get FDU the second time a sixteen seed beat a one seed in the bracket era. FAU still looks incredible and can be really competitive on the defensive side. Tennessee looked really good in the beginning of the year, but proved that they couldn’t shoot the ball well enough to be a national championship contender. Then they lose Zekai Zeigler to an ACL tear and things looked bleak for the Volunteers. However, they showed why they were a four-seed in the first place. Vescovi and company beat one of my upset picks Louisiana, and then went on and beat DUKE! Lots of experts had the Blue Devils going far, but the Rick Barns magic has them back in the Sweet Sixteen. This match will be highly competitive with should be an absolute barn burner. I have the Volunteers with Vescovi leading the way and handing the SEC with its second team in the Elite Eight. -Payton Christensen
These two teams are high-scoring and fun to watch. But one team has played better teams and has a height advantage over the other. Yes FAU is used to winning, but winning against mid-major squads only does so much for a team in the tournament. Not to mention the height and speed of Tennessee are almost unfair. It will be a tough adjustment for FAU to go from barely scraping off a win against the smallest team in the tournament to one of the tallest teams in the tournament. And if Tennessee shoots half as well as they did against Duke, it may be a long day for the Owls.- Kyle Stetling
This matchup has all-time classic written all over it. The Kansas State Wildcats have a remarkable team. Lead by Keyontae Johnson and Marquis Nowell are kind of a Cinderella team and a dark horse to take home the National Championship. Jerome Tang has done a phenomenal job at turning this program around in his first season. This team was picked to finish LAST IN THE BIG 12!!! Marquis Nowell is making all of the hoop dreamers happy by being five-foot-nine and making Oscar Tshiebwe and the Kentucky Wildcats look silly in the second half. The Michigan State Spartans have proven to the world again how good Tom Izzo is in the tournament. He gets his guys prepared every single game and these savvy veterans like AJ Hoggard are the reason this Spartans team pull the upset of my Final Four pick, Maquette. Tyson Walker is going to be a huge factor in trying to slow down Nowell and to make shots at the other end of the floor. I believe that Tang and the Wildcats sneak past Tom Izzo and a tough Michigan State Spartans team. - Payton Christensen
With March magic Tom Izzo and the up-and-coming K-state wildcats, this game is for sure going to be wild. K-state has an athletic lineup and is hungry to go all the way this year, but Tom Izzo is known for crushing these teams’ dreams of making it to the elite 8 or even the final 4. K-state has two big 12 first-team players in Marquise Nowell and Keyontae Johnson who can shut a team down in the first half. But Michigan State can come out and outshoot and outplay teams like K-state if they shoot well. The prediction is that Tom Izzo breaks K-state fans’ hearts and out coaches the potential COTY Jerome Tang and sends Michigan St. to the elite 8. - Kyle Stetling
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