Duke routed both opponents on their road to the Sweet 16. They beat Vermont 64 to 47 in the first round and 12th-seed JMU 93 to 55 in the next round. The Blue Devils had a relatively easy path on the first weekend, beating two double-digit seeds, but do not doubt their talent. Their starting five is as good as any in the country and should give Houston a fight.
Gonzaga routed both opponents through the first two rounds. They beat McNeese State 86 to 65 and then thrashed Kansas 89 to 68. They were down one at halftime against Kansas but beat them by 22 in the second half. Anton Watson was the leading contributor and scored 21 on 73% shooting. They shot 60.3% as a team and held Kansas to 38.6% from the field.
They must travel a similar distance to play at TD Garden in Boston, but both should have plenty of time to adjust. They will be the final game on Thursday, scheduled to start at 10:09 p.m. EST on TBS and truTV. The clash of two styles should make an exciting, action-packed game.
Creighton is the 11th-ranked team overall on KenPom, and it could be a tall task for Akron, but they have an experienced team capable of being competitive with anyone.
The first 7-10 matchup is between the Dayton Flyers and the Nevada Wolfpack. The Flyers must travel to Salt Lake City, which is right in Nevada’s backyard. They are in the West Region, which could benefit the Wolfpack.
In this article, I will give my best bets for the Saturday games, including one team that has been in the bubble for the last month. It should be an exciting day of college basketball; let the madness begin!
The co-main event between Dustin Poirier and Benoit Saint Denis is a five-rounder and should be as entertaining as the title fight. Gear up for a stacked card, which should not disappoint.
The Golden Eagles only have three games left before the conference tournament, and Creighton has just two. Neither wants to suffer a loss and hurt their momentum heading into tournament season, and Marquette has a difficult task going into Omaha.
It is finally March, so let the madness begin. It is the time of the year when teams start to get hot and find themselves deep in the tournament.