Top 3 Sweet Sixteen Games to Watch
The 2nd weekend of March Madness is nearing, and with it are what will be among the best games of the tournament! Each year, the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds bring in marquee matchup after marquee matchup. This year, a mix of confident top seeds, scrappy middle seeds, and overachieving Cinderella teams are battling for a spot in the Final Four! Without further ado, From Downtown presents the 3 games a spectator needs to catch if nothing else!
3) 7 seed Michigan State vs 3 seed Kansas State
In the battle of the ___ State schools with guards that grew up in New York City, it is 7 seed Michigan State that is the betting favorite. This is very unusual, and is From Downtown’s first ever bet suggestion. Slam Kansas State moneyline! Kansas State is riding into the 2nd weekend off the back of an exhilarating 2nd half performance from Markquis Nowell. Nowell and his teammate, Keyontae Johnson, make up the strongest duo left in the tournament (though, Brandon Miller and the ever underrated Noah Clowney come in as a close 2nd). Nowell and Johnson both average north of 17 points, and give Kansas State a considerable scoring engine. Head Coach Jerome Tang has done incredible work in year 1 at Kansas State. The Wildcats were picked to finish last in their conference, and are now in the Sweet Sixteen. However, he is not up against easy opposition. Michigan State reached their 15th Sweet Sixteen under Head Coach Tom Izzo with a win over the red-hot Marquette on Sunday. The Spartans demonstrated their grit and teamwork in the win, as they made a few mistakes early on in the game. Specifically, center Mady Sissoko was furious like coach Izzo had never seen before. In fact, Sissoko was so angry with his own performance that he entered the zone, coming up with crucial, game-winning defensive stops for the Spartans when they needed it most. Sissoko’s transcendent performance being fueled from desire to not disappoint himself and his teammates was special to watch. Izzo is an incredible coach, the ensemble cast headlined by New York City native Tyson Walker is legit as well. This game is sure to be exhilarating, but perhaps the most exciting part is that 1 of these 2 teams will reach the Elite Eight. Both of these teams are very fun to watch, and as such, their battle lands at #3 on the list!
2) 3 seed Xavier vs 2 seed Texas
The Musketeers and Longhorns are both storied basketball programs with head coach intrigue that are back in the Sweet Sixteen after a drought. 1 of these teams will storm ahead to the Elite Eight, and the other will leave heartbroken. For Xavier, it has been a modest 6 years since they played on this stage, but for Texas, it goes as far back as 2008 since they made the Sweet Sixteen. A large portion of their success can be attributed to the meteoric rise and incensing leadership of Interim Coach Rodney Terry. At this point, From Downtown finds it ridiculous that Rodney Terry’s future in Austin is uncertain. Being thrust in an incredibly hectic position, Terry steered this program back into clear waters effectively. The Longhorns won the Big 12 tournament, and are now in their 1st Sweet Sixteen in a decade and a half. Texas employs a wide variety of players, but their big men in particular are heavily undervalued. While guards Tyrese Hunter, Sir’Jabari Rice, and Marcus Carr are impressive, the true diamonds in the rough on this team have shone through in postseason play. In Texas’ revenge tour against TCU, Christian Bishop paved the way. As mentioned in the previous article, Dylan Disu was electric against Penn State, and Brock Cunningham is among the most undervalued players in the sport. However, facing Xavier will be no easy task. Xavier matches Texas gun for gun, as they have a star-studded roster with an undervalued big man as well. Before their forward, though, Souley Boum deserves special mention for being both a gifted scorer and among the strongest guard rebounders in the country. However, the standout of Xavier’s tournament run so far is Jack Nunge, who came up with a monstrous block to send home the Owls last Friday. Head Coach Sean Miller has done impressive work in year 1. Some say Miller is the greatest active coach without a Final Four appearance, but he could dispel that narrative this year with just 2 more wins. That will start against the rugged Longhorns though, and that is why this matchup is the 2nd best to catch on Friday.
1) 3 Seed Gonzaga vs 2 seed UCLA
How could the West region preview’s marquee matchup not top this list? As the seeds predicted, Gonzaga and UCLA are meeting for this showdown between KenPom’s top offense and top defense. These two programs have a contender for the best rivalry in 21st century postseason basketball. In 2006, Gonzaga’s nightmare 11-0 collapse in the final minutes of the Sweet Sixteen is the single hardest college basketball game to watch on an emotional level. J.P. Bautista became the most hated man in Spokane, and Adam Morrison became the most empathetic figure in college basketball. However, it was the UCLA Bruins who came out on top in that affair. Gonzaga has the most recent victory though. In fact, Jalen Suggs’ last ditch 3-pointer is the tournament’s most recent buzzer beater. This is the tiebreaker round, and both teams are bringing all the stops in order to get the win. That is, except for UCLA’s Jaylen Clark, who will miss the game with an injury. The defensive player of the year semifinalist’s absence is adversity that Head Coach Mick Cronin’s squad will need to overcome to stop the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs themselves needed to overcome adversity to even make this point. Gonzaga trailed TCU at halftime, and needed 7 2nd-half buckets from Drew Timme to stand a chance. Timme is among college basketball’s biggest stars — not too different from Morrison all those years ago – and is looking to redeem last year’s disappointing Sweet Sixteen loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks. Timme is not alone, though, as the often overlooked Julian Strawther would be the best player on most Power 5 schools’ teams. However, Strawther will need to shoot better than 3 for 10 from the field as he did against TCU, as those types of numbers will not cut it against UCLA. Speaking of UCLA, they are headlined by Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campbell, but have a ton of talent. Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Adem Bona, fellow freshman Amari Bailey, and junior Jaylen Clark are all players that often get overlooked. Cronin has led this team to the Sweet Sixteen 3 times in a row, but may hope to be as ambitious as 2021’s Final Four run. Meanwhile, Gonzaga’s Head Coach Mark Few squashes that number, as this is Gonzaga’s 8th consecutive Sweet Sixteen. No matter which of these teams advances, due to the tradition of rivalry, incredible talent, and great coaching these teams possess, this is easily the best game to catch in the Sweet Sixteen of 2023’s tournament!
