Your Complete Guide to the 2021 Sweet Sixteen
(Courtesy of Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports).
On Sunday, the games tip off with Gonzaga taking on fifth-seeded Creighton, who is making the Sweet 16 for the first time in its school's history.
Article by Dave Nguyen, AKSM Sports
INDIANAPOLIS - When many thought that the Villanova WIldcats were going to be bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and be upset by 12th seeded Winthrop, Jay Wright and his squad proved that if you give him a week to prepare for one game, the opponent might be in trouble. While it was a scrappy game without the injured Collin Gillespie, a 20-point 11-roubound double-double by Jeremiah Robinson Earl pushed the Wildcats in the win column. After an upset win over fourth-seeded Purdue, North Texas faced off against Villanova for the right to advance to the Sweet 16. While the opening minutes of that game were competitive, the Wildcats stretched its lead to 20 at halftime thanks in large part to nine triples. A total of 15 shots made beyond the arc propelled Villanova to its seventh Sweet 16 in the last 20 seasons.
"Our goal is to play Villanova Basketball for 40 minutes," said senior forward Jermaine Samuels, who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds against North Texas. "We rely on playing defense. Tonight we made shots.”
"We talk a lot about being the best team we can be at the end of the season. We want to prove to each other we're all in this together, that we want to make plays for each other. I think everybody was going out there to prove that to each other."
The play of both Samuels and Robinson-Earl have made an impact on others as well, including Cole Swider and Caleb Daniels who have scored 15 and 21 points total in both games respectively. The most impressive play has come from sophomore guard Justin Moore, who has shared point guard duties since Gillespie's injury. In both games in the tournament, the sophomore from DeMatha has scored 15 points in each contest, and shot 50% from the field against North Texas.
While the Wildcats have played well in its last two games, it is going up against the second ranked team in the country- the 1st seeded Baylor Bears. Scott Drew has a loaded squad that was picked to finish second overall in the preseason rankings and have a realistic shot to make the National Championship Game with Illinois eliminated by Loyola Chicago. The Bears are long and athletic, with its eight-man rotation entering a game no shorter than 6'3. Leading scorer Jared Butler averages almost 17 points per contest, DaVion Mitchell averages 14 points a game, and MaCio Teague is a matchup nightmare at 6'4 with a 6'11 wingspan averaging close to 17 points a game as well. Needless to say it will be a tough task for the Wildcats this Saturday at 5:15pm on CBS.
The game before will have 12th-Seeded Oregon State against, fan favorite, Loyola Chicago. After an upset win over top seeded Illinois, the Ramblers are poised to make another run to the Final Four, especially after it forced the Illini to commit 17 turnovers and shoot under 45% from the floor. Cameron Krutwig will be a difference maker against the Beavers, backing down his defenders and making decisions with his back to the basket. While Oregon State was able to take advantage of poor late game execution by Oklahoma State, the Ramblers are a well coached team that can pull out the victory. Coverage begins at 2:40 on CBS.
At 7:25pm on Saturday will find the 15th-seeded Oral Roberts Golden Eagles taking on the third-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks. ORU has been the story of the tournament after upsetting Ohio State and has become the second 15th seed to make the Sweet 16, the first being Florida Gulf Coast in 2013. The spotlight will be on Max Abmas, who led the country in scoring and backed it up with 29 points against the Buckeyes and 26 against Florida to advance to the Sweet 16. The Razorbacks, on the other hand, were able to avoid an upset from Colgate, and went down to the wire against Texas Tech. The way Arkansas plays defense under Eric Mussleman will be too much for ORU to handle, which will set up an Elite Eight matchup against Baylor. In a close game, give the nod to Baylor who has veteran experience and dynamic guards to score the basketball.
The nightcap on Saturday will be the second seeded Houston Cougars, who barely beat Rutgers in the second round, taking on the pressurizing 2-3 zone of Syracuse. Houston has not seen a defense like Jim Boeheim's in the American Conference, which forced both San Diego State and West Virginia to shoot under 40% from the floor. Between that and the shooting ability of Jim's son Buddy, who has totaled 55 points through two games, the 'Cuse will be too much to handle for Houston. If that were to happen, it would set up a matchup with Loyola to go to the Final Four. With both teams playing solid defense, Sister Jean has provided a good luck charm for the Ramblers and may be the outside advantage that propels Loyola Chicago to another Final Four Appearance.
On Sunday, the games tip off with Gonzaga taking on fifth-seeded Creighton, who is making the Sweet 16 for the first time in its school's history. The Blue Jays barely escaped UCSB and managed to contain Jordan Preston and Ohio to advance, byt Mark Few's team will continue its winning ways to move on to the Elite Eight. Look for freshman point guard Jalen Suggs to be a difference maker, who had 16 points in the Bulldogs win over Oklahoma. Coverage begins at 2:10pm on CBS.
At 5pm Florida State will take on the Michigan Wolverines (yes in basketball, not football). The first seeded Wolverines needed to battle back against LSU to advance Juwan Howard's bunch, large in part with the shooting of Eli Brooks who dropped 21 points against the Tigers. Leonard Hamilton's team is long and athletic, but there are times where they can play inconsistently. It had UNC Greensboro hanging around too long before taking the game over at the end, but had a convincing win against Colorado to advance this far. While the length of FSU may be intimidating, the Wolverines will be prepared to win with Brooks and freshman center Hunter Dickenson leading the way.
The winner of FSU-Michigan will play against the winner of Alabama-UCLA, which tips off at 7:15 on TBS. UCLA has been another great story, going from the First Four to the Sweet 16 with wins over Michigan State, 6th seeded BYU, and a convincing win over Abilene Christian, who upset third-seeded Texas. Head Coach Mick Cronin has had his father attend each game, sharing a special moment with each other off the court that has shown public positivity throughout this pandemic. While the Bruins are playing great basketball, Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide are determined to make a Final Four run after winning the SEC outright and playing well after a 19-point convincing win over Maryland. In that game against the Terps, the Tide won the battle on the glass 40-19 and connected on 16 threes. The Tide roll in this game to the Elite Eight to face Michigan. In a battle of football schools, Juwan Howard has a team to get back to a place where he was as a player- the Final Four.
The nightcap will feature Pac-12 rivals Oregon and USC at 9:45 on TBS. These teams will be squaring off for the second time this season, with the Trojans earning the victory the first time around back in late February. The Ducks advanced to the round of 32 after VCU unfortunately couldn't play due to COVID-19. Playing with a sense of urgency, the Ducks played well on both ends of the floor against Iowa. Despite allowing Luka Garza to score 36 points, Oregon's defense held three Iowa starters to 0 points, and it also connected on 11 triples in a convincing win, having four of its starting five score double-digit points. USC, however, is playing well after a 34-point thrashing of Kansas in its last game. 7'0 freshman Evan Mobley has had back-to-back games with double-doubles and his brother Isiah, 6'10 sophomore, combined for 32 points in wins over Drake and the Jayhawks. USC has the height advantage in a tight-scoring affair that will allow it to move on to face Gonzaga in the Elite Eight. In what will be the toughest game Gonzaga will play in the tournament, the Zags will squeak by USC to make its second Final Four in program history.
Enjoy the Madness!