On Thursday night, the men’s Sweet 16 action from the South and West regions of the NCAA tournament will continue, bringing the tournament to a thrilling conclusion.
As is customary, the Duke Blue Devils will be a major focus of attention as they take on a tough Texas Tech Red Raiders squad in what may be Coach K’s last game. After overcoming challenging challenges in their second-round wins, top seeds Arizona and Gonzaga will face a pair of strong opponents in Houston and Arkansas.
A double-digit seed will be playing in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, despite the fact that the Cinderella Saint Peter’s Peacocks aren’t scheduled to play until Friday. This year’s Michigan Wolverines, who had an up-and-down regular season, meet No. 2 seed Villanova in the NCAA tournament’s second round on Thursday night.
As the field is narrowed from 16 to 12 on Thursday, ESPN’s panel of Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello, John Gasaway, and Joe Lunardi discussed their expectations for the four remaining games.
To find out what time the NCAA tournament begins, click on this page, and then go here to see how your bracket stacks up.
A look at Thursday’s March Madness bracket:
- No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 1 Gonzaga, 7:09 p.m. ET (CBS)
- No. 11 Michigan vs. No. 2 Villanova, 7:29 p.m. ET (TBS)
- No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 2 Duke, 9:39 p.m. ET (CBS)
- No. 5 Houston vs. No. 1 Arizona, 9:59 ET p.m. (TBS)
In both victories and defeats over the last two-and-a-half weeks, Duke has seemed vulnerable (North Carolina, Virginia Tech). Do you believe Texas Tech will be Coach K’s last dance?
Borzello: Nothing I’ve seen in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament has changed my opinion that Texas Tech will defeat Duke.
This season, there have been many strategies to defeat Duke. One, make the Blue Devils’ attack more one-dimensional by swarming the paint. Although Paolo Banchero and Wendell Moore Jr. are capable of making shots from outside, they prefer to drive to the hoop rather than attempt a jump shot. Spread the floor and keep Mark Williams away from the rim as a means of forcing him out of position. Keep the ball in your hands and don’t allow Duke earn easy transition baskets and live-ball turnovers. The first two boxes have been checked: Their top six players can all shoot from three-point range, making the Red Raiders as strong a defensive squad as any in the NCAA. In the NCAA tournament, they were better at keeping the ball in their possession, giving it away only 20 times in two games.
A better team than the one Michigan State played in the Elite Eight in 2019 was the Duke club headed by Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, and Cam Reddish. It’s safe to say that the Michigan State team was not wowed with the NBA hype. If you take another look at the MSU roster, you won’t find any potential NBA stars. Cassius Winston, Matt McQuaid, Kenny Goins, Nick Ward, and Xavier Tillman defeated one of Mike Krzyzewski’s most spectacular teams. Those Spartans had grit and tenacity in spades. The “one-and-done era” is a misnomer, since you could have won a lot of money if you had gambled on the more experienced team over the freshmen studs in the NCAA tournament during the last 15 years.
It is unusual for freshmen-led teams to win championships. Also, Texas Tech has the same confidence of “we don’t care who you are” that it will use to snag Duke from its familiar surroundings and send them packing on Sunday. Against Texas Tech, which has kept opponents to a 41.3 percent clip inside the 3-point line this season, I believe a Duke team that loves to devour the rim will struggle (third in the nation). So, yeah, I believe Coach K’s last game will be on Thursday.
