LAS VEGAS — The Elite 8 is set and for the first time in NCAA Tournament history, there will not be a single one seed remaining. Alabama shockingly fell to five seed San Diego State on Friday afternoon, while just a few minutes later another five seed, Miami, defeated Houston.
That leaves the Longhorns of Texas as the only top two seed remaining, and sets up what should be an extremely fun final few games of the big dance.
Andy Patton and Isaac Schade of Locked on College Basketball podcast broke down the results in the Sweet 16 and looked ahead to this weekend’s games on the latest episode.
9) Florida Atlantic vs. 3) Kansas State
Time: 6:09 PM ET
Station: TBS
FanDuel odds: Kansas State -1.5
Analysis: Markquis Nowell has been the most fun player of the NCAA Tournament, dropping 20 points and a tournament record 19 assists in the Wildcats win over Michigan State.
They’ll take on a Florida Atlantic team that pulled away from Tennessee in the second half. Dusty May’s team is no Cinderella though, they are a top 30 team in KenPom and if they can find a way to slow down the duo of Nowell and Keyonte Johnson they could find themselves in the Final 4.
3) Gonzaga vs. 4) UConn
Time: 8:49 PM ET
Station: TBS
FanDuel odds: UConn -2.5
Analysis: Gonzaga and UCLA was yet another NCAA Tournament classic, with Julian Strawther drilling a three with less than 10 seconds to go to give Mark Few’s team the victory.
UConn did not have nearly as much trouble with their opponent, an eight-seeded Arkansas team, dismantling them by 23 points and getting the luxury of resting starters in the second half.
This game will come down to who wins the post battle between Drew Timme (now the all time leader in 20+ point games in the NCAA Tournament) and Adama Sanogo, who has looked nearly unstoppable at times this month.
6) Creighton vs. 5) San Diego State
Time: 2:20 PM ET
Station: CBS
FanDuel odds: Creighton -1.5
Analysis: It’s not the matchup we were expecting, but San Diego State’s takedown of number one Alabama sets up an intriguing matchup between two teams with a lot of experience and contrasting strategies – SDSU’s bully-ball physicality and Creighton’s free flowing offense.
The battle in the paint will be a big key in this one, if Ryan Kalkbrenner can get going around the rim it’s hard not to like the Blue Jays in this one.
2) Texas vs. 5) Miami
Time: 5:05 PM ET
Station: CBS
FanDuel odds: Texas -3.5
Analysis: Miami was 7.5 point underdogs against Houston on Friday and they ran them out the gym, but it looks like the oddsmakers still favor their opponent again. That’s not a huge surprise considering how dominant Texas has been through this NCAA Tournament, although the likely absence of star forward Dylan Disu could trend this game in favor of the Canes and their dynamic backcourt duo of Nijel Pack and Isaiah Wong.