Where to Watch the Sweet Sixteen & Elite Eight

By Ted on Monday, March 21, 2011
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The first two (three, if you're using the proper nomenclature) rounds of the 2011 dance were fairly solid: five double-digit seeded teams advanced, one No. 1 got dropped, and VCU certainly appears to play good enough hoops to become a George Mason in 2006-esque squad. The Sweet One-Six commences Thursday in Anaheim and New Orleans, then rolls Friday in San Antonio and Newark. Here's a preview of what to watch:

Thursday - Anaheim

The initial two games are Duke vs. Arizona and UConn vs. SDSU, which would seem to yield another Duke vs. UConn high-stakes Tournament game. Not sure of the absolute logistics here, but if UConn went back to Storrs -- to perpetuate the student-athlete myth (THERE, WE SAID IT) -- that's a tough run all the way back to Anaheim by Thursday, considering SDSU could hitchhike there and make it in a few hours. Fatigue is a factor. Even though they're so easy to hate, Duke is completely loaded right now. Michigan gave them absolutely everything they had, and couldn't win. Arizona is similar in talent, with one transcendent player (Michigan lacked that). It could be close, but again, expect Duke vs. UConn on Saturday. Cue this up when it happens:

Thursday - New Orleans

We'll say this off the bat: this was supposed to be the year that Pitt finally got off the schnied, and of course, they didn't. So now it's become the year that "On Facebook, everyone mocks Pitt." You know what happened when Kansas got to the Facebook-mocking level? They came back and won the whole damn thing the next year. So, early prediction: don't sleep on Pitt on 2012. Also as a sidenote: how cool is to say, for sure, that a sport will be playing in 2012? Love college athletics for that reason. Here it's Butler vs. Wisconsin (late) and BYU vs. Florida (early); the latter is a matchup of the first round last year, where Jimmer dropped 37 and the Cougs took down UF. It won't be as easy this time. Billy Donovan seems like a pretty focused dude, and he knows the No. 1 seed here is gone, so he's ostensibly the favorite. So long as that offense runs through Chandler Parsons, he has a shot. Try as we might, we just can't see Wisco winning that late game. They're very good, and they have a great 1-2 punch in Taylor and Leuer, but to quote one of the friends of this site, "Always the bridesmaid, never the bride." Expect Butler vs. Florida on Saturday.

Friday - San Antonio

We'll devote the least space to this bracket. It's Kansas and three double-digit seeds. This is very similar in many respects to 2008. Here's what likely happens: Kansas over Richmond by 15, VCU over FSU by 6-10. Kansas vs. VCU is close -- VCU will have a lead with 10 minutes to go -- but ultimately, the Goliath program wins out. That's what happened in Kansas vs. Davidson in 2008. If Kansas doesn't get out of San Antonio, given that the other three seeds are 10, 11 and 12, well... that's not a pretty day at the podium for Mr. Bill Self.

Friday - Newark

This is probably the best Regional remaining, so we saved it for last. Early game is UNC-Marquette. You want to think it might be close (Darius Johnson-Odom!), but in all likelihood, UNC wins by about 10. John Henson is a defensive beast. That dude is about 17 feet tall when he stretches. The late game here is awesome: Ohio State-Kentucky. Probably the two best starting fives remaining in the Tournament in this game. No one has even gotten dirt on the proverbial shoulder of the Buckeyes, whereas UK has played two tight games. Ton of NBA athletes on this floor too. In the end, OSU probably wins it -- but it won't be by 32, like the first couple. Since most of the games above aren't amazing on paper, and this is the final tip of Thursday-Friday, hopefully it's an absolute beast of a contest. Expect OSU-UNC as the late Sunday game (final ticket to the Final Four). There will be lots of hype about the programs that gave us John Lucas and Michael Jordan, Greg Oden and Eric Montross. Ultimately, it should be a pretty sweet game, but there's almost no way OSU should drop to a squad that young.