In the Men’s March Madness tournament, we have reached the sweet sixteen, and here is a rundown of every team left. The Duke Blue Devils were ranked as the number one team in the country, but were almost upset by 16-seed Siena in round one. After that scare, Cam Boozer and Duke handed business against TCU in the second round. They will face off against St. John’s who are on a roll since winning the Big East tournament, and beating Kansas on a buzzer beating layup to advance to the second weekend. Michigan State takes on UConn, and Tom Izzo’s squad is always ready to play, while UConn has been struggling to end the season, but have put up two good performances against Furman and UCLA.
In the South Bracket, Iowa confirmed that there would be a new champion this year, knocking off one-seed Florida with a game wining three. Nebraska, who have just won their first two tournament games will be attempting to knock off Iowa and continue their best season in school history. Illinois and Houston are the two best teams left in the region, and both have star-studded freshman. Keaton Wagler leads Illinois, and Kingston Flemings for Houston, so the guard battle will be a must-see.
Out in the West, favorite Arizona has rolled through their first two matchups, as has four-seed Arkansas. With this pair of high-powered offenses, this game will be electric to watch. The biggest question of this year’s tournament is whether 11-seed Texas is a Cinderella. They were a first four team which knocked off BYU and Gonzaga but are also from the SEC and one of the major teams in the country. Purdue will be attempting to stop their run, led by senior sharpshooter Braden Smith, who was on the team that made a run to the finals just two years ago.
Finally, in the midwest Michigan takes on Alabama in the battle of the football schools. This game will have a matchup between two star forwards, Yaxel Lendeborg for Michigan, and LaBaron Philon for Bama. The bottom of the bracket features Tennessee, who just recently upset Virginia and made the sweet sixteen as a six seed, and two-seed Iowa State. The Cyclones have mostly flown under the radar this season, but can be very dangerous against any team they go up against.
