6 BYU Cougars (26-9) vs 2 Alabama Crimson Tide (27-8)

Thursday, 3/27, 7:09 PM, CBS

The red-hot Cougars will look to continue their run after escaping Wisconsin in a thrilling 91-89. BYU are led by star guard Richie Saunders, who scored 26 in his last game against the Badgers. After struggling in the first round against Robert Morris, Alabama bounced back and dominated a top defense in Saint Mary’s 80-66. All year, Alabama’s offense has been nearly impossible to stop, averaging the most points per game in college basketball (91.1). The Tide’s offensive identity lies with their spread pick-and-roll offense orchestrated by guard Mark Sears which features chucking up threes and alley-oops to center Cliff Omoruyi and forward Grant Nelson. BYU has to neutralize Alabama’s pick-and-roll game like Robert Morris did if they want to move into the Elite Eight for the first time since 1981.  

Prediction: BYU 72 Alabama 81

4 Maryland Terrapins (27-8) vs 1 Florida Gators (32-4)

Thursday, 3/27, 7:39 PM, TBS/truTV

After dominating Grand Canyon 81-49 in the first round, Maryland saw themselves in a shootout against Colorado State, where the Terrapins won 72-71 on a buzzer beater from star freshman center Derik Queen. Maryland’s explosive offense had a tough time getting started against Colorado State after being down by 7 at halftime, but their offense ended up recovering, scoring 42 in the second half. Like Maryland, Florida was featured in a shootout against 2-time defending champion UConn, with star guard Walter Clayton Jr. scoring 23 points and hitting multiple clutch shots to help the Gators escape the Huskies 77-75. This was a much-needed wake up call for the SEC champs, as Florida cannot have 12 turnovers against Maryland like they did against UConn.

Prediction: Maryland 65 Florida 75

4 Arizona Wildcats (24-12) vs 1 Duke Blue Devils (33-3)

Thursday, 3/27, 9:39 PM, CBS

Arizona is getting hot at the right time, after decimating Akron 93-65 (who I thought would upset) and edging out Oregon 87-83. Arizona hit 50% of three-point attempts and 45% of field goal attempts against the Ducks, with star guard Caleb Love getting back on the groove of things with 29 points. Former UNC guard Caleb Love is looking to antagonize Duke yet again in his career, but this Duke team isn’t anything to play with. After a slow first half, Duke blew out Baylor 89-66 thanks to Tyrese Proctor’s 25-point contribution. Duke’s X-factor is the generational talent at forward in Cooper Flagg–who leads the Blue Devils in every major stat this season. Arizona have their work cut out for them in this matchup and it may take a miracle for the Wildcats to take down this juggernaut.

Prediction: Arizona 69 Duke 80

10 Arkansas Razorbacks (22-13) vs 3 Texas Tech Red Raiders (27-8)

Thursday, 3/27, 10:09 PM, TBS/truTV

The 10-seeded Razorbacks are trying to go on a Cinderella run after back-to-back upsets over  Kansas 79-72 and 2-seed Saint John’s 75-66. Arkansas head coach John Calipari has turned back the clock to his Kentucky days as Arkansas’ team chemistry is a key reason for their run. Texas Tech looked dominant in their 77-64 win over Drake’s stout defense, with forwards Darrion Williams and JT Toppin combining for 53 points. Both offenses have been lights out in March– with Arkansas averaging 77 and Texas Tech averaging 79.5 points per game in the tournament. Arkansas has clearly faced better competition than Texas Tech so far, which could give the Hogs an advantage 

Prediction: Arkansas 72 Texas Tech 76

6 Ole Miss Rebels (24-11) vs 2 Michigan State Spartans (29-6)

Friday, 3/28, 7:09 PM, CBS

Chris Beard’s Ole Miss have been hot in March, easily handling UNC and Iowa State as their first two tournament games. Guard Sean Pedulla has been lights out for the Rebs scoring 20 in both contests and a consistent force on both sides of the ball. Michigan State are in their signature month of March and have been a little disappointing as they struggled to beat New Mexico 71-63 in the second round. Despite Jase Richardson shooting 1-10 against New Mexico, Tre Holloman and Tre Akins stepped up and helped Sparty escape the Lobos. Michigan State is built for March under Tom Izzo, and despite not having a clear star, the Spartans have looked impressive with the chemistry and passion the players have. It is always tough to beat Izzo and Michigan State in March– so let’s see if Ole Miss takes the challenge.

Prediction: Ole Miss 71 Michigan State 73

3 Kentucky Wildcats (24-11) vs 2 Tennessee Volunteers (29-7)

Friday, 3/28, 7:39 PM, TBS/truTV

Despite having a rollercoaster of a season, here are Kentucky in their first Sweet 16 since 2019. The Wildcats have ended their recent embarrassing performances in March by dominating Troy 76-57 and handling Illinois 84-75. Koby Brea had 23 points in the Wildcats win over the Illini and is looking to wreak havoc on Tennessee again. Tennessee’s duo at guard, Chaz Lainer and Zakai Ziegler, have led Tennessee past Wofford and UCLA– with Lainer’s scoring 49 points and Ziegler recording 18 assists combined in these 2 games. This is Tennessee’s third straight Sweet 16 appearance so Rick Barnes’ Vols have been here before. Tennessee is 0-2 against Kentucky this season– so the Vols are thinking of revenge and maybe a third time’s a charm. 

Prediction: Kentucky 63 Tennessee 70

5 Michigan Wolverines (27-9) vs 1 Auburn Tigers (30-5)

Friday, 3/28, 9:39 PM, CBS

In the first round, the Big Ten champs almost fell to UCSD due to a late surge led by Tyler McGhie but the Wolverines ended up surviving 68-65. Michigan rebounded from the near-upset and had a huge 56-point second half against Texas A&M to win 91-79, so Michigan showed improvement since their first tournament game. Michigan’s Dusty May is looking to make another Final Four run like he did as coach of FAU in 2022, but he has to make it past Bruce Pearl’s strong Auburn team first. Auburn handled 16-seed Alabama State by 20 and took care of Creighton 82-70 in the second round. Auburn has the frontrunner for the Naismith Award (best college basketball player) in forward Johni Broome, who has been underperforming in the tournament again this year, with 11 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. Tahaad Pettiford stepped up for the Tigers with 23 crucial points against Creighton, hoping to make another impact off the bench against the Wolverines. 

Predictions: Michigan 77 Auburn 76

4 Purdue Boilermakers (24-11) vs 1 Houston Cougars (32-4) 

Friday, 3/28, 10:09 PM, TBS/truTV

Purdue is looking to return to the National Championship, despite a pretty new roster for the Boilermakers this year. Although All-American guard Braden Smith is underperforming so far, Kaufman-Renn has continued to be a threat for Purdue in the paint– both offensively and defensively. Purdue has had one of the easiest paths yet after taking down 13-seed High Point 75-63 and 12-seed McNeese 76-62. This easy path ends here as Purdue faces a near-flawless Housrton team that is undefeated in their last 15 games– the longest in the country. In the second round, guard L.J. Cryer saved the Cougars with 30 points to put them above the Zags 81-76. Houston head coach Kelvin Simpson has shaped the Cougars into a defensive juggernaut– ranked 1st in defensive efficiency and 58.4 points per game conceded, the lowest in D-1 basketball. Purdue will have to shoot lights out to break Houston’s defense, which may be near-impossible.

Prediction: Purdue 58 Houston 74