March Madness Sweet 16 Preview & Prediction

We are about to witness one of the most wide open Sweet 16's in recent memory.

Our brackets were pointless, once again, but the emotions it brought out of us was well worth it. We have a slate of games that will be played on Thursday (Check out Times/TV Channel here). 

Here are my preview and predictions for Thursday's Sweet 16 match-ups.

#11 Dayton Flyers vs #10 Stanford Cardinals 

We have a Dayton Flyers team that was the 6th team out of the Atlantic 10 (Conference tied for 2nd most teams in the tournament). The Flyers have been moving forward thanks to their defensive pressure. They held Syracuse to 0-10 behind the arc and 38.9% inside (Allowing a mere 13% behind the arc in the tournament). They keep the pressure on you all game long and as you can see from their last two games, it was enough to knock off both Ohio State and Syracuse.

The Cardinals are coming off a huge upset over the Kansas Jayhawks who were the #2 seed out of the West Region. Stanford hasn't been spectacular but they have been winning and in March, that's all you have to do. Their two wins have been by a combined eight points thanks largely to making clutch free throws at the end of the ball games. They also got lucky against a Kansas team without their talented center Joel Embiid, who missed the game because of a back injury.

The Dayton Flyers defense will be the difference maker in this game, as it has been the entire tournament. The Cardinals have been able to stick around during their games but the defense of Dayton will not allow them to recover like they have against the Lobos or the Jayhawks. They are fairly matched on both sides of the ball with Dayton having the tougher D. This will be an intense game and should go down to the end with Dayton's Cinderella story continuing on.
Prediction:

Dayton 59, Stanford 57

#1 Florida Gators vs #4 UCLA Bruins

The Florida Gators are the favorite to win the championship this season and have been showing why in their first two games. The Gators have not lost a game since Dec. 2nd and have a nice chance at making it to the Final Four. They held Pittsburgh to 33% shooting in their last game while their senior guard, Scottie Wilbekin, has been doing whatever is asked of him to keep the Gators hopes alive.

The UCLA Bruins have made it this far because of teamwork. They have played great team ball since losing to Washington State before going on to win the PAC-12 tournament. The Bruins shoot a great percentage from the field (.490 as a team) and average in the top 5 in assists per game (17.2) in the nation.

The difference maker in this game will be whichever team can keep composure late in the game. The Florida Gators have 4 seniors in their starting line-up which should play a big role in this game. The Bruins will play a great game but I'm rolling with the seniors getting it done, again.
Prediction:

Florida 66, UCLA 60

#6 Baylor Bears vs #2 Wisconsin Badgers

The Baylor Bears were able to put an end to Doug McDermott's college career while holding the Creighton Bluejays to 20.8% behind the arc, shooting 40% on field goals. The Bears have had a stingy defense against two admirable opponents, holding both to 60 points or less.

The Wisconsin Badgers had an easy start to the tournament but things got a little more sticky in their last game against Oregon. The Badgers were the tale of two halves in that game, giving up 49 points in the first half and then rallying to hold Oregon's fast tempo offense to only 28 points in the second. They were able to come out alive but their weaknesses were magnified in the first half.

The Badgers will be tested once again when they take on the Bears. With the way the Bears handled the hot handed McDermott they should be able to control the game against Wisconsin. This should be a test for each teams defense with both teams having all of their starters scoring double digits. There has to be an upset, and this is one I would take out of Thursday's games.
Prediction:

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Baylor 77, Wisconsin 70

#1 Arizona Wildcats vs #4 San Diego State

The Arizona Wildcats are coming off a dominating victory over the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Wildcats shot just below 50% from the field and played great team ball like they have all season. The defense pressured the Zags into making 21 turnovers, the offense kept an efficient game only allowing 6 turnovers of their own.

The San Diego State Aztecs have had their bumps in the road already this tournament, going to overtime with New Mexico State in their first game. They then went on to suffocate North Dakota State defensively, holding them to their lowest scoring game of the season with 44 points. This was a North Dakota team that was ranked #1 in the entire nation in field goal pct.

This should be a good one. The Wildcats pulled out the victory the last time these two teams played back in November with a 69-60 victory. The last game was won thanks to rebounds and turnovers with the Wildcats out-rebounding the Aztecs 39-28 and only three 2nd half turnovers. This one should go down to the wire but at the end of the day I think the Wildcats pull out the win using the same philosophy as their last game.
Prediction:

Arizona 68, San Diego State 58

I will be finishing my preview and predictions for Friday's games by Thursday. Be sure to check back or follow me on twitter @therealrikrok89 to get the latest stories posted.