Sweet Sixteen Matchups: Who Moves On?

The NCAA tournament is officially into the Sweet Sixteen with plenty of exciting basketball yet to come. First seeds Florida and Duke punched their tickets to the Elite Eight on Thursday night. Alabama and Texas Tech were not far behind earning impressive wins to escape the Sweet 16.

https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1905436880549585330

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

After a shocking round of 32 game between Iowa State and Ole Miss, the Rebels were able to come away with the upset 91 -78. Sean Pedulla lead the way scoring 20 points and racking up 8 assists for the Rebels. Ole Miss looks to stay hot and carry the momentum into the Sweet 16 where they run into the Michigan State Spartans.

Michigan State was in a battle throughout the first half, but pulled away late against New Mexico. Senior guard Jaden Akins lead the way for the Spartans with 16 points. Michigan State is looking to avoid a Sweet 16 upset, from a hungry win craving Ole Miss team.

Ole Miss produced one of the most efficient offenses from the round of 32 putting up 91 points. The key to the game for the Rebels is to stay hot from the field, and they cannot let the Spartans jump ahead fast. Michigan State is going to look to shut down Pedulla. Pedulla runs the Rebels offense, and staying with him will limit Ole Miss.

Tipoff is set for 7:09 p.m. on CBS.

2 seed Tennessee Volunteers (29-7) vs 3 seed Kentucky Wildcats (25-11)

Our first SEC showdown is finally here and it does not disappoint. The Kentucky Wildcats face-off against the Tennessee Volunteers for the third time this season. During the round of 32, Tennessee got a win over UCLA, and Kentucky got a win over Illinois.

Beating a team twice in one season is difficult, beating a team three times is what Kentucky is looking to do. After an impressive regular season the Kentucky Wildcats have entered the tournament steaming hot and eager for wins. Koby Brea and Otega Oweh have been leading way for the Wildcats combing for 39 points in the win over Illinois.

All season long the Tennessee Volunteers have been one of not the best defensive teams in all of college basketball. SEC Defensive player of the year Zakai Ziegler has been great for the Vols all season long. If he is able to get hot and stay hot for Tennessee, Kentucky is in for one long night.

Tipoff is set for 7:39 p.m. on TBS/TRUtv.

https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1905476872806277289

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

The No.1 overall seed Auburn Tigers were in a battle against Creighton in the round of 32. Player of the year candidate Johni Broome and guard Chad Baker-Mazara came up big for the Tigers down the stretch. Freshman Tahaad Pettiford lead the Tigers in scoring with 23 points off the bench.

After a very impressive end to the regular season, the Michigan Wolverines are coming in hot and upset hungry. The Wolverines pulled off the win against Texas A&M with big help from seven footers Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin. Roddy Gayle Jr. led the way in scoring with 26 points off the bench

The key to this game for the Wolverines is to use their size advantage all game long. Feed the big men down low and wear down this Auburn team. Johni Broome is going to need to big day if the Tigers want to pull out the win.

Tipoff is set for 9:39 p.m. on CBS.

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

For the last game of the Sweet 16, the Houston Cougars are looking to punch their ticket to the Elite Eight. After a commanding second round win over Gonzaga, LJ Cryer and the Cougars are looking to take care of business against the Purdue Boilermakers.

Purdue had one of the most dominating wins of the second round over McNeese State.  Trey Kaufman-Renn lead the way in scoring for Purdue with 22 points. All-American Braden Smith has been phenomenal for Purdue, controlling the whole floor throughout their first two games.

The Houston Cougars look just as good as their seed shows up to this point. The Cougars have been shooting the deep ball extremely well all tournament, and look to do so again Friday in the Sweet 16.

Tipoff is set for 10:09 p.m. on TBS/TRUtv.

Looking Ahead

The Elite Eight games will be on Saturday and Sunday. The winners advance to the Final Four next weekend in San Antonio.