The Sweet 16 is here and with that is an exciting slate of games for Thursday in college basketball. That’s going to see four games played, filling up half of the slots in the Elite Eight with winners and ending another four seasons.
Ahead of those games, ESPN college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg made an appearance on Get Up. There, he picked his winning teams for the entire slate of games on Thursday.
The first Sweet 16 game that Greenberg looked at was the game between Alabama and BYU. There, he has picked the Crimson Tide to roll into the Elite Eight. Greenberg explained, “Roll Tide. I’ve got this Alabama team… This team will be fast-paced. Both teams make about 10 threes a game, but I think Alabama defensively gets the stops they need.”
In particular, he cited Mark Sears as being vital to the effort for the Crimson Tide. This season, he’s averaging 18.6 points and 5.0 assists per game. Clearly, that will also make him a key for BYU to try and find a way to slow down.
The next Sweet 16 game that Greenberg looked at was the one between Maryland and Florida. This comes amid rumors about Maryland head coach Kevin Willard. The Terrapins are an underdog in this game with the Gators being a popular national championship pick coming into the NCAA Tournament.
Greenberg thinks that Maryland needs a lot from Ja’Kobi Gillespie matched up on Walter Clayton. Still, he’s confident in Florida, calling them, “Too big, too long, great offensive rebounding team.” He would also add that he thinks the “Gators are the best team in college basketball.”
The winner of that Sweet 16 game will go on to play the winner of Arkansas and Texas Tech in the Elite Eight. After starting out 0-5 in SEC play under John Calipari, the Razorbacks turned things around and have now made a deep run. Greenberg doesn’t think it ends here, though, and expects Arkansas to pull off the upset.
One key for this Sweet 16 game, according to Greenberg is Adou Thiero returning from injury. He said, “They get Adou Theiro back today. That’s going to be huge. They need his physicality.” If he comes out and plays well, then this should be a close game.
The Final Sweet 16 game of the day that Greenberg looked at was the one between Arizona and Duke. This game’s winner will then move on to play either BYU or Alabama. However, this should be a tough game for both teams.
Greenberg acknowledged that Caleb Love of Arizona had a lot of success against Duke when he played for North Carolina. However, this isn’t the same Duke team, particularly on the defensive end. He explained, “This Duke defense is just different. Size, length, athleticism. They build a wall around that three-point line. You can’t get to the front of the rim.”
The first game of the night will be the game between BYU and Alabama. That’s scheduled to tip off at 7:09 p.m. EST and will be on CBS for fans.