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Elite Eight Predictions: Projecting Which Teams Advance To Final Four
Elite Eight predictions for the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Projecting which teams will advance to the Final Four.
March 26, 2016
Elite Eight predictions for the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Projecting which teams will advance to the Final Four.
No. 1 Oregon (31-6) vs. vs. No. 2 Oklahoma (28-7)
Why Oregon Will Win: The transition game is rocking and rolling, making teams look ridiculous. Blink, and the Ducks go on a 10-0 run and the game is over. Duke never, ever looked comfortable – partly because Oregon was taking up too much time dunking. Oklahoma can rebound and it can get up and down the floor, but the Ducks do everything faster and have too much of an inside presence for the Sooners to get much of anything inside the arc.
Why Oklahoma Will Win: The Sooners can play a little bit of interior defense, too. Oregon might be phenomenal at blocking shots, but OU is just as good at altering offenses. More importantly, the three-point bombing is there to shoot over the Oregon defense – this is the best outside shooting team left in the tournament – with enough firepower to keep up the pace.
What’s Going To Happen: Oklahoma will make this a run ‘n’ gun showdown, and Buddy Hield will be Buddy Hield, but the offense makes too many mistakes and turns it over too much – you can’t do that against the Ducks.
Line: PICK
Elite Eight Prediction: Oregon 88, Oklahoma 80
No. 1 Kansas (33-4) vs. vs. No. 2 Villanova (32-5)
Why Kansas Will Win: This isn’t your older brother’s Kansas team. Perry Ellis was the big story against Maryland, but it was the team’s overall performance in the second half to pull away with rebound after rebound. The Jayhawks outboarded the Terps 43-28, and they should come up with a repeat against a Villanova front line that’s just okay at attacking the glass. Kansas should own the interior.
Why Villanova Will Win: The Wildcats are playing air-tight defense and they’re not making any mistakes whatsoever. Iowa and Miami are two good, sound teams that all but gave up – they didn’t but they had no answers – against a defense that didn’t allow much of anything to work. Villanova was great from three against the Canes, and they just didn’t screw up. They won’t give Kansas anything easy.
What’s Going To Happen: I’m going to keep picking against Kansas until it happens. Villanova is playing with too much confidence and its defense is too strong not to get Jay Wright to his second Final Four.
Line: Kansas -2.5
Elite Eight Prediction: Villanova 77, Kansas 75
No. 1 North Carolina (31-6) vs. No. 6 Notre Dame (24-11)
Why North Carolina Will Win: When we last saw North Carolina take on Notre Dame, it was a 78-47 Tar Heel squeaker in the ACC Tournament. UNC has stepped its game up a whole other level in March. The size, the three-point shooting, and the athleticism were too much for Providence, and they were able to out-Indiana, Indiana. Notre Dame might be playing well, but if UNC turns it on from the outside early, this could get out of hand fast.
Why Notre Dame Will Win: Can the Irish slow this thing down? The Irish won the matchup back in early February by getting the offense going – winning 80-76 – but with the way the UNC offense is rolling, it has to be a different game. It needs this to get into the muck, proving it could not only survive, but come through in the clutch against Wisconsin with timely free throws and, of course, the late steals. The Irish can hit the boards – they’ll win just enough battles up front to not get destroyed on second-chance points.
What’s Going To Happen: Notre Dame is God’s team? The game is on Easter Sunday? Yes, but if God wasn’t a Tar Heel fan, why is the sky Carolina blue? With only some due respect to Kansas and Villanova, with the way North Carolina is playing, and with its transition offense rolling, the firepower is too much – the 2016 NCAA Tournament might be over.
Line: COMING (best guess, North Carolina -7.5)
Elite Eight Prediction: North Carolina 81, Notre Dame 70
No. 1 Virginia (28-7) vs. No. 10 Syracuse (21-13)
Why Syracuse Will Win: Gonzaga appeared to put the game away, and the Orange willed their way back to the nasty win. To go cliché, they’re playing with house money at this point and they’re playing with an extra bounce compared to where they were at in early March. With the way the 2-3 zone attacks, it creates turnovers and mistakes that Virginia’s phenomenal D doesn’t. This is the one team and the one defense Virginia has no interest in dealing with – the Cavs will be in for a war.
What’s Going To Happen: Virginia is opening it up with the offense starting to take games over early. Syracuse will keep this close for most of the game, but the Cavaliers will open it up in the second half.
Line: COMING (best guess, Virginia -5)
Elite Eight Prediction: Virginia 72, Syracuse 64
