Thursday Sweet 16 Preview...

Greetings... got a late start so no "daily" recap of last night's action... and no, I don't want to talk about how hapless the Hawks are... and I DEFINITELY don't want to talk about Jeff Teague getting a DNP-CD last night one day after he was only non-Horford person who showed up against Chicago... sigh... anyway... to the Sweet 16...

• West Regional Semifinal - UConn vs. San Diego State (in Anaheim) - CBS 7:15 - Really interested in this one... it seems that the public firmly on UConn and I can see why... the Huskies have won a ton of games in a row, have the biggest non-Jimmer name in the tournament in Kemba Walker, and they're from the best conference in the land... that said? I think SDSU is better, and I think they win the game... it's all about body of work... SDSU has been consistent all year in the wildly undervalued Mountain West... they have NBA talent on that roster (Kawhi Leonard is a beast), and athletes not usually associated with a school this size... AND the game is in Anaheim, setting up a default home game for SDSU with more fans in the building and the small-school factor of the neutral fans... I like the Aztecs...
• Southeast Regional Semifinal - BYU vs. Florida (New Orleans) - TBS 7:27 - Another good one... Jimmer is the story of the year, and lit up Florida for 30+ in last year's tournament... that said, Florida's bigs will run all over BYU's undersized/under-talented frontline... Jimmer will have to utterly carry them, and while he's capable of that, I just don't see it being enough here... keep an eye on Kenny Boynton's injury though... could be a factor as he's likely the main guy to guard Jimmer... Now insert the obligatory joke about Mormons in New Orleans...
• West Regional Semifinal - Duke vs. Arizona (Anaheim) - CBS 9:45 - This is the game most feel is the easiest predict... Duke is just better than Arizona... now, that said, Arizona has the best player on the floor in Derrick Williams (with apologies to Smith, Singler, and even Irving) and that's usually a good thing... I just think Duke's guard play is too good, and they have enough bodies to throw at Williams to contain him a bit... Duke by 8-10...
• Southeast Regional Semifinal - Butler vs. Wisconsin (New Orleans) - TBS 9:57 - This should be a tight one... both teams grind, and do little things better than the opposition... the issue that Butler will encounter is that they are usually 1) better coached, and 2) more disciplined than the opposition... neither is true with Bo Ryan on the other side... at any rate, I think this comes down to whoever plays better between Jordan Taylor and Shelvin Mack... and I'm a Taylor guy... Give me the Badgers...

Enjoy the madness as it resumes...