Sweet 16 Sunday Special

The action continues as the field for the Elite 8 is determined.

March 28, 2021

Tipoff

Today, the Sweet 16 concludes for both the men’s and women’s tournaments. To help you get ready for the day’s action, let’s take a look at some of the key trends:

West Coast Bias. The last time a team from the Western Time Zone cut down the nets, they did it in Indianapolis. Lute Olson’s 1997 Arizona Wildcats were the most recent team from the West Coast to win the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Sunday’s Sweet 16 matchups include 4 teams - Gonzaga, Oregon, UCLA, and USC - that are trying to break that drought. Oregon State got things started yesterday when they upset Loyola-Chicago. Is this the year that Bill Walton’s vivid dreams come true?

Chalk Talks. The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, for both the men and women, was all about chaos. This Sunday, five 1-seeds and two more 2-seeds will be playing for the chance to advance to the Elite 8, including the #1 overall team in the men’s tournament, Gonzaga. On the women’s side, UConn already took care of business behind the stellar play of Christyn Williams, Evina Westbrook, and Paige Bueckers. Only one double-digit seed, UCLA on the men’s side, remains in action between the two tournaments. This often happens, though, where the tournament is chaotic early before settling down to the top seeds advancing to the Final Four. Of course, Oregon State and UCLA still have a chance to smear the chalk.

Size Matters. The current era of basketball is defined by pace and space. The era of the dominant big man seems like a relic of a different era, but don’t tell that to the big men playing in the men’s tournament this year. Gonzaga’s Drew Timme (6’10”), Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson (7’1’”), and USC’s Evan Mobley (6’11”), are just a few of the standouts that really stand out in today’s games. Dickinson and the Wolverines will face off against Balsa Koprivica (7’1”) and Florida State, which according to www.KenPom.com, is the tallest team in the country with an average roster height of 79.6 inches. Number 2 in that category is USC, by the way.

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Tournament Tracker

It’s The Big Dance! Let’s take a look at NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament action and what lies ahead.

NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Sweet 16

  • #1 Gonzaga vs. #5 Creighton (2:10 p.m. EDT on CBS)

  • #1 Michigan vs. #4 Florida State (5:00 p.m. EDT on CBS)

  • #2 Alabama vs. #11 UCLA (7:15 p.m. EDT on TBS)

  • #6 USC vs. #7 Oregon (9:45 p.m. EDT on TBS)

NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Sweet 16

  • #1 South Carolina vs. #5 Georgia Tech (1:00 p.m. EDT on ABC)

  • #1 Stanford vs. #5 Missouri State (3:00 p.m. EDT on ABC)

  • #1 Louisville vs. #6 Oregon (7:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN)

  • #2 Maryland vs. #6 Texas (9:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN)

The Mixtape

The Field of 68 team puts out lots of great content each week. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights.

  • The Creighton Bluejays are back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since the legend, head coach Eddie Sutton, was stalking the sideline in Omaha in 1974. Former Creighton standout Darryl Ashford joins the Welcome to the Jay podcast with Jahenns Manigat to take a look at this year’s tournament run and the matchup with Gonzaga. Can Christian Bishop stand up to All-American Drew Timme in the post? Will Marcus Zegarowski be able to stand up to Jalen Suggs? The former Bluejays look at the matchups and their history as teammates.

  • In basketball, the action off the court is sometimes just as compelling as what is happening on the court. The NBA has Woj Bombs and Shams Wows while college ball has the coaching carousel and the transfer portal. Rob Dauster and Jeff Goodman take a look at the most recent head coach openings and the candidates for the top jobs at Indiana, Texas, and why Shaka Smart went home to Wisconsin for the job at Marquette.

  • March is all about the Cinderella stories and hitting big shots. Few teams had both, but that’s what happened with Northern Iowa in 2010 for senior guard Ali Farokhmanesh. The announcer famously asked the question, “Are you serious?” Ali and his head coach, Ben Jacobson, dissect the play for Tim Miles for 68 Shining Moments. The answer was that Ali was, in fact, very serious about that shot. He had made that same shot before, just not against the #1 team in the nation.