1. SDSU vs Uconn Rematch
The culmination of last year’s March Madness tournament brought us a title game featuring two rather unlikely opponents, San Diego State (a 5-seed), and Uconn (a 4-seed). Uconn ultimately wound up besting SDSU rather comfortably, but it was a wildly entertaining game nevertheless. This year we don’t have to wait until the title game to see these two programs duke it out once again in a rematch; this year, the rematch is set to take place in the Sweet 16. While Uconn is undoubtedly the favorite in the matchup—just as they were last year—you never can truly count out the Aztecs and their suffocating defense. The Huskies may be the number 1 overall seed in the tournament and looking very much the part so far through two games, but SDSU is no slouch either, arguably coming off their best victory of the season, dominating Yale to the tune of 85-57. With title aspirations on the line, and emotions riding high, this rematch may very well be the most anticipated Sweet 16 game this year. Thursday can’t come soon enough!
2. Zach Edey’s Dominance
Death, taxes, and Zach Edey looking like a man amongst boys. If there’s been a more dominant player in all of college basketball than soon to be back-to-back Naismith Player of the Year Zach Edey I have yet to see him. So far through two tournament games, Edey is averaging 26.5 ppg, 17.5 rpg, and 3 bpg—oh yeah, and both games were blowouts, so in all likelihood those numbers would’ve been even more bonkers if Purdue had needed him out there more. And with an upcoming sweet 16 matchup featuring a Gonzaga team that is feisty, but worryingly undersized—their starting lineup doesn’t list anyone taller than 6 ’10”—Edey’s chances of slowing down are slim to none. As far as the overall team matchup is concerned, Gonzaga should be able to put up more of a fight than Grambling, or Utah State, heck they may even find a way to pull off the slight upset. But in regards to Gonzaga’s chances of containing the 7’ 4” Toronto native, they’re going to need something of a March miracle.
3. The ACC Showing Out
So far, through the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, the ACC is 8-1, and 4 of the 5 teams that entered the tournament now find themselves preparing for a Sweet 16 game. Additionally, NC State (number 11-seed), finds themselves as the sole double digit seed remaining in the whole tournament, continuing the recent trend of double digit seeds making it to the second weekend four of the past five years—excluding the 2020 Covid year. While Duke and UNC tend to attract the most attention and are the highest seeded ACC teams in the tournament—at 4 and 1 respectively—6-seeded Clemson has quietly put together back to back impressive wins. After handily taking care of a red-hot New Mexico State team in the opening round, Clemson followed that up with an equally impressive win over the 3-seed Baylor Bears. It will be fascinating to see if the ACC as a whole is able to keep their momentum going as they enter the second weekend of the tournament and the competition continues to get stronger. In order to claim a spot in the Elite 8 Clemson must get past Arizona, Duke must overpower Houston, NC State must survive Marquette, and UNC must outduel Alabama. Let the Madness roll on!