- Game: No. No. 5 Miami vs. No. 1 Houston
- Date & Time : Friday, March 24, 7:15 p.m.
- The game will be televised on CBS.
The Number one-seeded Houston Cougars have been banged up this tournament and limped through the first three halves of the dance.
In the second half of their game against Auburn they turned up the intensity and allowed the Tigers to just 4 made field goals in the second half.
Marcus Sasser sat out the second half of their opening-round game against Kennesaw State but was able to go for the whole game against Auburn.
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Northern Kentucky’s head man said after the game, “I don’t think it’s a stretch to say we outplayed Houston. We just didn’t make enough shots.” There are probably a lot of teams who finish their game with Houston who feel that way.
They can ratchet up the intensity on defense and swallow you whole. Their combination of size, strength, and age is tough to handle for a full 40 minutes.
Miami is different than what the Cougars have faced so far in the tournament.
They can match their athleticism in most spots and experience levels. They are coming off an 85-point performance against Indiana and dominating them on the glass.
- Game: No. 3 Xavier vs. No. 2 Texas
- Date & Time : Friday, March 24, 9:45 p.m.
- The game will be televised on CBS.
Isaiah Wong led the Hurricanes with 27 points, and this game will be one of the only times this year the Houston won’t have a massive advantage at the guard spots.
Miami is in its second consecutive Sweet 16, they have done very well in the transfer portal as well. This is likely going to be the toughest test for the Cougars so far. If they can’t slow down the Hurricanes, they are going to be going to Houston sad instead of hosting the Final Four
The Xavier Musketeers have ridden a 6-man rotation to the sweet 16. Sean Miller has taken over the program that he left for Arizona and brought them back after a couple of down years. They are a group that shares the rock as well as any team in the country.
2022-23 Big East Conference |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
| Marquette Golden Eagles | 17-3 | – | 29-7 |
| Xavier Musketeers | 15-5 | 2 | 27-9 |
| Creighton Bluejays | 14-6 | 3 | 23-12 |
| UConn Huskies | 13-7 | 3 | 28-8 |
Over the first two games, they have 38 assists.
The contrast in this one is with the depth that the Longhorns have. Both of these teams have very good guard play, but Texas is able to bring 5 to the table instead of the Xavier 3.
Texas has 9 players averaging 11 minutes a game. Texas is also very old. They have 7 players who have combined for nearly 1000 college games. Texas, however, rode their big man in Dylan Disu against outsized Penn State to get to this game.
He was averaging 8.3 points per game this season, but over the first weekend, he had 17 against Colgate and 28 against Penn State. This game is screaming Texas to me, but something about Sean Miller sweating through his blue suit keeps it interesting.
2022-23 Atlantic Coast Conference |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
| Miami Hurricanes | 15-5 | – | 27-7 |
| Virginia Cavaliers | 15-5 | – | 25-8 |
| Clemson Tigers | 14-6 | 1 | 23-11 |
| Duke Blue Devils | 14-6 | 1 | 27-9 |
GAMEDAY.
Sweet 16
(5) Miami 🆚 (1) Houston
7:15 PM ET on CBS pic.twitter.com/2WsG4ct2uc— Canes Men’s Basketball (@CanesHoops) March 24, 2023
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| Title: Midwest Region Sweet 16
| Author: Matt Catton
| Date: Mar 24, 2023
