March Madness: Breakdown of each region for Sweet Sixteen games
West Region
Bracket Busting Team: Florida State
Of all the ACC teams you wouldn’t think could get an upset win, it was the Seminoles. Coach Leonard Hamilton has had more talented teams do a lot less in March. But, it was the Noles who made the plays against one seed, Xavier.
With 5:37 left in the game, the Musketeers had a nine-point lead. That’s when Tournament Florida St. became something we hadn’t seen before. Resilient. An 11-2 run tied the game at 68 with 2:21 left putting Xavier in full panic mode.
In the last 1:39, the Musketeers turned the ball over three times. Florida St. turned it over once.
PJ Savoy’s three-pointer with 1:12 left gave Florida St. a one-point lead that they never surrendered.
Favorite: Michigan
The Wolverines edge Gonzaga out as the favorite. John Beilein’s group has been on a heater since the Big Ten tournament and was a popular pick to make it to the Final Four.
They didn’t get here easily. In their second-round game against Houston, the Cougars had a chance to put the game away with 3.6 seconds left. Devin Davis stepped to the line for two free throws. Not only did he miss both but neither were close.
The key after the miss is somehow, someway Michigan had a timeout left. Oh, the irony. How big was that? If they have to run the ball up the court, whatever set play was called would’ve been hurried or the ball handler would have gone straight to the basket to get the tie.
But, because Michigan had a timeout, they were able to put the perfect set play, against the Cougars switching defense. That allowed them to get the initial inbounds pass all the way to halfcourt.
The unselfish and composed Muhammad-Akbar Abdul-Rahkman didn’t force himself into a spot to jack up a three, he caught and looked, finding Jordan Poole for the game-winner.
Sidenote: Most coaches will tell you if they switch they don’t guard the inbounds man.
Who Can Knock Off Michigan?: Gonzaga
The Zags will need to get by the new version of Tournament Florida St. but they should in a close one.
How they match up with Michigan becomes intriguing. Beilein has never had a team this good defensively but, unlike last year’s runner-up, Gonzaga has more diverse ways to score. As much as three-point shooting is important to the Bulldogs, their ability to get to the free throw line is the key. They’ve attempted 58 free throws in the first two games. That helped them overcome a poor three-point shooting day against UNC Greensboro.
In the Ohio State game, Gonzaga responded after giving up a double-digit lead. Down five with a little more than six minutes left, the Zags closed the game on a 28-17 run (that includes a meaningless Buckeye three at the buzzer).