NCAA Tournament 2019: Ranking the upcoming Sweet 16 matchups

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 22: Corey Kispert #24 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs is defended by Terance Mann #14 of the Florida State Seminoles in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at Staples Center on March 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

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COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 24: Guy of the Cavaliers celebrates. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

(1) Virginia Cavaliers vs. (12) Oregon Ducks

Oregon is the only team remaining that I did not already have ranked in the top-16 of my pre-tournament rankings. They were really the only “surprise” team to come out of the opening weekend but they are not like your usual Cinderella because they come from a power conference. The Pac-12 usually does not produce teams that see the slipper fit but that just might be the case this season. The Pac-12, as a whole, struggled tremendously this season as there were considered to be a potential one-bid league for a fair amount of the year.

With regards to the Ducks, they are scorching hot right now. With Payton Pritchard leading the way on both ends of the floor, Oregon has won 10 consecutive games and have emerged as an extremely dangerous double-digit seed. And while most of the nation wants to see Virginia succeed after last season’s debacle, the Cinderella story that Dana Altman and Co. are writing is certainly compelling.

Momentum can be extremely dangerous in the Big Dance but Virginia is simply the better team in this matchup. Because of this, it is reasonable to predict that the Cavaliers could walk away as double-digit victors. And even if this does turn out to be a close game, the odds are high that it is an extremely low-scoring game as both teams are defensively-oriented. This could make for a less exciting game than some of the other Sweet 16 matchups.

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