NCAA Tournament 2019: Ranking the upcoming Sweet 16 matchups

(1) North Carolina Tar Heels vs. (5) Auburn Tigers

This has the potential to be the best game of the Sweet 16. North Carolina is definitely the higher-rated seed but nobody should be discounting Auburn anymore. The Tigers are scorching hot and their offense is among the most difficult to stop in the country when they are on their game. Of course, the same can be said about North Carolina, though, so this has the makings of an extremely engaging and high-scoring affair between two of the best offenses in the nation.

For North Carolina, it all starts with Coby White. An electrifying freshman who can let it fly from distance or use his elite first step to get to the basket, White is a natural-born scorer. He is second on the team in scoring this season but he is the engine that makes the team go with his quickness and offensive spurts. Alongside him, talented seniors Cameron Johnson and Luke Maye are also tremendous as frontcourt scorers. With these three leading the way, the Tar Heels’ offense operates at one of the quickest tempos in the nation.

Auburn, on the other hand, is a bit more deliberate with their offense but they still play at a top-75 pace. The Tigers, who are coached by Bruce Pearl, are led by an elite backcourt duo. Jared Harper and Bryce Brown are both tremendous in their own ways as the offensive leaders of the team. Harper is one of the top distributors in the land while scoring a fair amount on his own while Brown is the leading scorer.