No Cinderella staff emerged out of the East Area, leaving 4 juggernauts to proceed their NCAA Event journeys in Boston.
TD Backyard would be the stage for the colleges beginning Thursday when Candy 16 motion begins. Reigning nationwide champion and top-seeded UConn battles No. 5 San Diego State in a rematch of final 12 months’s nationwide remaining. Tipoff for that contest is about for 7:39 p.m. ET. Third-seeded Illinois and No. 2 Iowa State collide in one other showdown at 10:09 p.m. The winners will sq. off Saturday within the Elite Eight.
Every staff enters Boston with the identical objective in thoughts of chopping down the nets and advancing to the Remaining 4. So, let’s take a better have a look at the 4 groups that may play at TD Backyard and the way they acquired there.
No. 1 UConn (33-3)
How the Huskies acquired right here: 91-52 win vs. No. 16 Stetson; 75-58 win vs. No. 8 Northwestern.
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The Huskies have steamrolled the competitors, securing their wins by a mean margin of 28 factors. They certain have the look of a staff poised to win back-to-back nationwide titles, one thing that hasn’t been executed in virtually 20 years.
UConn has a fearsome beginning 5, that includes main scorer Tristen Newton and a double-double machine in 7-foot-2 sophomore middle Donovan Clingan. That’s simply the place it begins for the Huskies, who additionally boast two knock down 3-point shooters in Cam Spencer and Alex Karaban.
UConn principally does every little thing nicely, however even with Spencer and Karaban, long-range taking pictures isn’t its energy. The Huskies made simply 3-of-22 (13.6%) makes an attempt from past the arc in opposition to Northwestern, however nonetheless gained by 17 factors.
No. 5 San Diego State (26-10)
How the Aztecs acquired right here: 69-65 win vs. No. 12 UAB; 85-57 win vs. No. 13 Yale.
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The calling card for the Aztecs hasn’t modified since a shock run to the nationwide title sport a season in the past. San Diego State continues to be constructed on its smothering protection because it held each of its NCAA Event opponents to underneath 40% taking pictures from the sector.
On the opposite aspect of the ground, San Diego State’s offense runs by star senior Jaedon LeDee. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound energy ahead is averaging an eye-popping 29 factors per sport within the tourney and places stress on opposing defenses by continually inflicting fouls. LeDee has assistance on the offensive finish from savy veteran guards in Lamont Butler and Darrion Trammell.
By no imply’s is San Diego State an offensive drive, although. The Aztecs are very streaky offensively. They canned a season-high 13 triples in opposition to Yale, however their offense can dry up in a second’s discover.
No. 2 Iowa State (29-7)
How the Cyclones acquired right here: 82-65 win vs. No. 15 South Dakota State; 67-56 win vs. No. 7 Washington State.
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The Cyclones are one among three groups left within the area which have but to play in a NCAA Event sport determined by single digits. Iowa State used its balanced scoring assault as a recipe for achievement with 4 double-digit scorers in every of its wins. Sophomore Tamin Lipsey is averaging 16 factors per sport within the tourney to guide the Cyclones whereas freshman ahead Milan Momcilovic can have large scoring nights, too, like he did with a 19-point effort in opposition to the Jackrabbits.
Iowa State can mild it up from 3-point vary and continued to take action by the primary two rounds. The Cyclones have knocked down 48.6% of their 3-pointers.
Iowa State isn’t deep with head coach T.J. Otzelberger sticking with a good eight-man rotation. The dearth of depth may harm the Cyclones at this stage of the NCAA Event, particularly if any of their bigs get in foul bother.
No. 3 Illinois (28-8)
How the Combating Illini acquired right here: 85-69 win vs. No. 14 Morehead State; 89-63 win vs. No. 11 Duquesne.
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Illinois acquired some pushback from Morehead State within the opening spherical — the Eagles led for a majority of the primary half and have been tied with 14:21 remaining — however the Combating Illini acquired their ft underneath them to shoot down any notion of an upset bid.
If there’s one identify on Illinois to understand it’s Terrence Shannon Jr. The stellar senior guard was an All-Massive 10 First Group choice and he confirmed why within the match. Shannon poured in 26 factors in opposition to Morehead State and adopted that up with 30 factors in opposition to Duquesne. And when Illinois wants secondary scoring, it often comes from senior ahead Marcus Domask. However relying closely on Shannon to supply on the offensive finish may be the Combating Illini’s Achilles heel.