The Michigan Wolverines survived the Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday night, 90-77, setting up a big matchup with the Tennessee Volunteers on Sunday afternoon. According to FanDuel odds, the Wolverines are 7.5-point favorites, and are -335 to win outright.
On the same side of the bracket in the West Region, Arizona handled Arkansas with ease, and Purdue used a last-second tip-in to advance over Texas. As for the East Region, Duke also used some late heroics to get past St. John’s, and UConn held on late against
Michigan State. Finally, Big Ten foes Illinois and Iowa will face each other with a spot in the Final Four on the line.
There are so many storylines to debate and discuss with the Elite Eight starting today and going into tomorrow, and we make one bold prediction for each matchup with everything on the line to get to Indianapolis.
No. 9 seed Iowa vs No. 3 seed Illinois
The Hawkeyes and the Illini met on Jan. 11, where Illinois secured the road win, 75-69. However, Iowa is shooting the lights out of the basketball, and we are predicting the Hawkeyes will get revenge on Saturday night.
For starters, the teams know each other, so the seed should not matter like in most other tournament matchups. In head coach Ben McCollum’s first season, Iowa is the last remaining “cinderella” team. After leading Drake to the tournament a year ago, he brought over six players from the Bulldogs roster, led by star point guard Bennett Stirtz, who has fit right in with the nation’s best guards.
Iowa has won its three tournament games all by single digits and a combined 13 points, but it has mastered the ability to limit opponents’ offensive rebounds and second-chance opportunities. The Hawkeyes haven’t been making three-pointers like they had this season, but they have kept games at a slow pace and have received strong contributions from their bench in Alvaro Folgueiras and Tate Sage.
Illinois has the bench and the size to match Iowa, but I expect the Hawkeyes to get to the Final Four for the first time since 1980.
No. 2 seed Purdue vs. No. 1 seed Arizona
The Boilermakers are a well-oiled machine, getting really strong production this postseason from their frontcourt, Oscar Cluff and Trey Kaufman-Renn, and they have been hot from three with guards Fletcher Loyer, C.J. Cox and Braden Smith.
However, Arizona has been staunch defensively all season long, and while it did give up 28 points to Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr. two nights ago, he converted less than 50 percent of his shots, as did fellow starting guard Maleek Thomas. The Wildcats have been able to control the pace of every game they have played this season, and they will look to do it again on Saturday night.
If Arizona can limit the threes, its guard combo of Brayden Burries and Jaden Bradley will be too much athletically for Purdue’s backcourt to deal with. The Wildcats have too many options, and they should advance to Indy.
No. 6 seed Tennessee vs No. 1 seed Michigan
Michigan absolutely needs a bounce-back game from Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara, especially against a Tennessee team that is the top offensive rebounding squad in the country. That should come to fruition on Sunday afternoon.
Wolverines’ guard Elliot Cadeau has proven to neutralize opposing guards, and Ja’Kobi Gillespie could have trouble making plays. As a result, Michigan should control the pace, get in transition and find mismatches in the paint.
The Wolverines have started slowly in each of the last three contests, and that could be the case again on Sunday. But their second-half adjustments have been better than any team in the tournament, and as has been the case the last three weeks, its size will be too much for Tennessee to handle.
No. 2 seed UConn vs. No. 1 seed Duke
Duke and UConn won in the final minute of each of their matchups on Friday, setting up a date with each other for a spot in the Final Four. With so much talk surrounding the frontcourt — Cam Boozer and Tarris Reed Jr. — it will be the backcourt that makes the biggest difference.
Duke looked like a different team with starting guard Caleb Foster back on the court, just weeks after fracturing his foot in the ACC Tournament. In miraculous form, Foster played his first 5-on-5 basketball in the second half of the Sweet 16 vs St. John’s, and he produced seven straight points during a 9-2 run after St. John’s took a 10-point lead.
As for the Huskies, Solo Ball and Silas Demary Jr. were not as instrumental in the win over the Spartans, combining for 14 points. Nonetheless, against the Blue Devils, the UConn frontcourt will be going up against the best paint defense in the country, forcing the guards to win them the game.
At the end of the day, Duke’s star power on the perimeter will be too much for UConn to match. We’re predicting the Blue Devils to punch the final ticket to Indianapolis, making it three No. 1-seeds and a No. 9-seed fighting for the national championship.
