The Sweet 16 tips off Thursday with the Crimson Tide and Tennessee Vols representing the SEC as teams compete to earn the right to play in the Final Four at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix on Saturday, April 6th. Game times on Saturday, 4/6 are at 5 and 7:30 PM CT. The Championship Game is Monday night, April 8th, at 8:20 PM CT. All 3 games will be broadcast by TBS.
State Farm Stadium holds 63,400 fans, and will be rocking. The pressure and electricity of the Sweet 16 will be ratcheted up for the players Thursday and Friday as they compete for the ultimate goal of making it to Phoenix and cutting down the nets on Monday Night, April 8th at approximately 10:30 CT.
Auburn and Kentucky took tough losses in the round of 64. John Calipari’s coaching acumen is being questioned after No.3 seed Kentucky lost to 14th seed Oakland in the South Regional. Calipari looks to still recruit the five star freshmen heavily, but add older transfers as well. I like 60-40 freshmen to transfers mix. You gotta like the 5 stars, but you also need veterans to go along with them. Calipari’s on floor coaching has always been a question mark for me.
Pearly had a tough ending as No. 14 Yale, like Oakland, couldn’t miss from trifecta in defeating the No.4 seeded Tigers. That seems to happen in the NCAA Tournament. Sometimes the Cinderella team doesn’t miss from 3 and they’re unbeatable. That’s what happened to the Tigers and Wildcats. Pearly is a yeller and screamer and sometimes you wonder if he overdoes it and makes his team tight in key moments. That’s something to examine more closely in 2025.
The Crimson Tide won a slugfest over Grand Canyon last Sunday Night, 72-61. The defense was outstanding, and Mark Sears was sensational. Sears poured in 26 as he was 8 of 18 from the field, 5-of-11 from trifecta, and 5 of 6 from the stripe. He also pulled down 12 boards and added six assists. What an effort. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. suffered a head injury in the game in the first half, but will be playing Thursday Night versus North Carolina. Sears will need to get more help from Aaron Estrada and Rylan Griffen as well. Both are capable. Nick Pringle will have to lock down on D like he did against Grand Canyon and Grant Nelson will need to be a factor. One guy who really gave the Crimson Tide a lift Sunday was freshman Mouhamed Dioubate. The 6’7”, 215 pound power forward scored 9 key points and pulled down 5 boards in a superb performance in 13 minutes of action versus the Lopes. He was the difference maker along with Sears, of course.
So there is some electric action forthcoming in the Sweet 16. Here are my predictions for the matchups.
Numbers in front of teams are seedings for the Region.
All times Central
Thursday, 3/28
West Region
No.6 Clemson (23-11) vs. No. 2 Arizona (27-8)
Cryto.com Arena, Los Angeles (formerly the Staples Center, 19,079)
6:09 PM
CBS
Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson, Allie LaForce
Zona by 7 1/2
Clemson coach Brad Brownell said after the matchups had been announced on Selection Sunday that the ACC played a much tougher non-conference schedule than the Big 12 did even though the Big 12 got 8 teams in the tournament and the ACC got only 5 in. He pretty much said the Big 12 was overrated. Four teams from the ACC have advanced to the Sweet 16 while only two from the Big 12 have. Clemson defeated Baylor 72-64 last Sunday in the round of 32. So Coach Brownell has a strong argument. Arizona usually struggles by the Sweet 16, so I like Clemson to pull off the upset.
Clemson 70, ‘Zona 68
East Region
No. 5 San Diego State (26-10) vs. No. 1 UConn (33-3)
TD Garden, Boston, 19,580
6:39 PM
TBS/truTV. Channel 780 on Spectrum, 247 on DirecTV
Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy, Andy Katz
UConn by 11 1/2
The Huskies look as dominant as last year. I don’t know if they’re any better, but they’re just as good.
UConn 74, SDSU 61
West
No. 4 Alabama (23-11) vs. No.1 North Carolina (29-7)
Crypto, L.A.
8:39 PM
CBS
Anderson, Jackson, Allie
UNC by 4 1/2
North Carolina has the studs in guard RJ Davis (21.3 ppg), 6 ‘11”, 240 center Armando Bacot (14.4 10.2 rebounds), Harrison Ingram (12.2 ppg 39% trifecta), Cormac Ryan (11.3) among other stellar players. However, I do like the athletes for Alabama even more. This will be hard fought. I’ll take Chapel Hill, but I like the Crimson Tide to give the Tar Heels everything they want.
North Carolina 87, Alabama 84
East
No. 3 Illinois (28-8) vs. No.2 Iowa State (29-7)
TD Garden, Boston
9:09 PM
TBS/truTV
Harlan, Bonner, Van Gundy, Katz
Iowa State by 1 1/2
Vegas expects this to be a close one. I like the Illini to pull off the slight upset.
Illinois 64, Iowa State 60
Friday, 3/29
South Region
No.11 NC State (24-14) vs. No.2 Marquette (27-9)
American Airlines Center, Dallas, 20,000
6:09 PM
CBS
Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Trace Wolfson
Marquette by 6 1/2
I don’t like picking against one of my Final Four selections, so I’ll stick to my guns and take the Wolfpack.
NC State 75, Marquette 74
Midwest
No.5 Gonzaga (27-7) vs. No.1 Purdue (31-4)
Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, 20,491
6:39 PM
TBS/ truTV
Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas, Evan Washburn
Boilers by 5 1/2
The Zags are clutch, and Mark Few is one of the best coaches in college basketball, if not the best. Give me the Zags to upset the Boilermakers.
Gonzaga 80, Purdue 76
South
No. 4 Duke (26-8) vs. No.1 Houston (32-4)
Big D
8:39 PM
CBS
Eagle, Raft, Grant, Trace
Houston by 4 1/2
I don’t think any other team is playing as well as Duke is right now. Maybe Gonzaga. Give me the Blue Devils in the upset. Another ACC over Big 12 victory.
Duke 69, Houston 66
Midwest
No. 3 Creighton (25-9) vs. No.2 Tennessee (26-8)
Motor City
9:09 PM
TBS/truTV
Catalon, Lappas, Washburn
UT by 2 1/2
Give me the Bluejays from Warren Buffet country in Omaha in the slight upset over “Regular season” Rick and the Vols.
Creighton 67, Tennessee 64
2024 MLB Predictions
The changes that were implemented into Major League Baseball last season turned out to be a resounding success. The 20 second pitch clock, the removal of the defensive shift, the larger bases (though not sure about that) and the regulation of pickoff moves to two helped speed up the games to 2 to 2 1/2 hours, and led to better hitting and more stolen bases. It was a much more exciting season with the Texas Rangers capturing the World Series in 5 games over the Arizona DBacks.
My daughter, a native of Fort Worth, was ecstatic with the ultimate outcome. I was, too. The two of us and her boyfriend went to a Rangers-Mariners game at plush Globe Life Field last June and had a complete blast. The Rangers looked great that night in a 2-1 victory over the Mariners in a 2 hour 10 minute game that saw the stars, Marcus Semien, Corey Seagar and Jon Gray flash their brilliance. Really got into the guys from DFW after that. Going back to see Fairbanks and Hayden again in June and we have tickets to the Rangers/Giants.
After the Wild Card round, I picked the Rangers to defeat the Braves in the Fall Classic in 7 and for Seagar to be the MVP of the Series. They defeated the DBacks in 5 in the Series, but Seagar was the MVP. In my preseason picks, I projected the Braves over the Rays in 6.
Now it’s a new season and the Dodgers have loaded up spending $1.2 billion in free agent acquisitions. The great Shohei Ohtani has signed up with the Dodgers for the largest contract in sports history; 10 years, $700 million. The former LA Angel came up I-5 from Anaheim to Chavez Ravine where he will showcase his immense talent as a Dodger this season. Ohanti’s interpreter is accused of stealing millions from him to pay off gambling debts and to buy expnsive items, so there is pressure and controversy surrounding Ohtani, though I think he’s innocent of any wrongdoing. Seems like a good guy to me and an all world hitter and pitcher. He will not pitch this season as he’s recovering from an arm injury. But he will DH for the Dodgers. Then you have Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman hitting in front of him. That’s dynamic.
The Braves have another prolific lineup. One to nine, they look just as strong as the Dodgers, if not stronger. If their pitching can come through, they can win another World Championship; their third in franchise history along with the 1995 and 2021 titles. Ronald Acuna, Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley among others are hitting machines/sluggers at the plate They remind me of the 1970’s with the Pirates featuring Stargell and the great Clemente and the Big Red Machine with Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench and George Foster. The Braves with Hammerin’ Hank and Rico Carty, “the Beeg Boy” were big time sluggers, too, in the ‘70’s.
So, here are my postseason predictions for MLB 2024 along with my World Series champion, and MVP’s and Cy Young’s.
American League
Divison winners
AL East- Baltimore Orioles, tragic what happened in Baltimore two nights ago on the Frances Scott Key Bridge.
AL Central- Minnesota Twins
AL West- Houston Astros
Wild Cards, 1. Rangers, 2. Rays, 3. Mariners.
AL Wild Card games, Best 2 out of 3
Mariners over Twins in 3
Rangers over Rays in 2
ALDS, best 3 out of 5
O’s over Mariners in 3
Rangers over Astros in 5
ALCS, Best 4 out of 7
Rangers over O’s in 7
Like the defending champs to make it back to the Fall Classic. Bruce Bochy is the best manager in baseball.
National League
Division Winners
NL East- Braves
NL Central- Cubs
NL West- Dodgers
Wild Cards, 1. Phillies, DBacks, 3. Giants
NL Wild Card Winners
Cubs over Giants in 3
Phillies over Dbacks in 3
NLDS
Braves over Cubs in 3
Dodgers over Phillies in 5
NLCS
Braves over Dodgers in 7, slight upset, but not really.
World Series
Braves over Rangers in 7. The defending champs don’t go down without a fight.
World Series Most Valuable Player- Matt Olson
NL MVP
Shohei Ohtani-gets through the controversy and excels.
NL Cy Young
Spencer Strider, Braves
AL MVP
Corey Seagar, Texas
AL Cy Young
Gerrit Cole, Yanks