Breaking down the Sweet 16

West Region

1 Gonzaga v. 5 Creighton

The Creighton Blue Jays are a fine team. Greg McDermott’s squad managed to squeak past a really good UCSB team in the first round. They then rolled past Jason Preston and the Ohio Bobcats to reach the Sweet 16. There’s just one problem, they got a date with the Gonzaga Bulldogs, the top overall seed in the entire tournament.

That’s pretty much all their is to say about this game. Creighton’s good but Gonzaga is better, and not just better, a lot better.

Expect the Zags to move past Creighton. The only chance the Blue Jays have if they catch fire from downtown.

Creighton finished the regular season seventh in the nation in total threes made. If they can channel their inner Steph Curry then they have a shot at victory, and that’s all a team needs, right? Well, don’t count on it.

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs will advance to the Elite Eight. Mark it down.

6 USC v. 7 Oregon

USC v. Oregon. The Trojans against the Ducks. A matchup of Pac-12 rivals headlines the West Region.

Out of all the Sweet 16 matchups, this game is the biggest toss up.

Both teams are playing some of their best basketball at the perfect time. For USC, the Mobley brothers have really stepped up and have powered the Trojans this far. As for the Ducks, they rained down many triples in their upset victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes.

One thing to note about this matchup, is that these two teams played against each other in the regular season. In that game the Trojans won 72-58 on their home-court. They were suppose to play against each other again but that game was canceled due to covid.

The Trojans are the slight favorite to advance, but if the Ducks play like the did against Iowa, then they’re capable of beating anyone in the country. Good luck picking this matchup.