Chicago vs Louisville, Ky. vs Anaheim, Calif. vs Philadelphia: Which city had the better games?
The field of 16 teams in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is now down to the Elite Eight. The eight games played on March 24 and 25 were split between the United Center in Chicago, the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. and the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
SPOILER ALERT!: All of the highest seeds won. No upsets this round folks. There were some good games, and definitely unexpected match-ups (a No. 10 vs. No 11 seed in the Sweet Sixteen), but all of the lower seeds fell to their superior opponents. Of four total venues, each one hosted a respective region - so which crowd caught the best combination of games?
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (South Region)
No. 1 Kansas beat No. 5 Maryland
This No. 1 seed is movin' on. Originally ranked as the first overall season in the tournament, but when ESPN reseeded all of the Sweet 16 teams, they fell to the second overall seed. But that didn't effect the Jayhawks and Kansas is back in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2012. Kansas went into halftime with only a two point lead and 3 minutes into the second half, Maryland found themselves with a tie game, but then Kansas took over and didn't allow Maryland to close in again.
The 'W' is Kansas' 17th straight this season, good enough for the longest win streak in the nation. The victory also made it an even 100 NCAA tourney wins for Kansas history.
No. 2 Villanova beat No. 3 Miami
Miami has never won a game in the Sweet 16 and. Villanova wasn't about to allow this game be their first. Villanova led from the start and ended up with a 23-point crushing of Miami.
“If any team is shooting the way we’re shooting right now, they’ll easily be the most dangerous team in the country. ... But hopefully, we’ll keep shooting like that, so we can keep playing the way we are.”
Louisville Review: Two blow-out games, not the best for a crowd-pleaser. Sorry Louisville attendees.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (West Region)
No. 1 Oregon beat No. 4 Duke
Oregon beat Duke by a 14-point margin, 82-68. Oregon took over in the second half and five Oregon players ended the game tallying 10 or more points each. The biggest controversy of the game, however, began after the final buzzer: Duke's head coach Mike Krzyzewski vs Oregon's Dillon Brooks. Brooks scored 22 points in the win and hit a three point shot with 10 seconds left in the game. Krzyzewski wasn't too pleased with Brooks' three, or the following celebration, according to Brooks' and criticized him to stop showboating when they spoke in the handshake line, but Krzyzewski disputes that particular exchange. Either way, Oregon's moving on to their first Elite Eight since 2007.
No. 2 Oklahoma beat No. 3 Texas A & M
Texas A & M saw their last lead of the game 12 minutes into it. From there, Oklahoma took the lead and never looked back. Oklahoma Sooner Buddy Hield recorded his first double - double of the tournament and teammate Jordan Woodard led the team with 22 points.
Anaheim, Calif. Review: A controversy post game, check. Arguably the best player in the tournament in Buddy Hield, check. Superstar Kobe Bryant in the building, check. Still two large victories. Anaheim, your games were a bit better than Louisville, but better luck next round in garnering the most excitement.
PHILADELPHIA (East Region)
No. 1 UNC beat No. 5 Indiana
UNC catapulted to the first overall seed when ESPN reseeded the Sweet 16 before this round began. They powered past Wisconsin with a 15 point victory, 101-86. UNC is the only team in this round to score more than 100 points in a game, and its the first time in program history they've scored in triple digits. This is UNC's 25th appearance in the Elite Eight, most in tournament history only behind Kentucky.
No. 6 Notre Dame beat No. 7 Wisconsin
Wisconsin was up 3 points with 26 seconds remaining in the game, but the Badgers couldn't hold on to that lead. Notre Dame went on an 8-0 run to finish the game with a go-ahead layup with 14.7 seconds left in the game.
“The Irish don’t lose on Good Friday or Easter Sunday ... Can I get an Amen!”
Philadelphia Review: A triple digit game and a go-ahead bucket to win the game with less than 15 seconds remaining? We'll give you this one, Philadelphia. These fans witnessed some pretty great action.
CHICAGO (Midwest Region)
No. 1 Virginia beat No. 4 Iowa State
Iowa St. never drew closer than 7 points in the second half of the game in the arena their ex-coach now calls home (Chicago Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg coached Iowa State for 5 seasons). Virginia will advance to their first Elite Eight appearance since 1995.
No. 10 Syracuse beat No. 11 Gonzaga
Gonzaga maintained a slim lead over Syracuse most of the game and the two teams went into halftime with a one point difference. With 6:28 remaining in the game, Gonzaga led by 9, but that wasn't enough as they staggered and only scored three points for the rest of the game. Syracuse went on a 15-3 run with a go-ahead layup with 22 seconds remaining, the Orange overtook Gonzaga for a trip to the Elite Eight.
Chicago Review: Not too exciting first game, but they Syracuse and Gonzaga game was definitely an edge-of-your-seat nail-biter.
Final Verdict: As a Chicago native, I have to admit I'm partial to the games at the good ol' U.C. but despite my bias, I'm going to give the best games award to Philadelphia and the East Region - a triple digit game and a nail-biter of its own, the East has this one won.
The right side of the bracket (the East and Midwest regions) continues to astonish. While the No. 1 seeds of UNC and Virginia have survived and made into it the Elite Eight, their opponents are surprising. No. 1 UNC in the East Region will face No. 6 Notre Dame, while in the Midwest Region, No. 1 seed Virginia will face No. 10 Syracuse. This year marks the 10th time a No. 10 seed has made it to the Elite Eight (and, coincidentally, the 10th time 'Cuse has made it that far). But, no 10 seed has ever advanced to the Final Four, according to ESPN.
The other side of the bracket is pretty predictable. On the left side, both the South and West Regions boast their No. 1 and No. 2 seeds facing off to reach the Final Four. A pretty interesting stat from ESPN about that West matchup:
The Elite Eight games begin March 26 and after this weekend, only the Final Four teams will remain. Then they're all headed to Houston.