South Region Sweet 16 Preview

The South region will take place in Dallas and is down to four teams with a chance to head to Phoenix for the Final Four. In the first game, No. 2 seed Marquette will take on No. 11 seed NC State at 7:09 tonight. After that, No. 1 seed Houston will battle No. 4 seed Duke with tip-off scheduled for 9:39 tonight.

No. 2 Marquette vs. No. 11 NC State

Marquette stumbled into the tournament with three losses in March. All three came in games after All-American Tyler Kolek was injured, however. Their offense was reenergized in this tournament with his return and has been good from the field since the second half of their first game. They will need that offense again in the regionals.

NC State comes into this game as one of the hottest teams in the country. They had to win five games in five days in the ACC Tournament just to make it to the NCAA Tournament. They then beat No. 6 seed Texas Tech and upset-minded No. 14 seed Oakland. How much longer can their magical run continue?

Keys to the Game

Marquette shot the ball well against No. 10 seed Colorado in the Round of 32. Colorado came into that game with a very hot offense and put it on display again. Marquette will need to keep their offense going, but their defense will have to improve against NC State.

For NC State, DJ Burns Jr. has to stay in the game and out of foul trouble. He’s tough to guard with his size at 6-foot-9 and 275 pounds. DJ Horne struggled shooting the ball against Oakland, but he is their top scorer for the season. He will have to play like it to give them a chance against Marquette.

No. 1 Houston vs. No. 4 Duke

Houston came off a near upset against No. 9 seed Texas A&M where they won 100-95 in overtime. Houston has been known for being one of the best defensive teams in the country throughout the season. That defense will have to be better against Duke to advance to the Elite Eight.

Duke faced questions and criticism coming into the tournament after losing their last two games to North Carolina and NC State. They answered with two easy wins over No. 13 seed Vermont and No. 12 seed James Madison. The competition gets much tougher with Houston, however. How will the Blue Devils respond to this challenge?

Keys to the Game

Houston’s offense was able to propel them over Texas A&M, but they have to get back to their comfort zone which is their defense. They were the best in the country this year in points allowed per game at 57.7. Most importantly on the defensive end, they need an answer for Kyle Filipowski because they are undersized. Who takes on that matchup will be critical.

Duke will likely need to play through Filipowski. He will create a mismatch to his advantage, and he has been their best player this year. Jared McCain as he is the top three-point shooter for the Blue Devils. He had 30 points against James Madison and will have to shoot the ball well again to get around Houston’s stellar defense and advance Duke past them.

Jacob Rudy is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jar7371@psu.edu.