Sweet 16 West Preview

2. Arizona vs. 6. Clemson:

In what is a bit of a surprise matchup, Clemson meets Arizona in the early tip Thursday. The Wildcats like to play fast, Clemson likes to slow it down. A matchup of clashing styles.

If we look at Arizona’s 4 Factors, we don’t find anything they do bad. Clemson on the other hand is a bad offensive rebounding team and one of the worst at turning teams over. Zona is 7th in the nation in defensive rebounding %.

I’d like to find a reason to pick Clemson in an upset but I think this is a game Zona handles with relative ease.

The Pick: Arizona 82 Clemson 69

4. Alabama vs. 1. UNC

This being a Sweet 16 game at the start of the year wouldn’t have been a huge surprise. What the teams play like might be.

As we know, Bama is a bad defensive team. They are the best offense in the nation, however. That is mitigated by the Heels 6th rated defense. The one thing that Carolina doesn’t do is, turn teams over and that’s a minor blemish on Bama’s offensive scorecard. 

Bama is 26th in offensive rebounding %. Carolina is 6th in defensive rebounding %. The chaos of Bama’s offense can be negated a bit by good defensive rebounding by the Heels.

Pace will electric in this game. Carolina won’t be fazed by Bama’s up-and-down style. If it’s a game that becomes a matchup of making shots, Bama is 10th in offensive effective fg% and UNC is 119th. They counter with the nation’s 15th best effective defenisve fg%. As they say, something has to give. 

The Pick: UNC 101 Alabama 96