Sweet 16 - WEST Bracket

Written by Lucky Lester on March, 26th 2008 | 1 Comments

2008 NCAA Basketball Betting Odds

At this point UConn and UCLA were supposed to be fighting it out for the rights to play the winner of Xavier and NCAA powerhouse, Duke. Well, this is the glory of the NCAA Tournament. As is, Duke was ousted by a tough West Virginia team, which will try to continue their late season success against a solid Xavier team. UCLA doesn’t have a 4 seed to deal with any longer; instead, it’s lowly 12 seed Western Kentucky. Well, if they think like that, they’ll be done with the tournament on Thursday Night. Small seeds can grow big trees.

West’s Sweet 16 Games

Game 1: No. 7 West Virginia vs. No. 3 Xavier
Game 2: No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 12 Western Kentucky

What to Look For:

West Virginia Mountaineers (7) vs. Xavier Musketeers (3)
9:40 ET, Thursday, March 27th

The Mountaineers got here by ousting the Duke Blue Devils after sending Arizona home in Round 1. Joe Alexander has been a beast, and the Mountaineers are contesting every single shot. Xavier has had some early ups and downs, but their overall team play has turned them into a never-say-die group that is ready to do everything needed to win basketball games. Xavier’s games have been close, and they’ve been down by double digits during the first two rounds, but I’m not sure that the Musketeers were ever in trouble. It’s a tight line to walk, and sometimes the scores at the end of a game aren’t telling of the actual battle. Toward the end of their 1st and 2nd round contests, the Musketeers were in control. While the score may have been tight, there was no question in my mind that they would win the game. West Virginia has had a tough climb to the Sweet 16. As I said above, they had a tough draw with 10 seed Arizona, but tough defense and low post prowess got them a relatively easy win. Then came Duke. Foul trouble held them back in the first half, but bench performances, tough defense, and offensive rebounding ended Dukes run and sent WV to a match-up with Xavier. Joe Alexander is a dominant force down low, and his size could make this game a battle from start to finish. If I had to pick a favorite, I’d go with the Musketeers, if only because they are more consistent than the Mountaineers, but this game is a toss up.

UCLA (1) vs. Western Kentucky (12)
7:10 ET, Thursday, March 27th

The Bruins, of course, were expected to easily meander through the first couple rounds and find themselves right here where they belong. However, it wasn’t as easy as it seemed, and a little more late game magic had to take place to sneak past a confident and strong Texas A&M team. It may just be me, but UCLA gets the benefit of every referee’s doubt in the last five minutes of any game. That’s unfortunate for Bruin opponents because more often than not, UCLA games come down to the last few minutes. There is no doubting the talent in UCLA, but their failure to put teams away and consistent examples of playing down the level of their opponents could get the best of them very soon. Darren Collison is an absolute stud point guard, and he will likely penetrate at will against the Hilltoppers. Tyron Brazelton will do his best to keep the Cinderella slipper strapped on for one more game, and if anything, the buzzer-beating Bruins might have met their match with Western Kentucky. Remember, it was Ty Rogers 30 foot 3-pointer as time expired that gave the Hilltoppers a 101-99 win over Drake in Round 1. The Bruins are the obvious favorite, but it’s rare to see a 12 seed with a chance to upset a 1, and this is one of those rare cases.

Best Team Left: Xavier

Sure, you UCLA fans can slap me around for this one, and heck, everyone else might as well too, because who honestly thinks (besides me) that the Bruins aren’t the best team in this bracket? No one? Just you wait. I won’t be surprised when the kids from Western Kentucky take UCLA down to the wire, and I’m saying right now that I’d take West Virginia or Xavier heads up against UCLA. Yeah, I may be crazy, but I’ve watched a lot of basketball, and UCLA’s late game heroics can only get them so far. Pretty soon, they’ll be stuck down 10 with 3 minutes to go, and late game heroics won’t come quite so easily. Xavier can do it all, and that makes them the best TEAM.

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