Sweet Sixteen Predictions

West Virginia over Xavier:
Xavier plays incredible defense but I think West Virginia has enough good shooters and enough good ball handlers and enough experienced players to not get rattled when Xavier turns up the heat, as Georgia and Purde did.

North Carolina over Washington State:
North Carolina could score half as many points as they did against Arkansas and still win this game. Tony Bennett has only one chance in this game, slow it down to a painful pace and hope the Tar Heels try too hard to get up and down, causing turnovers.

UCLA over Western Kentucky:
I think this might be another close game but UCLA has proven they have the horses (and perhaps the referees) to keep winning close games.

Louisville over Tennessee:
I'm actually changing my mind on this one because I think Chris Lofton has disappeared. They need him to have a huge game and hit his outside shots, but he's shooting only 4 of 16 so far in the tournament.

Wisconsin over Davidson:
I think Bo Ryan has schemed to shut down Stephen Curry. And I think Wisconsin has too much size up front.

Stanford over Texas:
I'm changing my mind on this one too. After I saw how Brook Lopez dominated Marquette down the stretch, and how totally clutch he was, I have to change my mind about Stanford. I still think they lack the athletic wing players to run with teams like Memphis and North Carolina, but when you have two good big guys like this who are both capable of scoring on anyone, you can be very dangerous.

Kansas over Villanova:
I expect Kansas to overwhelm them in the biggest blowout of this round.

Memphis over Michigan State:
This is the game that could be the upset special. I think Tom Izzo is going to turn this one into an ugly affair and just try to stay close. If Memphis doesn't shoot free throws better I could see Izzo employing a hack-a-Dorsey plan late in the game. He is not above such indelicate tactics. But I still think Memphis will win because they have better players.