No Surprises in First Four NCAA Sweet 16 Games

After an upset filled first weekend of the NCAA tournament, the first four games of the Sweet Sixteen round produced no real surprises, except perhaps for the margins of victory. There were no down to the wire contests, and the higher seeds won each game.

In the West Region, #2 Oklahoma got off to a 19 point halftime lead over #3 Texas A&M and cruised to a 77-63 victory and eliminating the last SEC team in the tournament. In the other West Region semi final, Oregon showed why it was the top seed in the region by dispatching the defending NCAA champion Duke Blue Devils 82-68.

In the South Region, #5 Maryland held #1 Kansas to a two point lead at halftime, but the Jayhawks pulled away in the second half, beating the Terrapins 79-63. In the other South Region semi final, #2 seed Villanova easily beat #3 Miami 92-69. The Wildcats lost by two points to Seton Hall in the Big East tournament final, which probably cost them a #1 seed, and they’ve been on a mission since then. Villanova has won its first three NCAA tournament games by an average of 24 points. Here are some highlights of Villanova vs. Miami.

The West and South Regionals will both have #1 seeds versus #2 seeds in their finals on March 26th.