The regional semi-finals of the 2011 NCAA Men's Division 1 Basketball Tournament begin this evening. You know it as the Sweet 16.
Tonight's games are mostly as seeding expects, with only Butler (an eight, rather than a one) being dramatically out of place, and Arizona (five, rather than four) being slightly out.
Both of the championship game participants from last season show up. Butler tries to string together back-to-back Cinderella stories, and will have to get through the ultra-disciplined Wisconsin Badgers to do so. Defending champion Duke, meanwhile, will have to stop the devastating perimeter attack of Arizona.
First, though, Connecticut's player of the year candidate Kemba Walker will have to find a way through one of the nation's best defenses in San Diego State. At the same time, the other player of the year candidate, BYU's Jimmer Fredette, will try and eliminate Florida for the second straight year.
If you need a guide to all of tonight's action, we've got it right here for you. After the jump, you'll find a quick summary of every match-up, including odds, projected scores, key players, and stats. Fewer match-ups means more room than during previous rounds, so included for this round are each teams' performace in the "Four Factors of Winning;" essentially how well they shoot and defend, score from and get to the foul line, rebound, and avoid and create turnovers. Stats are courtesy of Ken Pomeroy, and odds are courtesy of Bet Vega.
You'll also find all the picks for each game from the staff, some of which are hilarious at this point. You can see everyone's complete bracket here.
Enjoy the Sweet Sixteen!
|
6:15 |
(2) San Diego State |
(3) Connecticut |
|
LINE |
Off |
Off |
|
PACE |
63.6 Pos/G |
65.9 Pos/G |
|
KENPOM RANK (OFF/DEF) |
7 (27/2) |
13 (12/28) |
|
SHOOTING (eFG%) |
50.6% Off (95)/43.8% Def (7) |
48.4% Off (207)/45.1% Def (21) |
|
REBOUNDING |
37.5% Off (18)/70.6% Def (60) |
39% Off (7)/66.9% Def (216) |
|
FREE THROW ATTEMPTS |
31.4% Off (310)/28% Def (21) |
34.4% Off (260)/ 27.4% Def (14) |
|
FREE THROWS MADE |
70.4% (135) |
76% (16) |
|
TURNOVERS |
17.2% Off (26)/19.6% Def (205) |
17.2% Off (29)/17.6% Def (306) |
|
MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS |
(26.3 Def Reb%) |
15 Kemba Walker (1.5 Fouls/40) |
|
SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTORS |
4 Malcolm Thomas (7.2 Block%) 32 Billy White (57.3 eFG%) 21 Jamaal Franklin (56.4 eFG%) |
13 Shabazz Napier (4.2 Steal%) |
|
KenPom Chance of Win |
67% |
33% |
|
KenPom Predicted Score |
66 |
62 |
FanMatch: Second best game of the day.
SB Nation Dallas-Ft. Worth Staff Picks
Fittz: UConn
London: UConn
Perryman: UConn
Ponting: UConn
Starkey: UConn
Code: SDSU
Griffin: SDSU
|
6:27 |
(2) Florida |
(3) Brigham Young |
|
LINE |
-155 |
+135 |
|
PACE |
64.1 Pos/G |
71.2 Pos/G |
|
KENPOM RANK (OFF/DEF) |
16 (14/36) |
10 (8/32) |
|
SHOOTING (eFG%) |
52.1% Off (49)/47.3% Def (86) |
51.9% Off (55)/46.4% Def (52) |
|
REBOUNDING |
38% Off (10)/70.3% Def (68) |
31% Off (222)/71.3% Def (41) |
|
FREE THROW ATTEMPTS |
35.8% Off (236)/27.4% Def (15) |
38.6% Off (139)/33.6% Def (83) |
|
FREE THROWS MADE |
67% (243) |
76% (15) |
|
TURNOVERS |
19% Off (108)/19.3% Def (219) |
15.2% Off (3)/20.3% Def (157) |
|
MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS |
(11.1 Off Reb%) |
32 Jimmer Fredette (36.3% Poss) |
|
SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTORS |
(2.2 Fouls/40) 1 Kenny Boynton (1.6 Fouls/40) 11 Erving Walker (1.8 Fouls/40) 23 Alex Tyus (3.4 Block%) 33 Erik Murphy (56.7 eFG%) |
(Not A Former Bengal) |
|
KenPom Chance of Win |
44% |
56% |
|
KenPom Predicted Score |
73 |
74 |
FanMatch: Best game of the day.
SB Nation Dallas-Ft. Worth Staff Picks
Code: Florida
Griffin: FloridaPerryman: St. John's
Starkey: St. John's
Fittz: Gonzaga
London: Mich St
Ponting: UCLA
|
8:45 |
(1) Duke |
(5) Arizona |
|
LINE |
-450 |
+350 |
|
PACE |
69.2 Pos/G |
66.4 Pos/G |
|
KENPOM RANK (OFF/DEF) |
2 (4/3) |
30 (17/70) |
|
SHOOTING (eFG%) |
53.8% Off (16)/44% Def (9) |
54.3% Off (10)/48.6% Def (138) |
|
REBOUNDING |
35% Off (77)/67.7% Def (179) |
32.8% Off (154)/70.8% Def (55) |
|
FREE THROW ATTEMPTS |
37.4% Off (182)/29.5% Def (31) |
44.4% Off (36)/36.7% Def (147) |
|
FREE THROWS MADE |
75.1% (21) |
74.7% (31) |
|
TURNOVERS |
17.3% Off (32)/21% Def (110) |
18.9% Off (102)/18.9% Def (252) |
|
MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS |
2 Nolan Smith (30.9 Asst Rate) |
23 Derrick Williams (65.1 eFG%) |
|
SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTORS |
1 Kyrie Irving (60.7 eFG%) 12 Kyle Singler (13.2 TO Rate) |
12 Lamont Jones (2.7 Fouls/40) |
|
KenPom Chance of Win |
84% |
16% |
|
KenPom Predicted Score |
79 |
69 |
FanMatch: Third best game of the day.
SB Nation Dallas-Ft. Worth Staff Picks
Code: Duke
Griffin: Duke
London: Duke
Perryman: Duke
Ponting: DukeFittz: Texas
Starkey: Texas
|
8:57 |
(4) Wisconsin |
(8) Butler |
|
LINE |
-200 |
+165 |
|
PACE |
57.6 Pos/G |
64.3 Pos/G |
|
KENPOM RANK (OFF/DEF) |
4 (2/60) |
48 (34/74) |
|
SHOOTING (eFG%) |
52.3% Off (42)/48.3% Def (126) |
51% Off (77)/49% Def (159) |
|
REBOUNDING |
34.3% Off (96)/72.9% Def (9) |
32.2% Off (177)/72.1% Def (17) |
|
FREE THROW ATTEMPTS |
29.3% Off (330)/32.2% Def (61) |
37.6% Off (175)/40.0% Def (228) |
|
FREE THROWS MADE |
82.3% (1) |
66.6% (44) |
|
TURNOVERS |
13.3% Off (1)/16.7% Def (324) |
17.1% Off (24)/19.2% Def (229) |
|
MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS |
2 Nolan Smith (30.9 Asst Rate) |
1 Shelvin Mack (146 Fouls/40) 54 Matt Howard (61.4 True Shooting%) |
|
SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTORS |
1 Kyrie Irving (60.7 eFG%) 12 Kyle Singler (13.2 TO Rate) |
23 Khyle Marshall (51.0 eFG%) |
|
KenPom Chance of Win |
80% |
20% |
|
KenPom Predicted Score |
66 |
59 |
FanMatch: Worst game of the day.
SB Nation Dallas-Ft. Worth Staff PicksCode: Pitt
Fittz: Pitt
London: Pitt
Perryman: Pitt
Ponting: Pitt
Starkey: Pitt
Griffin: Utah St