Men's NCAA Tournament Midwest Region Round 3 Breakdowns
#1 North Carolina vs. #8 Creighton
Creighton squeezed out of a victory over Alabama on Friday afternoon. At one point the Bleujays were down by 11 points, but their shooting finally got moving in the second half. For a team that ranks seventh in the nation in scoring offense, the game was played at Alabama’s pace and ended 58-57. Creighton showed a lot of promise by winning in that fashion. A lot more points will be scored on Sunday when the Bluejays face off against top seed North Carolina. The Tar Heels played Vermont without the services of John Henson, but it seems like Henson is ready to go when Coach Roy Williams needs him. And he may need him now. Forward Doug McDermott was quiet, at least by his standards, against Alabama, but he will get a lot more opportunities against North Carolina. McDermott is a matchup nightmare with his size and ability to consistently knock down the long ball. McDermott will have his hands full on the other end of the floor with or without Henson. Tyler Zeller and Harrison Barnes will be tough to stop. Creighton’s traditional big man, Gregory Echenique, will have his hands full on the defensive end.
For Creighton to pull off the upset, they will have to do what they have done all year…take care of the ball and knock down a lot of shots. But in this case, they will need to do everything a little better and a little more efficiently to stick with UNC. Creighton can keep up with North Carolina on the offensive end, but they will have to play defense like every possession is their last. Not having to worry about Henson would be helpful too.
#12 South Florida vs. #13 Ohio
Ohio is developing a reputation for beating higher seeded opponents in their opening game. It was not long ago the Bobcats thwarted Georgetown’s hopes. This year their victim was Michigan. The Wolverines play a lot like Ohio, shooting three’s and getting outrebounded. The rebounding was pretty even against Michigan, but the Bobcats shot better from the floor and that is what they are all about. The hot shooting needs to continue if Coach John Groce and company hope to reach the Sweet Sixteen. South Florida plays stellar defense so it will not be easy. The Bulls made the Temple offense look plain awful on Friday night.
This will be a battle between South Florida’s defense and Ohio’s shooters. D.J. Cooper and Walter Offutt will need to have big outputs, again, for Ohio to be one of this year’s Cinderella’s. But USF is a Cinderella story as well. They had to beat California in the First Four to make it this far and beating Temple is a big accomplishment.
#11 North Carolina State vs. #3 Georgetown
Richard Howell has often been overlooked at North Carolina State, but Georgetown better draw up a game plan to stop him. The forward scored 22 points in the Wolfpack’s 79-65 victory over San Diego State on Friday. N.C. State took advantage of their size against SDSU, but that will not be quite as simple when they face off against the Hoyas. Georgetown did a superb job shutting down Belmont’s explosive offense, winning by a score of 74-59. This will be a very different matchup for Georgetown, going from a guard orientated Belmont team to a North Carolina State squad that can do a lot of damage in the paint. The Hoyas have a more balanced team and a more talented team than North Carolina State. With Henry Sims and Otto Porter manning the inside and Jason Clark coming off a great shooting game against Belmont, Coach John Thompson has a lot of weapons at his disposal.
Georgetown is the favorite to advance to St. Louis, but do not overlook the Wolfpack. Beating a young San Diego State was not much of an upset, but if guard Lorenzo Brown is knocking down shots and the interior guys can hang at least keep Georgetown in check, N.C. State could make a surprise appearance in the Sweet Sixteen.
The Jayhawks avoided the Friday night curse of #2 and knocked off the Titans of Detroit with a strong second half that saw Kansas pull away. The Jayhawks got a strong performance out of 6-10 forward Thomas Robinson and they will look to dominate the paint against Purdue too. The Boilermakers beat Saint Mary’s on the shoulders of their backcourt. Terone Johnson scored 21 points, Lewis Jackson dropped 18 and Anthony Johnson added ten off of the bench.
If the Boilermakers want to send another two seed out of the NCAA Tournament, the backcourt will need to continue to score, but they will also need to get more production from Robbie Hummel. The 6-8 forward was a little off of his game, but he still managed to score ten points and grab seven rebounds. However, Hummel can do much, much more. Yet, this game will come down to who can stop the other from scoring in the paint. That advantage goes to Kansas and seven-footer Jeff Withey.
See All Men's NCAA Tournament 3rd Round Breakdowns
