The cream has risen. That is the only way to describe the first night of the 2016 Sweet 16 in which the top two seeds in the west and south regions advanced to the Elite 8.
In the west region Oklahoma took apart Texas A&M on the back of Jordan Woodard the least heralded member of the Oklahoma backcourt behind Buddy Hield and Isaiah Cousins when it comes to recognition. Oklahoma after a slow start really turned it on building a 20 point halftime lead before cruising to an Elite 8 berth. They will play Oregon who controlled the game versus Duke all night which will set up a game of two offensive juggernauts. Both teams come in with very good backcourts filled with shooters that can really space the floor.
Down in Louisville, home of the south region, the tournament’s number one overall seed Kansas will take on Villanova who comes into the game shooting 53% in their three tournament games. The veteran Jayhawks handled the young Maryland Terrapins squad that gave them a challenge early on. Meanwhile, the Wildcats of Villanova fought off a pesky Miami Hurricanes squad after an interesting contest early on. Kansas on the other hand comes in as one of the top five three-point shooting teams in the country heading into the tournament. It has really been a tale of opposites with Kansas not shooting up to their percentage in the tournament so far and Villanova shooting way above their season average of 35%. The big question remains who will stay true to their tournament form and who will play more to their season average, it could be the deciding factor in this game.
In the end the cream really has risen to the top when it comes to the first night of the 2016 Sweet 16. The night was full of chalk but really that is the best case scenario for games during the second weekend. Everyone loves a cinderella during the opening rounds but when it is time for a Final Four berth the best games almost always involve two of the top seeds in each region. Come Saturday night, that is exactly what we will get.
