The Big Dance has cleared out a little bit. Only 16 teams have a chance to bring home a national championship.
Perennial powers Duke, Michigan State and Kansas remain in the field, while bracket busters Florida Gulf Coast, La Salle and Oregon are trying to crash the party.
Here’s a breakdown of my hypothetical Elite Eight matchups and my predictions for which teams will be taking their talents to the Final Four in Hotlanta:
Midwest Region: No. 1 Louisville over No. 3 Michigan State
Duke and Michigan State could be a Final Four matchup. Instead, both teams are playing for a berth in the Elite Eight against either Louisville or Oregon.
The Cardinals have shown no weakness in the tournament so far, forcing 44 turnovers in wins over North Carolina A&T and Colorado State.
One intriguing matchup if Louisville and Michigan State meet up is the Cardinals front court of Chane Behanan and Gorgui Dieng and the Spartans’ big bodies Adreian Payne and Derrick Nix.
Louisville will be able to frustrate the Michigan State guards and get them out of their style of play. The Cardinals will be too much for the Spartans to handle down the stretch, but this could be one of those quintessential March Madness contests.
South Region: No. 3 Florida over No. 4 Michigan
I believe in Billy Donovan.
Much has been made of Florida’s recent struggles in close games, but Donovan is an expert on preparation and getting his teams ready come game time.
If the Gators do in fact make it to the Elite Eight, it will be the third time in three seasons. Their matchup with Michigan will be no easy task.
The Wolverines arguably put together one of the best performances of the tournament, a 78-53 drubbing of VCU in the round of 32. The Wolverines are playing their best basketball at the right time.
Freshman Mitch McGary has been a breath of fresh air in the middle for Michigan, putting up 21 points and 14 boards against the Rams on Saturday. But Florida’s veteran leadership by seniors Kenny Boynton and Mike Rosario combined with the play of forwards Patric Young and Erik Murphy will lead the Gators to Atlanta.
West Region: No. 2 Ohio State over No. 9 Wichita State
The only thing the “Wild Wild West” is missing is Will Smith. A No. 2, No. 6, No. 9 and No. 13 seed make up the remaining teams vying for a spot in the Final Four.
Wichita State has been stellar in the tournament. The Shockers hit 14 3-pointers to upset No. 1 seed Gonzaga in the third round.
But Ohio State is a team of destiny. The Buckeyes got a lucky break Sunday against Iowa State when guard Aaron Craft drew a charge call with his foot hovering over the restricted area in the final minutes.
Craft’s last-second 3-pointer to put the Buckeyes ahead for good against the Cyclones is a shoe-in to be featured on “One Shining Moment” come tournament’s end. It was one of the best moments of the Big Dance so far.
Ohio State has everything working in its favor and it should make the Final Four.
East Region: No. 1 Indiana over No. 3 Marquette
The Hoosiers survived a scare from Khalif Wyatt and Temple in the third round, doing what every team needs to at this point: survive and advance.
I had Miami in this game before it announced a knee injury to center Reggie Johnson will keep him out of this weekend’s action. Marquette has a plethora of guards who push the tempo and do their best to get teams out of what they want to do offensively.
The only problem: Indiana has two of the five best players in the country. When he wants to, Cody Zeller can flat out take over a game. The same can be said for Victor Oladipo.
Hoosiers coach Tom Crean used to coach Marquette and Golden Eagles coach Buzz Williams was an assistant under Crean. Both teams know a lot about each other, which should lead to the game coming down to the wire.
Indiana has too many shooters and the advantage inside. The Hoosiers should make their first Final Four appearance since 2002.
Micah Bedard is a 22-year-old history senior from Houma.
