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2009 Sweet 16 Predictions: Midwest Region

Written by Jimmy Boyd

sweet 16 midwest 32409 The Midwest Region boasts the lone Cinderella remaining in No. 12 seed Arizona, if you can even call a team with the tradition of the Wildcats a Cinderella. Other than the Cats, the 1-3 seeds all advanced and this is where the matchups start to get really interesting. Jimmy Boyd analyzes the two Sweet 16 matchups in the Midwest Region in this article. Bet the Sweet 16 at BetUS and receive up to 145 percent in sign up bonuses.

No. 12 Arizona Wildcats vs. No. 1 Louisville Cardinals – Arizona was certainly one of the last teams selected by the committee to compete in the NCAA Tournament and the Wildcats have proved the committee right. Many experts were not shy about saying that St. Mary’s or Creighton was more deserving, but the Wildcats have knocked off Utah and Cleveland State in convincing fashion to get a shot at No. 1 overall seed Louisville. Louisville pulled away from Morehead State in round one to win by 20 but then got a scare from Siena in round two. The Cards will have to be on their game Friday night as Arizona finds itself in a very similar spot as Siena in that it has the luxury of playing with nothing to lose. Louisville is the better defensive team on the season, but the Cards are going to have to play better than they did against Siena when they allowed 72 points. For Arizona to win, they are going to have to be able to handle the Louisville pressure for points while keeping their turnovers down. Much of that responsibility falls on guard Nic Wise, who averages 15 points per game and 4.6 assists. Louisville will be able to dictate the tempo as it has in nearly every game its played so it will be up to the Cards to shoot a high percentage if they want to punch their ticket to the Elite Eight. Terrence Williams is the guy for the Cards, leading them in assists and steals and also putting up 12.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. He was huge against Siena with a 24-point, 15-rebound performance. Bet Louisville -9/Arizona +9 at BetUS.

No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks vs. No. 2 Michigan State Spartans – Both of these teams advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2008 with Kansas winning it all and Michigan State falling in this round to eventual runner up Memphis. Kansas lost most of its weapons from last year’s title team, but that has not slowed down the Jayhawks. After getting a test from North Dakota State in round one, Kansas crushed Dayton in round two. Michigan State handled Robert Morris with ease and then outlasted USC in a nailbiter to reach the round of 16. Two of the finest point guards in the country will face off in this matchup and whoever wins that battle will likely punch his team’s ticket to the Elite Eight. Kansas’ star point guard is Sherron Collins. He was a pivotal player in last year’s championship run and he has been Kansas’ go-to guy all season long, averaging 18.9 points and 4.9 assists per game. No team has has an answer for him in the first two rounds as he has torched the opposition with 32 and 25 points respectively. Big Ten Player of the Year Kalin Lucas is Michigan State’s star point guard. He averages 14.6 points and 4.5 assists per game. His number really hasn’t been called on to score in the tournament, but expect him to take the big shots down the stretch if this one goes down to the wire. If Lucas can slow down Collins with his defense, the Spartans will move on, but if there is no answer for Collins, Kansas will get one step closer to cutting down the nets again. Bet Michigan State -1.5/Kansas +1.5 at BetUS.

Jimmy Boyd is 13-2 through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament with his expert college basketball picks. Keep beating the college basketball odds in the Sweet 16 by doing your basketball betting with Jimmy.

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