The NCAA Tournament will commence Thursday after a few days on hiatus. The opening rounds brought us both high-drama moments and compelling storylines. The top two of those storylines are St. Peters knocking off Kentucky and making the round of 16. That makes the Peacocks just the 3rd 15 seed to ever make it this far. None have advanced to the Elite 8, we have to wait until Friday night for that storyline to unfold. However, the other major storyline is the last dance for Coach K at Duke. The Devils will tango with Texas Tech Thursday night.
Leading things off for Thursday's slate will the 1 seed vs the 4 in the West. Gonzaga will take on Arkansas in that match up. The match up will be a contrast in styles between Gonzaga's size and offensive prowess going against the quickness and ability to create turnovers that Arkansas possesses. A weakness for the Zags has been exposed in their first two games of the tourney. That weakness is their lack of defensive quickness on the perimeter. That allowed Georgia State to stay in the game for 32 minutes and Memphis to take Gonzaga to the final minute in a competitive game. Arkansas averages almost 8 steals per game, while Gonzaga turns it over about 12 times per. The Zags have 5 guys averaging double figures and they score 88 per game. Arkansas doesn't have the same amount of size, which means they will need to put pressure on Gonzaga on the perimeter. The Zags will need to find a way to keep J.D. Notae out of the lane.
The 2nd game of the quadruple header on Thursday features a South Region match up from San Antonio. 2 seed Villanova will take on 11 seed Michigan. The Wolverines have played at another level since Coach Juwan Howard came back after being suspended for "the slap heard round the world". Villanova is a veteran club that's been here before, their 4 top scorers are three seniors and a junior. Colin Gillespie is the catalyst averaging 16 points and over three assists per game. 'Nova averages just 10 turnovers per and they shoot a 36% clip from deep. However, they may have a matchup issue with Michigan 7 footer Hunter Dickinson. He is averaging almost 19 points and over 8 rebounds per night. Michigan does have Senior guards and players who have been in this spot before. This game is a rematch of the 2018 National Title Game. Michigan is making their 5th straight round of 16 appearance, Villanova is making their 4th in the last 6 tournaments.
Duke will take on Texas Tech in the West Region from San Francisco. It's a match up that features an interesting coaching dichotomy and a battle of strength vs strength. Texas Tech Coach Mark Adams is his just second stint as a D-I Head Coach. The 65 year old, is the definition of "paying dues", his other D-I gig was at Texas Pan-American in the '90's. He's making his first trip to round of 16 as a Head Coach. Coach K on the other hand is making his final trip to the 16 and is two wins away from his 13th Final Four. The Red Raiders are #1 nationally in defensive efficiency and Duke is #4 in offensive efficiency. So it'll be the rugged and stingy defense of Texas Tech vs the high octane offense of Duke. The Blue Devils are incredibly talented but are inexperienced. Five of their top players are freshmen or sophomores.
In the nightcap, Arizona takes on Houston in another interesting coaching contrast. While, Kelvin Sampson has a history of NCAA violations, there's no doubt he can flat-out coach on game night. Sampson has restored Houston back to a perennial tournament program and has the Cougars in the round of 16 for the 3rd straight tournament. Arizona Coach Tommy Lloyd is his 1st year as a head coach, after spending 20 seasons as an assistant to Mark Few at Gonzaga. Houston averages 76 points per game and 17 assists per while turning it over just 11 times a night. Houston ranks in the top 10 nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Arizona is loaded with talent, they've won 30 games and feature future NBA lottery pick Ben Mathurin. It'll be the "old guard" vs the "new kids" as Houston features four seniors among their top 6 scorers, Arizona's last round of 16 run came in 2017 and none of their current roster has been here before. Also, another caveat is the game is in San Antonio which will be a partisan Houston crowd, as the drive is only about 200 miles.
Thursday's game line up - Gonzaga vs Arkansas 7:10 PM West Region.
Villanova vs Michigan, 7:30 South Region. Duke vs Texas Tech, 9:30 West Region and Arizona vs Houston 10 PM in the South. The West Region is being played in San Francisco.