We are down to the Elite 8, and one ACC team is left standing after Duke and Florida State lost in the round of 16. Among the eight teams left, we have a team from the Horizon and the CAA, but none from the Big Ten. That is a wow. Here's a preview of today's games:
#8 Butler vs. #2 Florida (2:30 p.m.) - What can you say about the job that Brad Stevens has done at Butler? In each of the last two years, many people have picked Butler to lose in the first round. All they have done is won 8 games in those two years (so far). And it's getting harder to pick against them. Meanwhile, Florida is enjoying its best year since it won back-to-back championships with the Joakim Noah team. This matchup should be familiar for fans of both teams - they do have a history against each other.
I think the key for Butler is preventing the drive and kick for Florida. I saw the Gators doing a lot of that against BYU, and they ended up knocking down a lot of threes. For Florida, I would go right at Matt Howard down low and make him commit fouls. Butler is much better when Howard is on the floor and out of foul trouble.
#5 Arizona vs. #3 UConn (5:05 p.m.) - Arizona opened a lot of eyes with their play in the second half against Duke on Thursday. Derrick Williams had a coming out party with a number of eye-popping dunks and 3-pointers. They carry a lot of momentum into this game against a Connecticut team that has been truly remarkable the last couple weeks. After winning five games in five days, they have continued their run in the NCAAs on the back of Kemba Walker.
I think the key in this game is the secondary scorers. You know that Walker and Williams will have big games. But how Momo Jones and Jeremy Lamb play will go a long way in determining today's winner.
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