Sweet 16 Preview: South Region

Story posted March 23, 2023 in CommRadio, Sports by Jayson O'Connell

The South Region in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament featured everything great about March Madness in the first weekend.

It started with Furman upsetting Virginia in the dying seconds of the game. A mid-seeded team in Creighton had an impressive win over Baylor.

Also, Princeton has made itself the Cinderella story of the year.

After all the chaos, the region’s final four are set and an exciting weekend is ahead at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.

The first matchup is between Alabama and San Diego State. Despite Alabama having one of the greatest offensive players in the nation in freshman forward Brandon Miller, this can be a low-scoring game.

San Diego State held both Charleston and Furman below 60 points while Alabama did the same against Maryland.
San Diego State’s great defense could cause Alabama problems, especially if Miller can’t get it going. He was held to a 29.4% shooting mark from the field against Maryland.

The Aztecs’ great defense may be able to shut down Alabama’s offense, especially if Miller goes cold. But San Diego State hasn’t played an offense as explosive as Alabama’s which could be overpowering.

Looking at the other matchup, Princeton has the country behind it. The 15-seed has shown they can get a gritty, defensive win against Arizona.

The Tigers also showed that they can have an offensive explosion in their win against Missouri.

But Creighton plays in possibly a stronger conference than either of Princeton’s two opponents.

The Bluejays won both of their first two matchups by nine points, but they were the better team in both games.
Against North Carolina State, the Bluejays shot 46.4% from the field while the Wolfpack shot 37.5%.

The field goal percentages were closer in the second-round game against Baylor, but Creighton was able to make 11 three-pointers compared to Baylor’s five.

Creighton also has the advantage of being a very deep team. The Bluejays have five players that average at least 10 points a game.

This depth showed against Baylor. Junior center and leading scorer Ryan Kalkbrenner was held to 10 points, but sophomore guard Ryan Nembhard had 30 points for Creighton.

Princeton has fared well offensively so far, but Creighton’s defense has held up well against Big East offenses for most of the regular season.

With Creighton’s depth and past performances against a strong schedule, Princeton’s great run may come to an end.
Alabama is expected to make it to the Final Four and with good reason. The Crimson Tide has been dominant all season and have earned the hype they have been getting.

But if they face Creighton in the Elite Eight, the Bluejays will make it a close matchup. It is very hard to separate the teams into any statistical category.

Where the Bluejays have an advantage is that they hit 11 three-pointers in the second round compared to Alabama’s six.

Creighton also has shot 35.8% from deep compared to Alabama’s 33.7%. If the teams end up in a close contest, Creighton’s three-point shooting may get the Bluejays the win.

The South Region will begin Sweet 16 action on Friday while the regional final will be played on Sunday.

Jayson O’Connell is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jbo5216@psu.edu.