Midwest Region Sweet 16 Game Breakdowns
Kansas was tested against a tough Seton Hall team, but managed to come away with an 83-79 victory to reach the Sweet Sixteen. Malik Newman led the way with 28 points and paced the quality KU shooting. Clemson absolutely crushed Auburn in a battle of the Tigers. They were up 43-19 at halftime and the lead only kept getting bigger.
If Clemson plays like they did on Sunday, Kansas could be in trouble. The Tigers do deserve some credit for Auburn shooting just 24.6 percent from the floor. It seems unlikely that Kansas will struggle that much in the shooting department since they have hit nearly 50 percent of their shots this season, but the Clemson defense should keep them in the game. With some big shots by Gabe DeVoe and Marcquise Reed, Clemson will be eyeing their deepest NCAA Tournament run since they reached the Elite Eight in 1980.
Duke cruised to an easy win over Rhode Island, beating the Rams 87-62. Marvin Bagley III led the way with 22 points and nine rebounds, but the Blue Devils also had four other players reach double figures in the scoring department. Syracuse slowed down the pace against Michigan State and held the Spartans to just 17-of-66 shooting from the floor. The Orange offense was not very impressive in the 55-53 win, but they did get enough from Tyus Battle and Oshae Brissett to squeeze out the win.
Syracuse has snuck into the tournament before and pulled off plenty of upsets. They have already done it again, but their run does not have to end here. These ACC foes met just once during the regular season when Duke won 60-44. The Blue Devils shot 41.5 percent from the floor and, while holding the Orange to just 31.5 percent. If Syracuse is going to reach the Elite Eight, they need to flip those numbers and force Duke to take tougher shots like they did to Michigan State.
