2014 NCAA Tournament West Region Sweet Sixteen Game Breakdowns
#1 Arizona vs. #4 San Diego State (Anaheim, California)
San Diego State may not turn heads with wins over New Mexico State and North Dakota State en route to the Sweet Sixteen, but Xavier Thames has been on fire. Against the Bison he scored 30 points on 9-of-19 shooting. He has proven time and time again that he can carry the Aztecs to big things. Meanwhile, Arizona got a bit of a game against Weber State in the second round before crushing Gonzaga in the round of 32. The offense looked great against the Bulldogs, but the defense has been just as impressive.
San Diego State will take the short jaunt up the 405 to play Arizona in Anaheim. That slight home court advantage could help keep this game interesting and the Aztecs will take any advantage they can get against a team like the Wildcats. These two met up back in November when Arizona went to San Diego and came away with a 69-60 win. Arizona was up by as much as 14 in the second half before Thames and company rallied and got within four. The Aztecs struggled on the glass and had just six assists all game. This time around they will need to share the ball better and get more toughness from players like Josh Davis and Skylar Spencer on the glass.
Wisconsin has not lacked in offense so far during the NCAA Tournament. They scored 75 against American in the second round and dropped 85 on Oregon. The ability of the Badgers to win games no matter what the tempo is huge. It will come in handy in Anaheim. Baylor beating Creighton may not have been a massive surprise, but beating them by 30 was an absolute shocker. All five Baylor starters reached double figures in the scoring department and the defense allowed Doug McDermott to score just 15 points…and he had to work hard to get those 15 points.
Baylor averages only 75 points per game, which ranks 70th in the country, but this is a team that can score in bunches and will want to get up and down the floor on occasion against the Badgers. Coach Scott Drew will get scoring from everybody he puts on the floor, but key against UW will be big men Cory Jefferson and Isaiah Austin. Those two are superb interior scorers, shot blockers and rebounders. Add Rico Gathers and Royce O’Neale to the mix and the Bears will always have at least two solid rebounders on the floor. That is where the Badgers could get into trouble. Baylor should dominate the glass. While Wisconsin should win the turnover battle, the Bears will likely get extra possessions overall. Then it comes down to who is shooting better and these two teams shot nearly the same from the floor over the course of the season.
