Two of the underdogs of this tournament are headed for a Sweet 16 collision after huge upsets of the second-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Purdue Boilermakers. FSU and VCU will face off in San Antonio in the final matchup of the weekday games at 6:57 PM PT/9:57 PM ET, called by Marv Albert and Steve Kerr with Craig Sager patrolling the sidelines. Click here for the full Sweet Sixteen schedule.
Ken Pomeroy says ... top ranked defense in the nation, 126th best offense, all while playing at a surprisingly fast pace (70th in tempo). As expected, all their incredible stats come on the defensive end. Tenth best three point defense, best two point defense, third best blocking team, 19th best team in steals. Solid offensive rebounding team. Average at getting to the line and keeping teams off of it. In addition, FSU boasts a very tall team
The weaknesses of FSU are ... they turnover the ball a lot. With only one really decent ball handler, the Seminoles offense can often get mired in mud. They're not a good three point shooting team and they're even worse shooting at the free throw line. The Seminoles are going to test the maxim of "defense wins championships" to the limit.
Ken Pomeroy says ... 31st best offense in the nation, 111th best defense, slow tempo (201st). Great at ball handling and forcing turnovers, good at forcing teams off the line. Good three point and free throw shooting team.
The weaknesses of VCU are ... defense and rebounding. They have one of the worst two point defenses in the country. Poor offensive rebounding squad, worse defensive rebounding team. Also prone to getting shots blocked.
Prediction: Normally, you'd pick Florida State 99 out of 100 times (on paper, they're the better team), but it's hard to explain exactly how VCU routed a superior Purdue team (strong at both offense and defense) in every facet of the game, all this coming off dominant performances over USC and Georgetown. VCU will need to take an early lead and force FSU to work from behind early, and will need to force turnovers.
Oh well, I'll do it again and go against the Cinderella Rams. Florida State and their defense should rule the night and send them to the Southwest Regional Final, unless they have a disaster with regards to ball handling (which could very well happen). If not, Noles.