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Newark, San Francisco set to host Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchups in East and West regions

After a long three-day hiatus, the NCAA Tournament is back in full force as eight teams hit the hardwood on Thursday night. In Newark, BYU and Alabama will tip things off before Arizona and Duke clash in a primetime showdown. Out west, top-seeded Florida meets Maryland and Texas Tech takes on the Cinderella of the tournament, tenth-seeded Arkansas in San Francisco.

The night will start in Newark at 7:09 ET with BYU and Alabama, as two of the nation’s top ten offenses go head-to-head. Alongside being ranked fourth in offensive efficiency in the country, Alabama plays at the fastest tempo and boasts the nation’s highest points per game tally at 90.8. Facing off against a BYU team that has scored 80 or more in nine of its last 11 games, the fireworks should be sparking early and often between these two offenses. The Cougars sit ninth in offensive efficiency at KenPom, soaring up the ranks over the course of their 11-1 run since February 9.

For Alabama, getting Mark Sears (18.6 ppg, 5.0 apg) going early and often needs to be the focal point, as the senior point guard averaged 24.2 ppg in last season’s NCAA Tournament but scored just 12 points on 5-15 shooting in the second round against St. Mary’s. BYU will look to keep leading scorer Richie Saunders (16.3 ppg) hot, as the senior wing is coming off a 25-point outing against Wisconsin, his 12th time over 20 points this season.

The second game in Newark between Duke and Arizona is the one with the more natural headlines. The East Region’s top seed Duke is the favorite to lift the national championship trophy in April and boasts arguably the most talented roster in the country. Led by Cooper Flagg (18.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 4.2 apg), the Blue Devils are the nation’s number one offense according to KenPom and rank fourth in defensive efficiency. Flagg battled through his ankle injury (suffered in the ACC Tournament) in the first two rounds and had two decent performances by his standards, but the freshman phenom will need to reach another level this weekend to ensure Duke reaches San Antonio.

Arizona guard Caleb Love (16.8 ppg) makes this matchup what it is to the neutral audience, as the senior and former North Carolina Tar Heel matches up against Duke for the ninth time in his career. Averaging 17.9 ppg over the first eight matchups, Love’s most famous game in his career came in one of the previous matchups, as then-sophomore Love burnt Duke for 28 points in the Final Four to end Mike Krzyzewski’s career. Love was held to eight points when Arizona and Duke met in November, so he becomes the ultimate wildcard on Thursday night.

Out in San Francisco, Florida and Maryland meet in a game clouded over by off the court circumstances. As Kevin Willard’s contract extension talks and possible move to Villanova rumors loom on, the concentration level for Maryland has to be waning. The Terrapins traveled straight to San Francisco after securing two first weekend wins in Seattle, and while it’s allowed for more time on-site, it’ll be interesting to see if the time away from home eats them up.

All year long, Maryland has been a formidable team, going 27-8 and never losing a game by more than six points. All five members of the Terps’ starting five, notoriously dubbed as the “Crab Five” have averaged double figures in the scoring column this season, headlined by another freshman phenom in Derik Queen (16.2 ppg, 9.0 rpg). Queen will go to war on the front line against a very solid Florida frontcourt, and the battle on the glass will be something to watch as the Gators rank top five in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage.

Both Maryland and Florida have extremely balanced rosters top to bottom, in both the backcourt and frontcourt, but it’d be a disservice to the play of Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. (17.9 ppg, 4.2 apg) not to mention him here. As the Gators limped on against UConn on Sunday, it was the play of Clayton that ultimately lifted Florida into the Sweet 16, as the senior guard scored 23 points and knocked down five triples. How Clayton operates down the stretch could once again be the difference on Thursday night.

In the final clash of the night, Texas Tech will look to end John Calipari’s miracle run in his first season at Arkansas. While preseason expectations likely would’ve pegged Texas Tech as underdogs, it was the Razorbacks who had their backs against the wall in January and have since turned things around.

The injury report is the thing to monitor for this matchup when it comes down to who has the edge though, as Texas Tech guard Chance McMillian (14.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and Arkansas forward Adou Thiero (15.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg) are both true game-time decisions and look to suit up for the first time in the NCAA Tournament. McMillian gives the Red Raiders another dynamic scoring option on the wing, while Thiero is a bruising forward that has led the Hogs in scoring on the season. No matter if both, one, or neither play in the game tonight, this matchup should be a physical battle throughout in a true neutral site matchup in San Francisco.

It feels great to finally have meaningful basketball back on the TV tonight, and all four games have at least one aspect in the storyline that makes it worth tuning in for.

Other Things to Note:

• The NCAA Tournament continues with the Sweet 16 on Thursday at 7:09 ET on CBS and 7:39 ET on TBS