March Madness Sweet 16 preview
March Madness continues Thursday night with the start of the Sweet 16. CBS Sports lead sideline reporter Allie LaForce said all eyes will be on the West Virginia-Kentucky game.
While The Wildcats are one of the favorites to win the national championship, LaForce pointed out a possible weakness.
"They're used to dominating so much that if a team challenges them physically, they get really frustrated," she said. "I saw them become affected by it on the bench, complaining about the referees calls, sort of bickering among each other."
This year, three Hall of Fame coaches are in the Sweet 16: Louisville's Rick Pitino, North Carolina's Roy Williams and the 1,000-game winner Mike Krzyzewski of Duke.
Coach K's team, a No. 1 seed in the South bracket, will take on 5th-seeded Utah Friday night.
"They started out the season really strong, then had this stretch where they were trying to figure out their identity; they couldn't hit a shot," LaForce said. "They weren't playing good on the defensive end on ball, but things have really come together for them."
The Blue Devils' freshman center Jahlil Okafor, she said, will be a force, creating matchup problems for any opponents.
In the Michigan State-Oklahoma game, oddsmakers have installed the 7th-seeded Spartans as the favorite over 3rd seeded Sooners.
"[Michigan State] Coach [Tom] Izzo is just a master when it comes to the postseason. I expect this to be a very well coached game, a physical basketball game," she said. "I'm excited to see what he's able to do with his team come tournament time because he seems to really turn things around for them [in the] postseason."
Notre Dame will face Wichita State. The Fighting Irish held on in overtime against Butler Saturday, then learned that coach Mike Brey's mother died earlier in the day.
"When it comes to March Madness and the NCAA tournament, stories like that seem to inspire teams. They seem to push them further and emotion certainly is an element come this time of year, so I hope they can rally and use that to their advantage," she said.
During the UCLA-Gonzaga game, eyes will be on Coach Steve Alford's son, Bryce.
"I think what he does really well is he's able to adjust the defense quickly," LaForce said. "The game he had the controversial goaltending shot, the next game he decided, 'You know, all the pressure's going be on me, I need to go through the post.'"
She said their offense is best when they play "inside-out" basketball.
The other Sweet 16 matchups include:
Wisconsin (1) vs. North Carolina (4), Thursday at 7:47 p.m. ET
Xavier (6) vs. Arizona (2), Thursday at 10:17 p.m. ET
N.C. State (8) vs. Louisville (4), Friday at 7:37 p.m. ET