Pat's Sweet 16 Picks - Friday

#4 Butler vs. #1 North Carolina (-7) (o/u 153) Memphis, TN 7:05 Eastern

Butler is a strong tournament team every year, but this North Carolina team is out for blood after last seasons’ heartbreaking finish for them. Tar Heels point guard Joel Berry has been held out of because of an ankle injury suffered in the tournament but he is expected to be good to go come tip off tonight. And a healthy North Carolina team is one of the most complete teams in college basketball. The Bulldogs have had a great year but it ends tonight.

MY PICK: North Carolina (-7) Over (153)

#7 South Carolina vs. #3 Baylor (-3.5) (o/u 135) New York, NY 7:25 Eastern

South Carolina shocked everybody (except Kix because he’s a college basketball guru) when they took out Duke in the second round on Sunday night. There is no doubt that they deserved to win that game but scoring 65 points in a half is freakish. Baylor is an athletic team offensively but South Carolina can force a lot of turnovers, and will need to if they want to keep the game speed up. The Bears played very well in their win over USC in the second round but if South Carolina can shoot like they did when they took out the red hot Blue Devils, they will advance.

MY PICK: South Carolina (+3.5) Over (135)

#3 UCLA (-1.5) vs. #2 Kentucky (o/u 165) Memphis, TN 9:35 Eastern

This is the absolute game of the night. Lonzo Ball and Malik Monk will be sure thing top 3 picks in this year’s NBA draft and one of their college career comes to an end tonight. Both teams are star studded and this game will be an absolute shoot out like when the Bruins beat Kentucky at Rupp Arena in December (97-92 final). I honestly believe that the winner of this game will win the National Championship and my gut says John Calipari and the Wildcats.

MY PICK: Kentucky (+1.5) Over (165)

#8 Wisconsin vs. #4 Florida (PICK) (o/u 132) New York, NY 9:55 Eastern

The late game features much less stardom but a lot more intrigue. Both teams have looked extremely impressive in the tournament so far but Wisconsin is riding high after taking out the overall top seed and defending champion Villanova Wildcats. Florida has dismantled their competition so far with a 15 point win over East Tennessee State in round one and a 26 point win over Virginia in round two. But Wisconsin has been led by their seniors Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig and they have the experience of deep tournament runs in years past.

MY PICK: Wisconsin (PICK) Under (132)

Sidenote:

I hit all 4 winners and only missed 2 o/u’s yesterday so I’m hot. Ya just gotta believe.