March Madness: East Region Sweet 16 Preview

The atmosphere of MSG and NYC is already kicking in, and with the magic March Madness set to kick off tonight. I have received the privilege to attend this weekend’s games and I am so excited I can’t even handle myself. Tonight is the Sweet 16, with some big name upsets last weekend you might not know much about the teams that are playing. I got you covered, here are the four teams to look out for in the East Regional Sweet 16.

Teams 2 Watch 4:

Wisconsin- Seniors Bronson Koeing and Nigel Hayes are clicking right now and it is showing, especially when they picked up the HUGE win over defending champs Villanova. The Badgers are making their 3rd straight trip to the Sweet 16, led by head coach Greg Gard. “I give Mike (White) a lot of credit because it isn’t easy position to walk into” Gard discussing Mike White replacing Florida legend Billy Donovan. Senior Bronson Koeing has been through it all at Wisconsin, “I’ve been watching guys before me like Kaminsky, Dekker throughout the years and it has built confidence for me going forward”. Wisconsin is seeded 8, confidence will be important for the Badgers when they take on the Florida Gators on Friday night at 9:59PM.
Florida- Devin Robinson has been huge for the Gators; a team many have been sleeping on. “These opportunities are unique and exciting” White added about playing at this high level of play. Depth and balance have been the key for Florida, many people are undermining them in the matchup against Wisconsin. The game is Friday night at 9:59.
Baylor- A common trend in this East Region is undermining teams, Baylor is for sure one of those. A team that many people were seeded to high at 3, the Bears are going above and beyond expectations and are a favorite right now to come out of the east with Nova and Duke both falling. “It's a blessing. It's real cool, especially being in this historical place. We all walked in and we were just in shock, Madison Square Garden. Not too many people can be here.” Ishmael Wainright added about playing at the Garden. Baylor takes on South Carolina Friday night at 7:29PM.
South Carolina- All the buzz in college basketball right now is on the Gamecocks after beating the National Championship Favorites Duke. PJ Dozier has been the leader for South Carolina carrying through the first two victories in the tournament. “I think it's good for us that we have played in this arena before. But I think that it works in our favor. But first game, second game, third game, I feel like you're always going to be kind of nervous playing here, just due to the history of basketball in this arena. But I think it's definitely good for us that we had the opportunity earlier in the year to play here.” Hopefully they can forget the nerves tonight when they take on the #3 seed Baylor at 7:29PM.