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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish know what it takes to beat the North Carolina Tar Heels; they did so in the regular season at home. However, when the chips were on the table in the ACC Tournament, the Irish were crushed 78-47. The rubber match on Easter Sunday between the two is for the grandest prize, a trip to the Final Four in Houston next week.... 

There will be a new national champion and the Oregon Ducks are looking good after eliminating last year’s titleist Duke in the Sweet 16. The victory validates Oregon’s selection as a No. 1 seed when the brackets were announced, and also helps redeem the Pac-12 Conference.... 

Kansas has looked like the No. 1 team in the country, racking up three double-digit cover wins in the Tournament and easily getting by a good Maryland squad in the Sweet 16 for its 17th straight victory overall. Villanova has put on a shooting display in the Tournament and will need to be dialed in once again to earn a Final Four trip.... 

It isn't all that much of a surprise that the Oklahoma Sooners reached the Elite Eight. All year long, they had the resume of a No. 1 seed, and though they didn't finish on the top line, no one ever doubted their viability for the second weekend of the tournament. In fact, it's almost a little bit more of a shock that the Oregon Ducks, the surprising choice as the top seed in the West, is still dancing with a shot to go to Houston for the Final Four.... 

It's really tough to argue with either the Kansas Jayhawks or the Villanova Wildcats right now. Both teams have absolutely dominated their opponents here in the NCAA Tournament to reach the Elite Eight, and whichever team wins this game when the two are sharing the court at the KFC Yum! Center on Saturday night will certainly have earned that trip to Houston for the Final Four.... 

Jim Boeheim probably never imagined that his Syracuse Orange would be wearing white jerseys anywhere along the way in the NCAA Tournament. Now, he's going to get the chance to bring out the whites a second time in the Sweet 16 when the 'Cuse take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs in a rare 10 vs. 11 game in the Midwest Region.... 

Tempo is going to end up being the most important factor for live bettors in the Sweet 16 duel in the Midwest Region between the Virginia Cavaliers and the Iowa State Cyclones.... 

The top of the East Region was filled with bluebloods of the sport of college basketball. The last two survivors from an awesome set of eight teams will battle for the right to go to the Elite Eight on Friday night in Philly when the Indiana Hoosiers look to upset the North Carolina Tar Heels.... 

Four of the eight teams which were in the Elite Eight last season still have a shot to make a repeat appearance in 2016. Two of those teams, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Wisconsin Badgers, made great escapes from their Round of 32 games just to reach the point to play against each other in Philly.... 

A lot of attention has been paid to the top half of the East Region where Indiana and Kentucky battled in a classic for the right to face North Carolina, but the better finishes have clearly been in the bottom half of the bracket. Both the Wisconsin Badgers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish advanced to the Sweet 16 on buzzer beaters, and they'll be ready for battle against one another on Friday night.... 

Two elite programs clash on Friday for the first time in the NCAA Tournament since Michael Jordan last donned the Tar Heels’ blue. Indiana upset UNC back in 1984 and will look to harken back to history with another upset in these teams’ Sweet-16 battle on Friday.... 

The Syracuse Orange were considered fortunate to make the tournament after finishing the regular season with a 19-13 record.After two 20-point wins no one doubts Syracuse’s credentials any longer and now the Orange will try to win the first game in which it’s an underdog, against the Gonzaga Bulldogs.... 

The total in the game between the Iowa State Cyclones and the Virginia Cavaliers is all you need to look at to know just how interesting their matchup is in the Sweet 16. The number of 142 is the lowest in a game this year for ISU, and it's the second-highest total UVA has been up against.... 

A pair of really thin teams who have looked awfully beatable at times in March will be on the court together in the Sweet 16.The Duke Blue Devils have had a favorable run to get to this point, and they'll have some help once again when they take on the Oregon Ducks.... 

Sunday's comeback for the Texas A&M Aggies to knock Northern Iowa out of the NCAA Tournament will be talked about forever in College Station. However, none of it will mean a heck of a lot unless the Aggies can take down the Oklahoma Sooners in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night.... 

Even though the South Region has been a tremendous gauntlet thus far, many believe this is still a wide open bracket for the lower-seeded teams because of the lack of wins in the dance Bill Self and Jay Wright have. Self will hope that his Kansas Jayhawks aren't bothered by the weight of playing in the Sweet 16 when they take on the No. 5 seed in the region, the Maryland Terrapins.... 

It's tough to say that a No. 2 seed has exceeded expectations by reaching the Sweet 16, but many figured that the Villanova Wildcats were in a world of trouble when the brackets came out just knowing how bad their tourney history is. After two blowout victories though, the Cats are on their way to Louisville for the regional semifinals, and they're relatively big favorites over the Miami Hurricanes.... 

Oregon survived a scare from St. Joseph’s in the Round of 32 before gutting out a tough win at the end. Now the Ducks have to face a much tougher opponent in the reigning national champion Duke Blue Devils in the Sweet Sixteen.... 

The Texas A&M Aggies used one of the best runs of the NCAA Tournament to knock Northern Iowa out of the dance. They know they'll have to be better if they want to keep playing on into the weekend, as they have a very tough task ahead against the Oklahoma Sooners in what has suddenly become a wide open West Region.... 

The Kansas Jayhawks are showing why they were the top overall ranked seed coming into the NCAA Tournament after barely being threatened in double digit wins against Austin Peay and Connecticut. Now the Jayhawks will get a test from an extremely talented Maryland Terrapins squad looking to live up to their lofty preseason ranking.... 

The South Region is proving to be a tremendous gauntlet for the teams at the top of the bracket. That said, on the bottom half of the bracket, both the Miami Hurricanes and the Villanova Wildcats have had a relatively easy road to reach the Sweet 16, though only one will get into the Elite 8.... 

At the time of their opening round win, the Hawaii Warriors were the highest seed to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They're basically a footnote at this point after a wild afternoon and evening on Friday, but they're still an awfully dangerous No. 13 seed going against the Maryland Terrapins in the Round of 32.... 

Northern Iowa has demonstrated throughout the season that it’s capable of knocking off top teams. The Panthers put another notch on their belt with Friday’s first round win over Texas, to go along with victories over North Carolina, Iowa State and Wichita State. Add in that the Panthers have won 13 of their last 14 games and they could be a trendy pick to advance to the Sweet 16.... 

Oklahoma encountered its share of stumbles down the stretch to the NCAA Tournament, but coach Lon Kruger and his group of veterans is poised to make a deep run in March if everything clicks. VCU also is an experienced club and won’t be scared away by the Big 12 big boys, especially considering the number of upsets we’ve seen so far in the tournament.... 

Carrying the torch for the underachieving Pac-12, No. 1 seed Oregon showed no nerves playing as a top seed and rolled past No. 16 Holy Cross 91-52 in Friday’s first round matchup. The Ducks have plenty of talent and depth and are a serious contender for a trip to Houston in two weeks....