N.C.A.A. Men’s Tournament: What to Watch as the Round of 8 Begins

On Saturday, two groups will ebook spots within the Remaining 4 of the lads’s N.C.A.A. basketball event in New Orleans, whereas two others will see their seasons come to finish.

The South and West regional finals will happen in San Antonio and San Francisco, whereas the East and Midwest finals will take heart stage on Sunday.

Right here’s what to look at for on Saturday.

All occasions are Jap.

Villanova tries to make extra historical past.

It’s March, in order that should imply Coach Jay Wright and the No. 2-seeded Wildcats (29-7) are heating up on the proper time. Villanova has received eight straight video games relationship to a Feb. 22 loss at Connecticut. The run has featured three victories within the Huge East event at Madison Sq. Backyard, and three through the N.C.A.A. event, together with a 63-55 win over Michigan on Thursday in San Antonio.

Subsequent up is a date with the No. 5 seed Houston (32-5), which has received six straight, is a 2-point favourite and ranks among the many prime 10 in each offensive and defensive effectivity (6:09 p.m., TBS).

“I believe we’re past constructing,” Wright mentioned after the win over Michigan. “We’re going to relaxation. We’re beat up. We’ve bought to relaxation up. We are able to study a bit bit watching movie. It’s about surviving now.”

Villanova is 19-3 in its final six N.C.A.A. tournaments and received the championship in 2016 and 2018. These had been the final two years wherein the Remaining 4 was broadcast on TBS as an alternative of CBS. This 12 months’s Remaining 4? Again on TBS once more.

Houston desires a return ticket.

One 12 months after main the Cougars to the Remaining 4, Houston Coach Kelvin Sampson has his crew inside one victory of returning. And he has gotten right here regardless of having 5 new starters.

All 5 of final 12 months’s starters both moved on or suffered accidents. Quentin Grimes, a key participant on final 12 months’s crew, is now on the Knicks’ roster. Guard Marcus Sasser, who scored 20 factors as a sophomore within the nationwide semifinal towards Baylor a 12 months in the past, went down with a season-ending damage in December, as did the sophomore guard Tramon Mark.

Nonetheless, Houston has maintained its trademark defensive depth, and it usually appears as if the crew has seven defenders on the ground, as an alternative of 5. Within the second spherical, the Cougars restricted Illinois to 34 % taking pictures. In opposition to No. 1-seeded Arizona on Thursday, they held the Wildcats to 33 % whereas knocking off a single-digit seed for the primary time because the 1984 Remaining 4, when Hakeem Olajuwon was a star.

“They’re not afraid of anyone, whether or not that’s U.A.B. or Illinois, Arizona, our subsequent recreation Villanova,” Sampson mentioned. “We’ll simply transfer on to that one and we’ll do the very best we are able to with that one.”

Coach Ok vies for a sixth title earlier than retirement.

Duke, seeded No. 2, confronted an actual scare earlier than finally prevailing over third-seeded Texas Tech, 78-73, on Thursday night time in San Francisco. The Blue Devils outscored the Pink Raiders 12-5 within the final 4 minutes to present coach Mike Krzyzewski his a centesimal N.C.A.A. event win. Solely 5 packages have extra event wins than Krzyzewski’s 100 — Kentucky (129), North Carolina (128), Duke (117), Kansas (111) and U.C.L.A. (108).

The Blue Devils enter as 4-point favorites, however to ensure that Krzyzewski to achieve his thirteenth Remaining 4 — and first because the Blue Devils received their fifth championship in 2015 — they should deal with Arkansas’s defensive strain (8:49 p.m., TBS). In taking out Gonzaga, 74-68, on Thursday, the Razorbacks had been relentless on the defensive finish.

Duke’s sophomore level guard Jeremy Roach, who had 15 factors, 5 assists and 4 turnovers towards Texas Tech, will want one other regular — and heady — efficiency.

“Simply belief in your work,” he mentioned. “These guys belief me, and the teaching employees trusts me.”

Arkansas seems to spoil Duke’s run.

Led by the previous N.B.A. head coach Eric Musselman, the No. 4 Razorbacks (28-8) are within the spherical of 8 for the second straight season and are searching for to achieve their first Remaining 4 since 1995, after they had been runners-up to U.C.L.A.

Enjoying aggressive protection, chopping off angles and stopping lengthy outlet passes, the Hogs surprised Gonzaga, the event’s prime general seed. With each Gonzaga and Arizona happening on Thursday, it was the fourth time because the event expanded in 1979 that three No. 1 seeds misplaced earlier than the spherical of eight; Baylor was ousted final weekend by North Carolina.

The senior guard JD Notae, who went for 21 factors, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and a pair of blocks towards the Bulldogs, isn’t happy with stopping now.

“That is what we dreamed about,” he mentioned. “That is what we got here right here to do. Coach mentioned earlier than we left Fayetteville, if we didn’t wish to win, then don’t get on the airplane. I really feel like we introduced that the entire time we’re right here.”