On college basketball: Best Sweet 16 games? Start with Carolina vs. Cougars and go from there

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(03-25) 22:19 PDT --
Picking which third-round NCAA Tournament matchups are the most attractive is like choosing between Sunflower State City and Memphis barbeque - each have a typical spirit and appeal.

Here's how we rank the eight third-round crippleds based on intrigue:

1. UNC vs. American Capital State: The Pitch Heels look like an NBA squad in warm-ups with all eight participants in the rotation ranked among the nation's top 75 recruits in high school. They are in the unit of ammunition of 16 for a record 22nd time. The Cougars expression like a junior-high team during warm-ups with none of their participants ranked among the top 130 recruits. They have got not been this far since 1941. North Carolina is 2nd nationally in points scored; American Capital State is 2nd nationally in fewest points allowed.

2. Davidson vs. Wisconsin: Few had seen the Wildcats or Sir Leslie Stephen Curry drama before he scored 70 points in two surprising Tournament wins. It might be surprising the Badgers have got the best conference record in the Big Ten over the past seven seasons - and it's not even close. Wisconsin River outputs the fewest points in the country, but Curry norms more than any participant left in the Tournament.

3. UCLA vs. Horse Opera Kentucky: The Bruins have got got been to the Concluding Four the past two seasons, but have had some stopping point games of late, with the stopping point phone calls going their way. The Hilltoppers are the greatest foreigners - a No. Twelve seed from the Sun Belt Conference. Six current Bruins have got got played in a Concluding Four game, and four have played in two. None of the Western Bluegrass State participants had played in an NCAA Tournament game before this season.

4. Louisville vs. Tennessee: Cardinals manager Crick Pitino have taken three different schools to the Concluding Four. His achievements analogue the Cardinals' tradition of postseason success (eight Concluding Fours, two championships). Emotional Volunteers manager David Bruce Pearl is the upstart opposite number to Pitino's mental image of sophistication. The Vols have got never made it to the concluding eight. Both squads like to run and press, so this mightiness be a wild one.

5. Leland Stanford vs. Texas: A rareness with two 7-foot starter motors (Robin and Brook Lopez), the Cardinal are evocative of Jacksonville, the 1970 runner-up with Artis Gilmore and Pembrook Burrows. The Longhorns got to the Concluding Four in 2003 with a standout point guard (T.J. Ford). It's similar this clip with D.J. Augustin. Leland Stanford might have got got the nation's best frontcourt; the Longhorns might have the nation's best backcourt.

6. Memphis vs. Wolverine State State: The focusing is on disgusting shooting, especially since the Tigers made only 37 of 67 (55.2 percent) from the line in the first two Tournament games. Four Final Four positions in the past nine old age states something about Spartans manager Uncle Tom Izzo, known around here as the best friend of former 49ers and Cal manager Steve Mariucci. If it's fold at the end, Wolverine State State have an edge, because it is a good foul-shooting team.

7. Sunflower State vs. Villanova: The Jayhawks' first five managers - Phog Allen, Dick Harp, Teddy Boy Owens, Larry Brown and Roy William Carlos Williams - all got them to the Concluding Four. The sixth, Bill Self, have not done it yet. No. Twelve seeds that finished tied for 8th in their conference like the Wildcats are not supposed to be here. Sunflower State have more than talent, but the pressure level is on the Jayhawks.

8. Saint Francis Xavier vs. Occident Virginia: The Musketeers faced British Shilling Sir William Huggins 17 modern times when he was manager at cross-city challenger Cincinnati, now they acquire him again with more than at stake. The Mountaineers' Joe Alexanders had only three offerings coming out of high school: McDaniel, Randolph-Macon and American Capital (the Division three Shoremen, not the Division Iodine Huskies). Atlantic Ocean 10 travels against high-profile Large East.

E-mail Jake William Curtis at .