The dance rolls on for No. 2 Arizona Basketball, who will head to Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles to take on No. 6 Clemson in the Sweet Sixteen — Arizona's second in three years and Clemson's first since 2018.
Arizona: The Wildcats are coming off an impressive win over an extremely talented No. 7 Dayton squad. Arizona sparred with the Flyers for most of the first half before starting to pull away as intermission approached. After halftime, the 'Cats stepped on the gas and established a 15-point cushion, which Dayton chipped away at constantly. This was a gritty win for Arizona where they staved off multiple late-game pushes and sealed the 78-68 win.
Clemson: Clemson played an impressive game despite being tasked with a star-studded No. 3 Baylor team. The Tigers played stiff defense early on, scored the first points, and Baylor never held a lead in the entire game. Each of their big four — PJ Hall, Chase Hunter, Joe Girard III, and Ian Schieffelin — all finished the game with double-digit points en route to the 72-64 upset.
How to watch Arizona vs. Clemson in the Sweet Sixteen
- Date: Thursday, March 28, 2024
- Time: 4:09 p.m. MST
- Venue: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
- Channel: CBS
- Streaming: NCAA March Madness Live, fuboTV
- Announcers: Brian Anderson and Jim Jackson (booth), Allie LaForce (courtside)
Arizona vs. Clemson Sweet Sixteen odds
Line: Arizona -7.5
O/U: 152.5
FanDuel odds have Arizona opening as a 7.5 point favorite over Clemson. The 'Cats have been playing gritty basketball, wading through about 10 minutes worth of muck before finally getting upstuck and finding a fast-paced rhythm. Clemson will need to find ways to keep pace with Arizona, and this could bode well for smashing the over but not so much for the spread.
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Arizona vs. Clemson Sweet Sixteen prediction
Arizona isn't looking as cohesive in the postseason as they did in the regular season, but the mix of great coaching and clutch individual performances have kept the 'Cats afloat. In the Sweet Sixteen, nothing is written in stone and there will be a renewed life with the stakes getting higher. If it's not Caleb Love or Oumar Ballo leading the way, leaning on the tournament experience of players like Keshad Johnson and Pelle Larsson — who was a part of the 2021-22 Sweet Sixteen run — will be the key to victory.
Clemson is on a roll right now, and they're getting contributions from the whole bulk of the roster. PJ Hall is a first-team all-ACC player, and both Girard and forward Ian Schieffelin were all-ACC honorable mentions. Even if those three are kept in check, point guard Chase Hunter can do some serious damage as a shooter too. However, this comes with a much slower pace — 235th in possessions per game — than Arizona's high-flying theatrics, and Arizona will be able to leverage that into a win.
Prediction: Arizona wins 87-83
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