NCAA Tournament 2012: Predicting Potential Sweet 16 Shootouts

Perhaps not surprisingly, most of the Sweet 16 games are matchups between strong defensive teams.

Syracuse vs. Wisconsin. Louisville vs. Michigan State. Cincinnati vs. Ohio State.

But there are a few games that could eschew all that boring defensive nonsense and turn into high-scoring barn-burners.

Those are the games I want to watch. Here's a heads-up on three games you may want to catch as well.

 

 

Marquette vs. Florida

This one has all the makings of a shootout. Both teams feature excellent guards that can light it up. For Florida, Kenny Boynton, Bradley Beal and Erving Walker all average double-digit points from the guard position.

For Marquete, senior Darius Johnson-Odom is averaging 18.5 points per game this year.

Each team has consistently scored a lot of points—Marquette scores 75.9 points per game, Florida is good for 76.3—and both are speedy units that can push the pace in transition.

Frankly, this one has fun written all over it. Strap in and enjoy the ride.

 

 

NC State vs. Kansas

You may not think of this game as a potential shootout, since the key factor may be how the NC State bigs handle Kansas' big men Thomas Robinson and Jeff Withey in the paint.

But each team can flat-out score, especially if Kansas shoots better than they did against Purdue (an ugly 33.9 field-goal percentage).

Five players on the Wolfpack average double-digit points, and neither Robinson nor Tyshawn Taylor have seen an offensive burst yet in the tourney.

Look for more points than you might expect in this one as it goes down to the wire.

 

 

Baylor vs. Xavier

The Bears have excellent offensive balance and average 74.9 points per game. Xavier has Tu Holloway, who has scored 20 or more points 16 times this season, and Mark Lyons, who has accomplished the feat seven times himself.

If those two are hot early, Xavier will put up points. They'll need to if they want to keep up with Baylor, who is capable of scoring in a hurry.

This game may not be as fast or exciting as Marquette vs. Florida, but is has just as much potential to be a classic.

 

 

Hit me up on Twitter—I've tweeted from Lehigh's campus before. Seriously.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1115594-ncaa-tournament-scores-2012-predicting-potential-sweet-16-shootouts

Brett Pill Pat Burrell Jhan Marinez Anibal Sanchez John Baker Brad Davis