Sweet 16 highlights from the East and Midwest Regions

Sweet 16 highlights continue as college hoops in Philadelphia and Chicago continued to define the marvelous ball playing that could only be expected in the March Madness quarter finals action.

• Number one-seeded North Carolina easily advances to Elite 8
• Virginia earned more respect with their domination of Iowa State
• Syracuse once again surprised many with their 63-60 win over Gonzaga

Sweet 16 highlights do more than recap the heart of March Madness. They prove NCAA basketball is truly America’s National Sport. The East Regional finals went down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. North Carolina faced off with Indiana. Afterwards, Notre Dame took on University of Wisconsin.

Chicago saw some equally sweet action as University of Virginia squared off against Iowa State. Gonzaga and Syracuse fought it once the smoke cleared. North Carolina and Virginia, number one seeds, were the safe bet. Gonzaga and Wisconsin, the two highest seeds, made internet betting interesting.

University of North Carolina vs. University of Indiana

A strong UNC team always gets to the final four. The Sweet 16 highlights show nothing different. The North Carolina Tarheels made 7 out of 8 three-point shots in the first half. Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige scored a combined 41 points for North Carolina.

Would you bet on UNC reaching the final?

The Indiana Hoosiers were behind by double digits most of the game. Yogi Ferrell’s 25 points was impressive, but ineffective. The victory was expected by most online sportsbooks in the US. The teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference were dominant this year in the tournament.

Notre Dame University vs. University of Wisconsin

Sweet 16 highlights from Philadelphia showed a lackluster game between Notre Dame and Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Badgers weren’t expected to get this far. Their 20-12 regular season record didn’t seem to matter. The Badgers played like scared children committing 17 turnovers.

Considering all their mistakes, Wisconsin showed talent. The Badgers were up 56-53 when they head guy Nigel Hayes assisted to Vitto Brown for a three. Seven seconds later, the Fighting Irish had a 8-0 run sealing the victory. Notre Dame showed a toughness that will be tested next in the Elite eight.

University of Virginia vs. Iowa State

No punter mobile betting would’ve wagered against Virginia. The Cavaliers are considered one of the “It” teams in NCAA. Some have argued that Virginia “running up” the points hurts the game. They broke bad on Iowa State with a 26-9 lead in 11 minutes. After that they didn’t look back.

The Cyclones came out of the second half with a run. Georges Niang had at least 25 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in the last 3-straight games. Yet the NCAA tournament record holder couldn’t save his team. Sweet 16 highlights showed a dominant Virginia. By the last 13 minutes, they had a 15 point lead.

Gonzaga University vs. Syracuse University

Most didn’t expect Syracuse to get this far. Vegas odds put the Orange as a 4.5 point underdog against Gonzaga. Yet Syracuse was still the better seed. These were the two lowest ranked teams in the Sweet 16. Punters would have had fun with this one. The Syracuse Orange proved Vegas wrong.

Domantas Sabonis and Kyle Wiltjer combined for 42 points but it wasn’t enough. Michael Gbinije led the Orange with 20 points. Syracuse’s zone defense had little effect on Gonzaga at first. Their early 13-4 lead only ended with better shooting by the Orange. The battle to the end put Syracuse on top 63-60.