16 for the Sweet 16

After three long days with any NCAA Tournament basketball (that first weekend sure does spoil you), the Sweet 16 has finally arrived. We have some outstanding match-ups this year that range from clash of titans, clash of styles and clash of Italian coaches . With that in mind, are are 16 things will be looking for this weekend.

Everyone pissed off to be in Detroit - I can only imagine Kansas fans, who probably use the NCAA Tournament has their only vacation every single season, mumbling to themselves “We could have been in freakin’ Phoenix”. And least it appears as if Davidson’s fans will be enjoying it.

Nova’s Reliving 1985 - We haven’t heard many comparison between this semi-Cinderella bunch and the miracle 1985 squad, but that will all change in a big way if they can knock off Kansas.

The Gigantic Monkey on Bill Self's Back - No person still remaining has a bigger “can’t win the big one” tag then Self. And if Jayhawks can’t make the Final Four this season when just about everything broke their way in the regional, Eric’s head just might explode.

Ratings Watch - As MJD pointed out over at Yahoo!, rating are down 9% on CBS but March Madness on Demand's ratings are up 129%…..I see no correlation here whatsoever.

Orlando Mendelz-Veldez, WKU heartthrob - There are many things to love about WKU (Big Red, mainly), but we are currently in love Orlando Mendez-Valdez and his fabulous semi-mohawk, semi-Meundo style 80s haircut (This picture does it no justice, just watch the UCLA game).

Curry Madness - American loves Davidson and Curry in particular. So much so that CBS has rescued Gus Johnson from the horrible Denver regional to call the the game against Wisconsin. I’m sure Curry will find out how much the Wisconsin U-boaters have been caught up in Davidson madness when he tries to run through his first screen.

Memphis Free-Throws -The single most over-analysed stat of this postseason. Still, I’m going to watch to see what John Calipari says when missed free-throws eventually cost his team against Michigan State.

Bob Huggins in the Final Four - I would pay thousands to see Bob Huggins break out the yellow suit or mustard trash bag shirt at the Final Four. Proof that getting a DUI and throwing up on a police officer will not end your career in college basketball.

Chris Lofton’s Ankle - Our first major injury of the Sweet 16, Lofton has been limited at practice because of a bum ankle. Could be a major dagger in Vols hopes of taking down both Louisville and Carolina to reach the Final Four.

The Lopez Twins - I’m still surprised that these two are still relatively anonymous to the general public. I mean, two big men averaging over 16 ppg each on a Sweet 16 that have goofy hair and love Michael Jackson? Seriously what else do you want?? And now Robin is dating Michelle Wie. Hopefully, everyone knows the Lopez twins when they reach the Final Four.

Indiana’s Next Coach - It’s almost like a three-way audition between Xavier’s Sean Miller, WSU’s Tony Bennett and UT’s Bruce Pearl. The furthest to advance probably has the leg up for the Hoosier job.

The Ewing/Durant Theory - The Ewing/Tiki Theory may need a new name attached to it if DJ Augustin and AJ Abrams can lead the Longhorns to the Final Four one year after the departure of Kevin Durant.

The Sleeper Fight - There has never been four #1 seed in the Final Four, and we don’t think it’s going this year either. So who is going to be this year’s sleeper? Louisville and Wisconsin are the leaders in the clubhouse, but a Stanford Final Four run may the only think to bring my bracket back into the Top 50.

UNC vs Wazzu - You couldn't pair a better conflict of style. The run-and-gun Heels, with their prestige and ACC blue blood against the slow-down, defensive Cougars that look like a shitty rec-team. There’s a reason I think that this is going end up being the second best game of the Sweet 16 behind Texas-Stanford (while we are talking Carolina, take a moment to remember former Carolina mascot Jason Ray, who was killed at the East Regional one year ago today).

UCLA Latest Form of Luck - This is almost like the fill-in your own ending game. My prediction: Bruins trail West Virginia by 3 with :05 seconds left to play. Love is fouled while trying to throw a chest pass 90 feet. Confused by the beauty of the chest pass, refs award him three free throws and call a technical on Huggins for his suit being too bright. Bruins win by one.

Can this weekend live up to 2005? In 2005, we saw the greatest Sweet 16/Elite 8 ever. From the Carolina/Nova “walk” call, the Louisville comeback on the Pittsnogles of WVU, Illinois’s miracle comeback on Arizona and the UK-MSU overtime thriller, it was the greatest Sweet 16/Elite 8 of out time. If this weekend comes anything close to that, we are in for a treat.