Gonzaga will try to get over the Sweet 16 hump, while Duke and Oklahoma look to keep strong seasons going.
The Sweet 16 wraps up on Friday, with four spots open for the Elite Eight. The East and South regional finals will be decided in these four games.
After years of disappointing results, Gonzaga finally got back to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009. The Bulldogs dismantled Iowa in the third round behind strong performances by Kyle Wiltjer (24 points, seven rebounds) and Domantas Sabonis (18 points, nine rebounds). They take on UCLA, which upset SMU in the second round and put away UAB to get this far.
The second game is an ACC showdown between Louisville and NC State. The Cardinals haven't been the most consistent team this season, but Rick Pitino has his squad on track at the right time. beating UC Irvine and Northern Iowa in the tournament. Louisville has a tricky matchup with the Wolfpack, who beat the Cardinals on the road in the regular season. NC State stunned No. 1 Villanova in the third round.
One of the best matchups of the day features Duke vs. Utah. Jahlil Okafor gets all the headlines, but he'll have a solid challenge against Utes big man Jakob Poeltl. Duke had little trouble with San Diego State in the previous round, while Utah had convincing wins over Stephen F. Austin and Georgetown.
The final game of the day features Oklahoma vs. Michigan State. Tom Izzo is working his March magic again, guiding the No. 7 Spartans to the Sweet 16 for the 13th time in his 20-year tenure. Michigan State knocked off No. 2 Virginia in the previous round. The East region is wide open with the top two seeds gone, so the winner of this game has a great path toward reaching the Final Four.
Complete Friday schedule (all times Eastern)
No. 2 Gonzaga vs. No. 11 UCLA, 7:15 p.m., CBS
No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 8 NC State, 7:37 p.m., TBS
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 Utah, 9:45 p.m., CBS
No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Michigan State, 10:07 p.m., TBS
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