Friday Night Sweet 16 Picks and Previews

Midwest Region

(3) Wisconsin -4 1/2 (10) Davidson
7:10 pm ET - The Badgers have the defensive authority to shut down any offense, though holding down the scoring of just one guy, Davidson's Stephen Curry, has proven problematic for all takers. Davidson owns the nation's longest winning streak at 24 straight, though Wisconsin hasn't lost since Feb. 9, a run of 12 in a row, and their four losses have all been to ranked teams. Few thought Davidson would beat Georgetown, but they did, so can they do it again?

The answer is yes, and the reason is that they are one of the best teams in the nation, deserve to be in at least the Top 10, play tight defense themselves and stop Wisconsin's somewhat anemic scoring. The 4 1/2 points are a bonus.

(1) Kansas -12 (12) Villanova
9:40 pm ET - The Jayhawks have cruised to easy wins over Portland St. (85-61) and UNLV (75-56) without really breaking a sweat. The Wildcats are another case, though, being a quality team from a major conference and now just one of two remaining teams from the Big East (Louisville being the other). Villanova did a nice job knocking off to quality teams - Clemson and Siena - and may just have enough firepower and heart to pull off the upset. In any case, they won't go easily, and should be able to keep pace with Kansas until the end. The large spread helps make them a pick here.

South Region

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(2) Texas -2 (3) Stanford
7:27 pm ET - This is going to be a standoff between Stanford's giants - twin towers Brook and Robin Lopez inside and the Longhorn's outside shooting of A.J. Abrams, Damion James and D.J. Augustin. Almost too close to call, Texas deserves the slight edge due to versatility.

(1) Memphis -4 1/2 (5) Michigan St.
9:37 pm ET - The Tigers face a significant dilemma against Michigan State in that they may not know what to expect. Tom Izzo's troops are an adaptable lot, with scoring treats inside and out. In addition, the Spartans are a fair defensive team and since the arrival of Kalin Lucas to the starting lineup, they are improved in the backcourt. More disciplined and far better at the foul line, the Spartans can take out the phonies from Conference USA.