The South region has been the most entertaining of the NCAA Tournament so far, with top-seeded Houston surviving a scare and the tournament's lone surviving Cinderella in NC State making it two rounds in.
The Cougars held off a furious rally by nearby rival Texas A&M to survive and advance to this point, while Duke has flexed its muscles in a pair of impressive wins over Vermont and upstart James Madison, which came off of an upset win over Wisconsin.
NC State, likewise, beat a team coming off a huge upset on Saturday when the Wolfpack held off 14-seed Oakland in overtime. The Pack beat Texas Tech in the first round to earn their spot Saturday.
They will face a Marquette team that overcame a brutal first half to rally past Western Kentucky in the first round before slowing down the high-flying Colorado Buffaloes on Sunday.
With the stage set for two great matchups in the South region, here are our official predictions for which two teams will meet up in the Elite 8 on Sunday.
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(4) Duke vs. (1) Houston
Time: 9:39 PM EST, Friday
Channel: CBS
How They Got Here: Duke defeated Vermont, James Madison. Houston defeated Longwood, Texas A&M.
Odds: Houston -4.5
Despite nearly seeing their season end in stunning fashion on Sunday, the Houston Cougars are a team that has so much going for them right now. Their trademark defensive toughness under Kelvin Sampson is still there, and their guard duo of Jamal Shead and L.J. Cryer make them very difficult to slow down on the opposite end.
Duke comes in playing as well as it has all year, as their first half romp of James Madison is very arguably the best half of basketball the Blue Devils have played all season. Duke gets its regular contributions from veteran guard Jeremy Roach and sophomore big Kyle Filipowski, but the sharpshooting of Jared McCain is a huge X-factor for this team right now, as he got hot in a hurry on Sunday to put the Dukes away quickly.
Texas A&M and Houston played an uncharacteristically fast-paced game on Sunday, so I would look for the Cougars to try to get back to their slower ways on Friday. Duke will likely be fine with that, as the Blue Devils have been a fairly deliberate team under Jon Scheyer.
Both teams feature dynamic scoring guards, but Duke may find somewhat of an advantage down low, where Filipowski and Mark Mitchell look poised to give Houston fits in the rebounding department. Despite that, Houston has found ways to overcome its rebounding shortcomings all season long, including in that last game against the Aggies.
The Pick: 68-64, Houston
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(11) NC State vs. (2) Marquette
Time: 7:09 PM EST, Friday
Channel: CBS
How They Got Here: NC State defeated Texas Tech, Oakland. Marquette defeated Western Kentucky, Colorado.
Odds: Marquette -6.5
There is an interesting history wrinkle to this matchup. Before Marquette head coach Shaka Smart left VCU to take over Texas, he turned down the NC State job in 2011. When NC State won its first national championship in 1974, the team they beat in the title game was Marquette.
None of that will matter on Friday, though. This NC State team that was left for dead just two weeks ago has found new life and is playing at an extremely high level right now led by viral sensation D.J. Burns at center, a dangerous duo of guards in Michael O'Connell and D.J. Horne, and a strong cast of supporting characters all playing their roles perfectly at the right time.
It's hard to project exactly how the Wolfpack will continue to play at this level in the face of fatigue, but you have to assume it's staying around. Marquette will have its hands full on Friday.
Speaking of Marquette, the return of star guard Tyler Kolek from injury has given the Golden Eagles a huge lift on the offensive end, and they needed every bit of that lift to beat an upstart Colorado team. Marquette plays at a high level on both ends of the court, and they'll need to use the press to force NC State into turnovers to win this one. The Wolfpack rarely turn the ball over out of the half court, but they are more vulnerable against the sort of pressure that Smart has historically drawn up in his career.
Between Burns and Mo Diarra, NC State could have a very significant edge in the paint in this one, and the Wolfpack have the defenders in Casey Morsell and Jaden Taylor to potentially keep Kolek from winning the game himself.
The Pick: 78-72, NC State
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