News, Notes, and Highlighted Games (Elite Eight): Sunday, March 27th

Welcome to the semifinals of this year’s ACC Tournament!!!

Both Villanova and Kansas had trouble getting it going offensively yesterday, which was sort of a surprise given how well both had looked throughout the tournament so far.  Nova ended up getting the win and knocking out the overall #1 seed in a game that came down to the final few possessions.  Oklahoma played one of their best games of the year, especially on the offensive glass, and ran away from Oregon to earn the other Final Four spot.

#10 SYRACUSE VS #1 VIRGINIA (Chicago IL, 6pm, est, TBS).  Syracuse’s path to the Elite Eight has involved knocking off Middle Tennessee and Gonzaga, both of which are teams that got much deeper into the tournament than many were expecting.  They have a very tall order today against a familiar conference foe in Virginia that’s seeking its first Final Four since 1984.  Both teams play very good defense, and when you factor in how familiar the two already are with each other then it could be a real rock fight.

#6 NOTRE DAME VS #1 NORTH CAROLINA (Philadelphia PA, TBS, 8:49pm, est).  Notre Dame had to sweat out Michigan a little bit in the round of 64, they then needed a shot in the final seconds to get past Stephen F Austin in the Round of 32, and their Sweet Sixteen win against Wisconsin came down to the final minute as well.  They are taking “Luck of the Irish” to a whole new level.  North Carolina has blasted past everyone they’ve faced so far.  But, the last time these two met Notre Dame was right in there.  Again, the familiarity the two have, and given how well Notre Dame played against them recently means that the Irish do have a chance.

CIT Semifinals (click on the link for both live streams)

NJIT AT COLUMBIA (6:00 PM, CBS Sports Network) – For the second straight season, NJIT has won their first 3 games in the CIT at home – their latest win was a 2nd half comeback victory against fellow UTR darling Texas-Arlington. The Highlanders need only travel across the Lincoln Tunnel this year to play at Columbia; the Lions are also coming off of a close win against Ball State in their quarterfinal game in the CIT last week. I don’t have confirmation of this, but this would likely be the first time a team from the Ivy League would play in the championship game of a postseason tournament should Columbia be able to win tonight.

UC IRVINE AT COASTAL CAROLINA (9:00 PM, CBS Sports Network) – The Anteaters have proven to be road warriors in their first two games in the CIT (as they got a bye in Round 2) – they won at North Dakota and also hit a game-winner against Louisiana-Lafayette to advance to the CIT semifinals. Coastal Carolina is the only team that will have hosted every game in the first 4 rounds of the CIT; they defeated Mercer and New Hampshire and survived a potential game-winner by Grand Canyon to make it to the semifinals along with Irvine.