The Connecticut Huskies and the Iowa State Cyclones are facing off on Friday night in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and UConn comes in looking to keep their strong play going, as ISU is one of the best offensive teams in the tourney and the game starts up streaming from the March Madness website online at 7:27 pm ET on TBS and is live from Madison Square Garden In NYC.
The two coaches in Kevin Ollie and Fred Hoiberg know each other from way back in the past and now the two teams are looking to get into the Elite 8 after some great games leading up to the Sweet 16 round and this matchup is for the east regional and the chance to play the winner of Michigan State and Virginia on Friday as well. Iowa State has been one of the best offensive teams in the country this season and they are playing well after winning over North Carolina in one of the best games of the tournament, taking that by two and now they are looking to get to the Elite Eight.
Iowa Senior DeAndre Kane and UConn's Shabazz Napier will be the top players to watch in the game and Kane comes in after doing a little bit of everything against UNC and he led the team in scoring, rebounding and assists. Kane finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds to go along with seven assists and he comes in second on the team in scoring and first in assists this year and ISU has been very impressive all year. The team has won 10 of the last 12 games and that includes the Big 12 conference title and they have now won seven games in a row and they are looking as strong as anyone heading into this round and they could be a dark horse against a number of top teams going forward.
Iowa State and UConn are looking to get to the regional finals and they will face off against a top team no matter what, as the Michigan State Spartans and the Virginia Cavaliers are both waiting and Virginia comes in after winning the ACC tournament and regular season title for the first time in years and they were named a number one seed as well. The Cyclones are back into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000 and Kane was a big part of that after he scored the winner against UNC and he comes in averaging 17.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists and Napier will be all over him this time around. These two teams have faced off in the tourney before and Iowa State won that and now the Huskies are looking for revenge.
Napier got a taste of a championship a few years ago as a freshman and now he is the unquestioned leader of this team and he comes in after scoring 25 points in the win against Villanova and he led the team in assists as well. Napier has helped the team average over 70 points per game and he is averaging nearly six rebounds per contest and if Iowa State lets him get away, he could take over the game. The team defense has been very good and this makes for a great matchup on both sides, as UConn is allowing just 63 points per game this season and they are also averaging over six blocks per game to rank eighth in the nation.
Check here for the UConn and Iowa State live coverage from March Madness.