2023 March Madness Sweet 16 bracket breakdown
No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 9 Florida Atlantic聽
If there was any question about what team was the most physical in the tournament this year, Tennessee did its best to leave no doubt. The Volunteers bullied Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to earn their trip to the Sweet 16. The Blue Devils came into the game with a lot of momentum from winning the ACC Tournament but the hot Duke offense ran into a brick wall.Tennessee鈥檚 physicality and defense has helped them win in the tournament even without point guard Zakai Zeigler. With both the No. 1 and the No. 2 seed in their region out after the first weekend, the Volunteers have a great opportunity to get to the Elite Eight and maybe even the Final Four.聽
Florida Atlantic played in a thrilling first-round matchup against Memphis and got its first ever March Madness win. The Owls followed it up with their second ever March Madness win, ending the historical run No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson was on after upsetting Purdue. In that second round game against FDU, FAU was just the better team. The Knights made some runs and kept it fairly close but the Owls were always able to weather the storm. Guard Johnell Davis led all scorers with 29 points and is showing why he has been the team鈥檚 leading scorer all season.聽
FAU matches up well against Tennessee but this game will come down to physicality and defense. The Vols have the best defense in the tournament and have imposed their will on their opponents. If the Owls can match that physicality and hit some threes, this game could be close but Tennessee should be heading to the Elite Eight when the game is over. Tennessee wins.
