2023 March Madness Sweet 16 bracket breakdown
No. 1 Houston vs. No. 5 Miami
Houston is starting to look like it did prior to Marcus Sasser鈥檚 injury in the American Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals. The Cougars were able to pull away from Northern Kentucky in the first round without Sasser playing much but against Auburn the Houston guard scored 22 points. The Cougars also showed off why they are many people鈥檚 favorite to make the Final Four. Down 10 at half to the Tigers, Houston completely shut down Auburn in the second half and held the Tigers to only 23 second half points. Now with a few days of rest and time to focus on Miami, it will be very hard to beat the Cougars.聽
Miami has made its second straight Sweet 16 and the Hurricanes are coming off a dominant win over Indiana. Miami out rebounded the Hoosiers and shot almost 40% from three as it beat Indiana by 16. The Hurricanes like to push the tempo and are one of the highest-scoring teams in the country. Norchad Omier is back from injury and Miami has multiple players that can take over a game. Isaiah Wong and Jordan Miller will have to go toe-to-toe with Sasser and Jamal Shead for the Hurricanes to win.
The Hurricanes have the offensive firepower to compete with Houston but the Cougars have the defense to stop Miami. This will be a close game between two teams that have experience playing in March. However, if Houston can shut down Miami like it did Auburn, the Cougars will be going to another Elite Eight. Houston wins this game.聽
