Should be a good one…

Elite Eight matchups…Not holding to form folks!

Well, well, well. What have we here? There are no ‘true Cinderella’s’ left in the tourney. However, The Iowa Hawkeye’s are putting forth their best ballroom dancing interpretations. The Hawks have surprisingly danced their way into the Elite Eight field. Up next on their path to the Final Four is old neighbor, friend, and conference mate Illinois. The teams played once in conference with Ill winning 75-69, back on January 11th.

Now mind you this Iowa team finished 9th in the B1G at 20-11 regular season & 10-10 in conference play. They backed into the dance losing 6 of their last 10, and 3 losses in succession to end the season. The Hawks went 1-1 in the B1G Tournament. Technically, as the #9 team in the B1G they shouldn’t have received a NCAA bid. But, here they are. They are playing their best ball at the correct time of year and have won their way to the Elite Eight! Congrats to the Hawkeyes.

Matchups/Pairings…

Should seedings hold true we can expect to see more traditional matchups in the Elite Eight.

East – Duke v UConn

West – Arizona v Purdue

South – Illinois v Iowa (Surprises abound)

Midwest – Michigan v Tennessee

Potential SS Surprises… in order of importance

However, the upsets are not yet done!

Iowa 9-seed over Illinois 3-seed

Tennessee 5-seed over Michigan 1-seed

This could be one of the most surprising Elite 8’s in the last several years. Quality ‘hot’ P4 teams (not Midmajors) on a winning streak with momentum, in the South (Iowa) & Midwest (Tennessee) regions. High quality, top-seeded teams in the East & West regions. What fun!!

Jim Harvey a.k.a. @gtmoblue