(Sporting Alert) — The NCAA March Madness swings back into action on Thursday night with another set of games in the last 16.
Amongst the teams on the schedule for tonight is No. 1 seed Indiana (29-6) which takes on the fourth-seeded Syracuse (28-9) at the Verizon Center in Washington.
The Hoosiers booked its place in the sweet 16 with a 58-52 victory over Temple on Sunday with Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller playing their parts, just like they did during the regular season, in getting the battling win against a very determined Temple side.
Also in action on Thursday is ACC regular season and tournament champions second-seed Miami (FL) which faces No. 3 seed Marquette (25-8) without the services of leading rebounder Reggie Johnson.
The Hurricanes (29-6) started the tournament as one of the teams that could go all the way and win the national title, but without center Johnson, they could struggle tonight, in what is expected to be a very physical contest.
Marquette fought to a very tight 74-72 win over the Butler Bulldogs in their third round game and look to playing like a team not wanting to go home.
Elsewhere in the NCAA March Madness Tourney on Thursday night, two of the tournament’s surprised teams, No. 13 La Salle (24-9) and No. 9 Wichita State (28-8) will meet on TBS at 10:17 ET.
The Shockers stunned Gonzaga 76-70 in the third round on Saturday to blow that side of the bracket wide open, while the Explorers edged Ole Miss in their contest.
“The beautiful thing about the NCAA tournament is to see great teams that you don’t see every night and to see different players that you might see some day at the next level,” said La Salle coach John Giannini, who is confident his team can keep its good run of form at the tournament going with another win.
“We’re not rags to riches,” he admitted.
“Maybe people are surprised we’ve won three in a row. But we’ve beaten good teams all year.”
Meanwhile, Ohio State (28-7) following the Aaron Craft’s last seconds three-points that sealed the 78-75 win over Iowa State, play Arizona (27-7) at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
NCAA Tourney Games – March 28
TIME (ET) MATCHUP TV
7:15 PM (3) Marquette vs (2) Miami (FL) CBS
7:47 PM (6) Arizona vs (2) Ohio State TBS
9:45 PM (4) Syracuse vs (1) Indiana CBS
10:17 PM (13) La Salle vs (9) Wichita State TBS
