West Region: No. 7 Dayton vs. No. 2 Arizona
Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesArizona weirdly struggled with Long Beach State in the first half before eventually blowing The Beach out by 20 to end the game. Dayton appeared dead in the water before embarking on a massive come-from-behind victory to clip Nevada right at the end. Coming off an emotional win like that, we wonder if the Flyers will be able to conjure up the same sort of energy. Arizona was able to rest some starters.
Dayton’s best player — Arizona native DaRon Holmes — will probably be quite motivated to perform well in this contest. He’ll be guarded by gritty veteran Keshad Johnson. Johnson was a member of the SDSU team that made the historic Final Four run last year. He’s a physical player with a terrific wingspan. Look for him to make life difficult for Holmes. Arizona, in general, has too much firepower and should win comfortably.
Prediction: Arizona
