Sweet 16: Oakland Region at a Glance

By Bruin Basketball Report

The NCAA tournament Sweet 16 round of games begin this week. Oakland (West) regional contests take place on Thursday, March 23 in Oakland, CA with No. 1 Memphis vs. No. 13 Bradley, and No.2 UCLA vs. No.3 Gonzaga.

The Memphis and Bradley game is a classic NCAA tournament story of top seed versus Cinderella. Memphis has marched easily through the first two rounds, while Bradley upset two teams who were predicted by some to make the Final Four, Kansas and Pittsburgh.

An interesting match-up to watch will be between Bradley's sophomore-phenom 7-footer Patrick O'Bryant and Memphis' big, athletic frontline. O'Bryant scored 28 points in the victory over Pittsburgh.

The winner of the contest between UCLA versus Gonzaga not only advances to the next round of the tournament, but can also stake claim to bragging rights for unofficial title of "Best in the West."

The game pits together two teams with contrasting styles. UCLA is a tough, physical team whose play is keyed by its defense; while, Gonzaga is more of an offense-minded team. The Zags are led by Player of the Year candidate Adam Morrison.

A glance at the remaining four Oakland Regional teams playing in the Sweet 16 round of games.


No. 1 Memphis Tigers (32-3), C-USA

Road to Sweet 16
Def. No. 16 Oral Roberts (94-78), Def. No. 9 Bucknell (72-56)

Probable Starters
F-Shawne Williams (Fr, 6'9, 225), F-Rodney Carney (Sr, 6'7, 205), C-Joey Dorsey (So, 6'9, 265), G-Antonio Anderson (Fr, 6'6, 190) , G-Darius Washington Jr. (So, 6'2, 195)

Key Reserves
F-Robert Dozier (Fr, 6'9, 205), G-Chris Douglas-Roberts (Fr, 6'6, 180), G-Andre Allen (So, 5'10, 205)



No. 13 Bradley Braves (22-10), MVC

Road to Sweet 16
Def. No. 4 Kansas (77-73), Def. No. 5 Pittsburgh (72-66)

Probable Starters
F-Marcellus Sommerville (Sr, 6'7, 225), C-Patrick O'Bryant (So, 7'0, 260), G-Tony Bennett (Sr, 6'0, 175), G-J.J. Tauai (Jr, 6'3, 215), G-Daniel Ruffin (So, 5'10, 165)

Key Reserves
F-Lawrence Wright (Sr, 6'4, 198), Will Franklin (Jr, 6'0, 185), F-Zach Andrews (Jr, 6'8, 225)



No. 2 UCLA Bruins (29-6), Pac-10

Road to Sweet 16
Def No. 15 Belmont (78-44), Def No. 10 Alabama (62-59)

Probable Starters
F-Cedric Bozeman (Sr, 6'6, 205) F-Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (Fr, 6'7, 225), C-Ryan Hollins (Sr, 7'0, 235), G-Jordan Farmar (So, 6'2, 180), G-Arron Afflalo (So, 6'5, 210)

Key Reserves
Darren Collison (Fr, 6'0, 155), C-Lorenzo Mata (So, 6'8, 235), Alfred Aboya (Fr, 6'8, 235), Michael Roll (Fr, 6'5, 205)



No. 3 Gonzaga Bulldogs (29-3), WCC

Road to Sweet 16
Def. No. 14 Xavier (79-75), Def. No. 6 Indiana (90-80)

Probable Starters
F-Adam Morrison (Jr, 6'8, 205), F-Sean Mallon (Jr, 6'9, 218), C-J.P. Batista (Sr, 6'9, 269), G-Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes (So, 6'0, 181), G-Derek Raivio (Jr, 6'3, 175)

Key Reserves
G-Jeremy Pargo (Fr, 6'2, 215), G-Erroll Knight (Sr, 6'7, 211), F-David Pendergraft (So, 6'6, 218)



Tentative Game Start Times

No. 1 Memphis vs. No. 13 Bradley 4:27 p.m. PT
No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 3 Gonzaga 6:55 p.m. PT (approx.)


(BruinBasketballReport.com)