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          Men's College Basketball Blog

          Tournament Challenge: Thursday's Sweet 16 matchups

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          Vitale excited to watch Cinderella teams play (1:49)

          Dick Vitale is looking forward to watching Nevada and Loyola Chicago battle it out in the NCAA tournament for a spot in the Elite 8. (1:49)

          • ESPN
          Mar 22, 2018, 09:30 PM

          Here are some Tournament Challenge takeaways as we head into Thursday’s set of Sweet 16 games. Unless noted otherwise, all seed-vs.-seed facts are since 1985.

          No. 7 Nevada vs. No. 11 Loyola-Chicago

          • 1.1 percent of brackets predicted Nevada would face Loyola-Chicago in the Sweet 16.

          • 3.1 percent of entries have Nevada making it to the Elite Eight, with 0.6 percent having the Wolf Pack advancing all the way to the Final Four.

          • 1.9 percent of entries have Loyola-Chicago making it to the Elite Eight and 0.5 percent put the Ramblers in the Final Four.

          • No. 11 seeds are 3-0 against No. 7 seeds. The last one: George Mason over Wichita State in 2006.

          No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 7 Texas A&M

          • 3.7 percent of brackets predicted Michigan would meet Texas A&M in the Sweet 16.

          • 32 percent of entries pushed Michigan all the way to the Elite Eight, and 19.1 percent have the Wolverines in the Final Four.

          • 2.4 percent of entries put Texas A&M into the Elite Eight, and just 0.9 percent have the Aggies in the Final Four.

          • Since 2012, No. 3 seeds have lost four of six meetings with No. 7 seeds.

          No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 9 Kansas State

          • Just 1.6 percent of entries correctly predicted that Kentucky would square off against Kansas State in the Sweet 16.

          • 12.3 percent of brackets have Kentucky in the Elite Eight, with 8.2 percent all the way to the Final Four.

          • K-State finds itself in the Elite Eight in only 1.4 percent of entries, with 0.6 percent of brackets having the Wildcats in the Final Four.

          • No. 5 and No. 9 seeds have split their two NCAA tournament meetings: 2010 (No. 5 Michigan State defeated No. 9 UNI) and 1994 (No. 9 Boston College defeated No. 5 Indiana).

          No. 4 Gonzaga vs. No. 9 Florida State

          • 3.8 percent of brackets have Gonzaga and Florida State facing each other in the Sweet 16.

          • A healthy 35 percent of entries pushed Gonzaga into the Sweet 16, with 14.6 percent picking the Bulldogs to reach the Final Four.

          • FSU is found in the Elite Eight of just 2.3 percent of Tournament Challenge brackets and 0.8 percent for the Final Four.

          • No. 4 seeds have won both meetings vs. No. 9 seeds: 1992 (Cincinnati over UTEP) and 2004 (Kansas over UAB).