Saturday’s NCAA Elite Eight previews
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No. 11 Dayton vs. No. 1 Florida, 5:09 p.m. (TBS)Dayton has gotten this far two other times in its history, a 1967 national title game loss to UCLA and a 1984 trip to the Elite Eight. The Flyers beat Stanford in the Sweet 16, the Flyers’ third straight better-seeded victim, and they did it with great ball handling. Dayton committed one turnover. But the pressure gets turned up against Florida, which put away UCLA on Thursday. The Gators are rolling and senior guard Scottie Wilbekin is at the top of his game, on both sides of the ball. Florida has reached the Elite Eight for the fourth straight year but is looking for its first Final Four in that span.
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Pick:Florida, 71-64
West RegionAt Anaheim, Calif.•
No. 2 Wisconsin vs. No. 1 Arizona, 7:49 p.m. (TBS)For 37 minutes against San Diego State, Arizona All-American Nick Johnson couldn’t buy a point. Over the final three minutes, he was unstoppable with 15 points as the Wildcats pulled an escape act against the Aztecs. Wisconsin hardly broke a sweat in crushing Baylor. The Badgers offense was in high gear and now they meet one of the nation’s top defensive teams. Both programs are led by coaches who have been among the game’s best but haven’t been to a Final Four. That changes for either Arizona’s Sean Miller or Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan.
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Pick:This story was originally published March 28, 2014 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Saturday’s NCAA Elite Eight previews."