Elite Eight: Saturday Matchups


(5) Houston vs. (2) Villanova – 5:09 PM CDT on TBS

Maroon(?) dots are Game Score Per 40 Minute values for the Cougars in their Sweet Sixteen win over Arizona on Thursday. Moore and White weren’t great, but everyone else was terrific, led by KenPom Game MVP Jamal Shead and his 21 points and 6 assists.
Light blue dots are the Game Score Per 40 Minutes in the Cats’ win over Michigan in the Sweet Sixteen on Thursday night. Jermaine Samuels was crucial and had to be, as the rest of the Cats were at or below their averages.

(4) Arkansas vs. (2) Duke – 7:49 PM CDT on TBS

Black dots are Game Score Per 40 Minutes in the Hogs’ win in the Sweet Sixteen over Gonzaga on Thursday night. Another strong game from Chris Lykes and solid from everyone else.
Black dots are Game Score Per 40 Minutes for the Blue Devils in their Sweet Sixteen win over Texas Tech on Thursday. Paolo Banchero was the main man in this one, with Mark Williams doing what he normally does (hard to see, apologies for the similar-colored dots). Jeremy Roach seemed absolutely dominant down the stretch, but four turnovers held down his overall Game Score.

Data courtesy Kenpom.com and Basketball Reference
Game Score metric created by John Hollinger detailed here
Plot format by Aaron Baggett
Inspiration from Ken Pomeroy
Inspiration from Rock M Nation

Team colors courtesy:
Benjamin S. Baumer and Gregory J. Matthews (2020). teamcolors: Color Palettes for Pro Sports Teams. R package version 0.0.4.