Arizona is the better team here, and I fully expect the Wildcats to win and move on the Elite 8. That said, the ACC as a whole (aside from Virginia in the First Four) has played shockingly well during the NCAA Tournament. Clemson is talented and athletic in its backcourt, and I believe they have the ability to get after and frustrate Caleb Love. In the end, I expect this to be a fairly close game, with Arizona winning and a final score in the 78-73 range.

If Caleb Love plays well, Arizona plays well. The Tigers guards have been playing at a very high level to make Love uncomfortable. Oumar Ballo is a big body down low for Arizona but not as athletic as PJ Hall, who has been kept in check for the first two games of the tournament. The Tigers have plenty of bigs to throw out there for rebounding purposes and with how well this team has been playing as a whole, they can disrupt the Arizona flow.

The ACC has been a surprise in March Madness where they have been 8-0 overall. Clemson nearly blew their last matchup against Baylor but did just enough to hold on. The Tigers have an upper hand on knowing Caleb Love’s strengths from his years as a Tar Heel. Chase Hunter has also emerged as he has been the leading scorer for the Tigers in both tournament games. Grab the points with Clemson.

This is where Arizona has bumped its head in the Tommy Lloyd era, failing to get past the Sweet 16 the past two years. Everything sets up for the Cats to break thru this time, including the more-convenient venue in LA (as well as next week's Final Four in Phoenix..but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves). We still believe that Caleb Love can at times hurt the Cats more than he helps them, and the turnover issues resurfaced last Saturday vs. Dayton. When hitting on all cylinders, Clemson is dangerous, and even when the Tigers weren't as 6-10 PJ Hall battled foul trouble last Sunday vs. Baylor, Brad Brownell's side still had enough to upset the Bears. Play Clemson (NCAA at Los Angeles)

Clemson is playing great basketball at the perfect time and now they face an Arizona team that has been very inconsistent this season. Yes, Arizona wins this matchup in most of the offensive and defensive efficiency metrics, but Clemson provides some matchup problems for Arizona as well. I expect Hall, Hunter and Girard to have big games and I expect Clemson to frustrate Arizona into bad shots by slowing the game down. One thing Clemson has been able to do all season is play highly ranked teams tough and I don't expect that to change against Arizona.

By my count Clemson has played 12 games against teams in the NCAA field. NONE have hit 80 and the median is 67. That includes 2 v UNC, Bama, Baylor and Duke. And while AZ wants to play fast, they arent stubborn about it. 152.5 is a crazy high total.

Clemson lost three of their last five games before winning the last two as underdogs. The string of good luck comes to an end here with Arizona who went 22-11-3 ATS this season. Arizona pulled out two good wins and covers to start the tournament. They were on track with their strong but average shooting. Arizona scores 87 points per game which is third in the nation. Clemson won't be able to handle the pressure or the size. Arizona wins by double-digits. Arizona to cover.

My simulations make Arizona -9 vs. Clemson in this matchup. Arizona has a sizable rebounding edge, doesn't put opponents on the foul line often, and will really push Clemson with pace.