NCAA Tournament LIVE Stream: Dayton and Stanford Kick Off Sweet 16 With Underdog Battle
ByThe Dayton Flyers (11) would like to become the next surprise double-digit seed in the Final Four, but so would their opponents, the Stanford Cardinal (10).
It seems strange to consider a school like Stanford an underdog, but they were not favored to beat either New Mexico (7) or Kansas (2). Somehow, they have come out as the higher seed in the Sweet 16 matchup they were not supposed to have.
CLICK HERE to watch the game live.
Dayton's run is even more improbable, as they beat Ohio State (6) and Syracuse (3) in the first two rounds. Still, either team could be the next VCU, Wichita State, Butler or George Mason.
"Every year there's that one team in the like final eight, Final Four that no one expected to be there, and that's been our mantra like 'Why can't that be us this year?" Dayton center Matt Kavanaugh said ahead of Thursday's game, according to the Associated Press.
Stanford basketball can easily be overshadowed in the Pac-12 when stacked up agains the likes of Arizona and UCLA, but the Cardinal never saw it that way.
"Coach (Johnny Dawkins) always tells us that there are only a handful of teams that come into this tournament thinking they have a chance to win," Stanford forward Josh Huestis told the AP. "The rest of them are just happy to be here. We pride ourselves on being a team that believes we can win this whole thing."
Both teams are within one point of each other in terms of average points scored and allowed. Both teams have also faired about the same on the road and in neutral locations. Neither have ever seemed rattled when facing an out-of-conference team. Without any distinguishing characteristics, it is hard to pick a favorite to win the game.
"Ohio State was big. Syracuse was really big," Dayton coach Archie Miller told the AP. "We've played Gonzaga and Cal and Baylor. They were big. It's not really about playing against big people. It's about executing your system versus the different styles you play against."