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Sweet 16 Reset: The South Region

On Thursday evening, the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16 play will begin, meaning we’ll be four days away from finding out who the four teams are that will be playing for the national title in Atlanta. And in case you spent the past four days living under a rock or on a really, really long flight that didn’t have WiFi, here’s what you missed in the South Region.

Click here to browse through all of our Sweet 16 previews:

WHERE: Dallas Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, TX

WHEN: Friday

WHAT HAPPENED?: No. 1 Kansas advanced, beating No. 8 North Carolina and old coach Roy Williams in the process. No. 4 Michigan advanced as well, rolling over both No. 5 VCU and No. 13 South Dakota State in the process. On the other side of the region, No. 3 Florida knocked off No. 11 Minnesota, ending Tubby Smith’s tenure as the head coach of the Gophers, after Minnesota knocked off No. 6 UCLA, ending Ben Howland’s tenure as head coach of the Bruins.

But none of that actually matters.

Because the South Region is where Dunk City happened. No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast beat both No. 2 Georgetown and No. 7 San Diego State to become the first No. 15 seed to make it to the Sweet 16.

FAVORITE: Florida Gators

Forgive me if I wan’t blown away by Kansas’ six point win over Western Kentucky or their 21 point first half against North Carolina. As good as the Jayhawks looked in that second half run against the Tar Heels, they looked twice as bad in the first half. And they are stil waiting for Ben McLemore to figure out how to play in the NCAA tournament. So I’ll stick with the Gators, who were my Final Four pick heading into the tournament. They’re the best defensive team in the bracket, and after rolling over FGCU (sorry, Dunk City, the run may be over), I think the Gators defensive pressure will be too much for Elijah Johnson and Naadir Tharpe.

KEY PLAYER: Trey Burke, Michigan

He’s the best player in the country, in this writer’s not-so-humble opinion, and he still hasn’t played his bet basketball of the NCAA tournament. He’s going to need to against Kansas if the Wolverines are going to beat the Jayhawks. The good news? He should have the opportunity, because both Glenn Robinson III and Mitch McGary have stepped up their play in the first two rounds of the tournament, which means that it will be that much more difficult for defenses to key in on him.

WHY AN UNDERDOG WILL WIN: Here’s my thinking on FGCU: the way that they beat both Georgetown and San Diego State was by crushing their will. The Eagles hung around for a while, but it was a second half run in both instances -- one that involved some vicious, soul-crushing alley-oops -- that allowed Andy Enfield’s club to pull away. Florida’s doesn’t exactly have the most mentally-strong back court stars. Kenny Boynton and Mike Rosario can be streaky. Will they fold if FGCU hits the Gators with a game-changing run like that?

THE TEAMS:

No. 1 KANSAS JAYHAWKS
How they got here: Beat No. 16 Western Kentucky 64-57 and No. 8 North Carolina 70-58.
Last Sweet 16 appearance: 2012
Next up: No. 4 Michigan, 7:37 p.m. ET, TBS
—————————————————–
No. 3 FLORIDA GATORS
How they got here: Beat No. 14 New Mexico State 79-47 and No. 11 Minnesota 78-64.
Last Sweet 16 appearance: 2012
Next up: No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast, 10:07 p.m. ET, TBS
—————————————————–
No. 4 MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
How they got here: Beat No. 13 South Dakota State 71-56 and No. 5 VCU 78-53.
Last Sweet 16 appearance: 1994
Next up: No. 1 Kansas, 7:37 p.m. ET, TBS
—————————————————–
No. 15 FLORIDA GULF COAST
How they got here: Beat No. 2 Georgetown 78-68 and No. 7 San Diego State 81-71.
Last Sweet 16 appearance: This is their first
Next up: No. 3 Florida, 10:07 p.m. ET, TBS

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.