Here’s a look at Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchups

(2) Villanova (31-5) vs. (3) Miami (27-7)

WHEN, WHERE: 4:10 p.m., Louisville, Kentucky (KLAS-8)

LINE, TOTAL: Villanova -4, 140½

PLAYER TO WATCH: Angel Rodriguez. The Hurricanes’ senior point guard dominated early Saturday in a second-round win over Wichita State, scoring the first seven points and 16 in the first 10 minutes as Miami built a big lead. Then, as the Shockers rallied, Rodriguez took over down the stretch and finished with a career-high 28 points. He is the heart and soul of the team, and his performance will go a long way toward determining the fate of the Hurricanes. The Kansas State transfer finished 9 of 11 from the field and prompted Wichita State guard Fred VanVleet to acknowledge, “He pretty much kicked my butt.”

STORYLINE: The Atlantic Coast Conference has been lauded for a phenomenal showing in the tournament, and for good reason. The conference has a startling six teams remaining. Now the competition gets more difficult. So much was made about Villanova’s early-round struggles, but the Wildcats have two impressive victories. But Miami’s Jim Larranaga is one of the country’s best coaches and has the talent to make a deep run. Villanova coach Jay Wright silenced some doubters by making it this far, but the detractors will get more ammo if the run stops now.

PICK: Miami 74, Villanova 71

(2) Oklahoma (27-7) vs. (3) Texas A&M (28-8)

WHEN, WHERE: 4:35 p.m., Anaheim, California (TBS)

LINE, TOTAL: Oklahoma -2, 146

PLAYER TO WATCH: Danuel House. With less than six minutes remaining in Sunday’s game against Northern Iowa, the Aggies’ leading scorer had no points and appeared to be playing in the final game of his collegiate career. The story of the rest of the game is well-documented. House finally scored. Then he scored again. And again. When all was said and done, he had scored 22 points in a double-overtime thriller that included an unprecedented rally from a 12-point deficit in the final 44 seconds. Now, House and the Aggies are the only team still playing from the Southeastern Conference.

STORYLINE: House stole the headlines Sunday, but Buddy Hield has been there all season. The Oklahoma guard averages more than 25 points and is coming off a 36-point effort Sunday against Virginia Commonwealth. He is the favorite for national player of the year, especially with the early tournament departure of Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine. But the Aggies are relentless on defense, as evidenced by the suffocating pressure they put on the Panthers in the final minute of Sunday’s comeback. They showed they can deal with a star player by shutting down Ben Simmons in the SEC tournament. Hield is a better scorer than Simmons with a much better supporting cast and an incomparable coach in Lon Kruger, but he will have to work hard for his points.

PICK: Oklahoma 75, Texas A&M 68

(1) Kansas (32-4) vs. (5) Maryland (27-8)

WHEN, WHERE: 6:40 p.m., Louisville, Kentucky (KLAS-8)

LINE, TOTAL: Kansas -6½, 144½

PLAYER TO WATCH: Wayne Selden Jr. Certain players step forward and become household names with special performances in March. Selden has made so many spectacular plays in the postseason that he’s turning his family members into superstars. Selden’s uncle, Anthony Pitts Jr., was spotted in the crowd celebrating an insane dunk during the Big 12 tournament. He dominated social media to the point that there were reporters at Pitts’ home as he watched Selden play on TV in the first two rounds. Pitts, who is doing his best to bring back the Flavor Flav-style clock around the neck look, has had plenty to cheer about, as Selden has shot better than 50 percent and averaged 18 points in two easy wins. The competition gets better today.

STORYLINE: In winning two games to advance to the Sweet 16, Maryland has mixed brilliant runs with perplexing stretches of terrible basketball. That won’t be enough to get past the top-ranked team in the nation and No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. The Terrapins certainly have the talent to pull an upset if they can play a coherent 40 minutes of basketball. Melo Trimble is an accomplished floor leader, and Diamond Stone has the ability to be a future star in the post. Maryland, which spent a large portion of the season in the top 10, has capable players at every position. The underdog role may bring out its most inspired effort of the season. Whether that’s enough remains to be seen.

PICK: Kansas 77, Maryland 75

(1) Oregon (30-6) vs. (4) Duke (25-10)

WHEN, WHERE: 6:55 p.m., Anaheim, California (TBS)

LINE, TOTAL: Oregon -3, 156½

PLAYER TO WATCH: Grayson Allen. It happens every year. As college basketball finally enters the nation’s collective consciousness in March, a particular Duke player organically becomes the most hated player in the sport. This year, the choice was easy. Allen is a terrific scorer; there’s no doubt about it. There also seems to be a lot of opponents who mysteriously get tripped to the ground while running in his vicinity. Surely a coincidence. One trait all the Duke enemies of the state share is postseason success. Hatred is not wasted on the mediocre. Allen, who despite his protests really does look a lot like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, is averaging 26 points in the tournament. That will draw a lot of anger from opponents.

STORYLINE: Oregon was targeted by pundits as a susceptible No. 1 seed, but coach Dana Altman and the Ducks find themselves in the Sweet 16 and favored to advance again. Dillon Brooks is an emerging star, and Oregon should be able to wear down the Blue Devils. Duke’s lack of depth hasn’t doomed it yet, but it certainly showed up when Duke almost blew a 27-point lead against Yale in the second round. By pure coincidence, no doubt, Duke played early Saturday and Oregon didn’t play until late Sunday, giving the Blue Devils more than one extra day to prepare. That might help them stay in the game and even put a scare into the Pac-12’s final representative, but the Ducks will pull away.

PICK: Oregon 81, Duke 70