Rival Views: Which individual matchup will be most intriguing?

The Sweet 16 kicks off Thursday, and along with those who were expected to make it, there have been some surprises. Looking at this week's slate of games, which individual matchup is the most interesting? As usual, national basketball analysts Eric Bossi and Corey Evans have Rival Views.

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There is no shortage of potentially exciting matchups in the Sweet 16, but the matchup between Clemson's Marcquise Reed and Kansas' Malik Newman has really caught my eye. It's especially intriguing because it's a tale of two shooting guards who are currently moving in different directions, as Reed has slumped lately while Newman has at times single-handedly carried the Jayhawks.

A second team All-ACC selection, Reed has been terrific for Clemson all year long, giving the Tigers a tough and consistent scoring threat. Lately, though, Reed has been mired in a shooting slump from deep. During ACC and NCAA Tournament play he's made just 3-of-22 attempts from beyond the three-point line. Against a Kansas team that can be pretty explosive on the offensive end, Clemson may need all of the scoring it can generate, so a return to form from deep for Reed would be huge.

On the other side, Newman has caught fire after a slow start to the season. Like Reed - who began his career at Robert Morris - Kansas is Newman's second stop. The former five-star prospect began his career at Mississippi State. Gone lately is the inconsistency with his shooting and defense that plagued Newman earlier in the season. During Big 12 and NCAA Tournament play, Newman has averaged 22 points per game while making a sizzling 59 percent (19-of-32) of his three-point attempts.

One way or another, something is going to have to give between these two, and the result of that matchup could end up determining whether it's Clemson or Kansas that moves on to the Elite Eight.

While most of the talk this year has surrounded the tremendous freshman class, all eyes will be on a pair of upperclassmen this week, and there isn’t a better matchup in the Sweet 16 than Villanova's Jalen Brunson against West Virginia's Jevon Carter. A battle of the graybeards, the two standouts are practically polar opposites, with one relying on change of speeds and offensive precision and the other swaying toward the side of quickness and utter defensive dominance.

What a contrast in styles it will be on Friday evening as Villanova, the most efficient offense in America, will go up against one of the most daunting defensive teams the college game has seen in recent memory.

How Villanova goes about navigating the "Press Virginia" defense will depend heavily on the play of Brunson. One of the steadiest hands in college basketball, Brunson has the chance to win national player of the year honors, thanks to his ability to run his team’s offense with elite efficiency while knocking down shots on both sides of the arc. However, Brunson has never played against someone like Carter, the Big 12 record- holder for steals in a career.

Carter is the head of the snake in Morgantown. While his offensive numbers have received a quality bump this year, it is his instincts, energy, grit and toughness that stand out the most. Can he do what no one has been able to do this season, and rattle Brunson and thus shake up Villanova’s offense? We saw what the Wildcats and a two-foul Brunson were like during the first half of their contest against Alabama last week. While Mikal Bridges is a tremendous NBA prospect, his inability to create his own shot was unmasked without his playmaking agent on the floor.

There is a bevy of intriguing matchups this week, but none better than a Brunson-Carter duel.