Sweet 16 2015: TV Schedule, Live Stream Info and Predictions for Friday

The final salvos of this year's Sweet 16 promise the best tournament action of the year.

Then again, it's not difficult to top Thursday's action in which top seeds cruised and Kentucky ended the West Virginia program in one half of play.

Really, though, it doesn't get much better than another Gonzaga-UCLA showdown, Duke in a tough matchup or three legendary coaches throwing down after a few days of extra preparation.

With Friday's action on the horizon, be sure to brush up on all the important details.

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2015 Sweet 16 Friday Schedule

Time (ET)	Matchup	TV
7:15 p.m.	No. 2 Gonzaga vs. No. 11 UCLA	CBS
7:37 p.m.	No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 8 North Carolina State	TBS
9:45 p.m.	No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 Utah	CBS
10:07 p.m.	No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Michigan State	TBS

Note: All games streamed on NCAA.com.

Friday's X-Factors to Watch

Delon Wright, G, Utah

Utah's Delon Wright might want to find a time-traveling device of some sort and go back a few days.

West Virginia's Daxter Miles Jr. talked a bit of trash about the Mountaineers upsetting Kentucky, only for the Wildcats to come out angry Thursday and unleash a brutal 78-39 beating.

Now, Wright wasn't talking trash per se, but he did tell Kareem Copeland of The Associated Press, "Honestly, I've played against players better than them. It's a mind game."

Wright might be correct, but he'll need to back up the talk on the court. 

He's capable, averaging 14.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. Still, he shot just 2-of-7 from the field with 11 points against 12th-seeded Stephen F. Austin in the second round, and he shot the same mark against fourth-seeded Georgetown in the next round, finishing with 12 points.

Those numbers will need to increase if Utah is to overcome Duke, a team that ranks second in KenPom.com's adjusted offensive efficiency ratings and is led by freshman superstar Jahlil Okafor.

Based on Wright's tournament to date and Mike Krzyzewski's brief break from play to prepare for him, odds are the Blue Devils slip away late.

Prediction: Duke 74, Utah 70

Michigan State's Defense

Of course, sometimes advanced metrics don't tell the whole story.

Team	ADJ OFF	ADJ DEF
Michigan St.	15	46
Oklahoma	46	6

Case in point, as the efficiency numbers from KenPom.com show, Tom Izzo's Spartans are far from the best defensive team in the land.

Then again, the phrase "Tom Izzo's Spartans" is not something to take in a light manner come tournament time.

That helps to explain why Oklahoma's status as a No. 3 seed means little. The Spartans didn't just force the Georgia Bulldogs into 33.3 percent shooting from the floor in a second-round win; they flustered deep attempts too, forcing Georgia to shoot 4-of-14 from long range.

It was the same story against second-seeded Virginia. A Cavaliers team entering with just three losses to its name shot 29.8 percent from the floor and hit on 2-of-17 attempts from deep.

Making matters worse for the Sooners is the fact that they lean on just one player for most of their offensive production. Junior Buddy Hield averages 17.3 points per contest, but just two other players on the team average double digits and neither cracks 12 points.

Like Krzyzewski, Izzo has had a decent amount of time to draw up a plan capable of shutting Oklahoma's main option down.

When it comes to making a pick, this "upset" isn't much of an upset in the grand scheme of things.

Prediction: Michigan State 64, Oklahoma 60

Gonzaga's Composure

It sounds silly, right? 

Gonzaga, eighth in RPI, going against a No. 11 seed and ranked fourth and 37th in adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, respectively, needs to be composed?

Indeed, were it any other team, composure wouldn't come to mind. Heck, were it any other round.

Folks know the drill—the Bulldogs make a habit out of Sweet 16 exits and UCLA produced the Gus Johnson explosion and Adam Morrison tears in the classic 2006 matchup.

So far, so good, though, as Gonzaga blew past its first two opponents in large part thanks to leading scorer Kyle Wiltjer, as CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein illustrates:

At this point it doesn't make sense to underestimate this version of UCLA, who slipped past SMU by one point before routing 14th-seeded UAB.

At the very least, the Bruins have shown an ability to engage in shootouts, hence their No. 34 ranking in adjusted offensive efficiency.

Call the Sweet 16 a chance for Gonzaga to turn things around, though. The Bulldogs are the better team and so long as they come out composed and play their game, many past demons will bite the dust as they advance to the Elite Eight.

Prediction: Gonzaga 74, UCLA 69

Stats and info are courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.