Almost all of the top seeds in the NCAA Tournament are still around in the Sweet Sixteen. Which of them are most likely to fall next?
Things aren’t always what they seem.
If you take a glance at the teams still alive in the NCAA Tournament, it appears as if there haven’t been any intriguing storylines or Cinderella runs in March this year. The only double-digit seed remaining is Oregon, who doesn’t fit the bid of a common 12 seed.
15 of the 16 programs competing in 2019 Sweet 16 are seeded fifth or better, indicating nothing very extraordinary has occurred in the NCAA Tournament to separate this season from others. I’d have to disagree. Though it’s a little disappointing that not one darkhorse made a significant run, the first two rounds were extremely exciting and also filled with quite a few notable upsets.
UC Irvine knocking off Kansas State in the South Region’s 13-4 matchup represents the biggest surprise of the tournament thus far. Nearly every 12 seed advanced to the Round of 32 as well. If New Mexico State could have mustered up two more points against red-hot Auburn, the rare 12-5 “sweep” would have been completed.
Most of the teams we expected to play in the Sweet 16 are playing this week. But don’t let the predictability of the remaining field deter your attention from the final four rounds. Duke escaping UCF by the skin of its teeth on Sunday tells us that nothing is going to be easy for any team from here on out, even the Blue Devils.
With that in mind, the Sweet 16 possesses a competitive slate of games, all of which could go either way. The potential “upsets” in the Regional Semifinals don’t necessarily fit the traditional meaning of the word. Still, the rest of the tournament would be even more up for grabs if a few of the top seeds get sent home this week. So let’s take a look at the one, two, and three seed most likely to come up short on Thursday or Friday.