NCAA Basketball: Defense is the name of the game in the Sweet Sixteen

AUBURN, ALABAMA - FEBRUARY 11: Allen Flanigan #22 of the Auburn Tigers looks to pass the ball in front of Nimari Burnett #25 of the Alabama Crimson Tide and Jahvon Quinerly #5 of the Alabama Crimson Tide at Neville Arena on February 11, 2023 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images) /

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Alabama guard Jahvon Quinerly (5) moves past Tennessee guard Tyreke Key Kns Vols Bama Hoops /

The metrics show that most teams that remain have elite defenses

When looking at the defensive metrics for the teams that comprise the Sweet Sixteen, you can quickly see why they survived the first weekend. Twelve of the 16 teams ranked in the top 40 nationally in defensive efficiency after the second round according to KenPom. Half of those 12 teams find themselves in the top 10 of that statistic, including the top five, led by the No. 4 seed in the East Region, Tennessee. Right behind the Volunteers is a No. 2 seed UCLA and the two remaining No. 1 seeds Alabama and Houston with Alabama’s opponent on Friday, San Diego State rounding out the top five.

The other remaining No. 2 seed Texas rounds out the top 10 with Creighton, Connecticut and Arkansas who do battle on Thursday finish out the top 15. But, it’s not just the overall defensive efficiency these teams excel in. Nine of the 16 also sit in the top 40 of effective field goal percentage defense which is led by the tournament’s overall No. 1 seed Alabama. The three-pointer is a big part of today’s game and eight of the sweet sixteen are also in the top 40 at defending the long ball.

Inside the arc, that number dwindles by just one to seven, with Alabama leading the way in that category as well. There is one team that is a top-three team in all of these categories and it happens to be the No. 1 overall seed, Alabama Crimson Tide with Houston just missing out on that distinction by ranking 4th in defensive efficiency.

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