NCAA Tournament 2023: Ranking the 8 matchups in the Sweet 16

1. 2 UCLA vs. 3 Gonzaga

Rumors of Gonzaga’s demise have been nothing but rumors and the Bulldogs are in the Sweet Sixteen for an eight season in a row. It didn’t look promising early, but Gonzaga really challenged themselves in the nonconference and had a bad night when they lost to Loyola Marymount. The Bulldogs have currently won 11 games in a row and Drew Timme is an All-American once again. After blasting past Saint Mary’s twice to win the WCC, they survived tough games against 14-seed Grand Canyon and 6-seed TCU to get back to this point, but has the story come to a close?

Johnny Juzang left last season and Jaylen Clark is out with an injury, but that hasn’t kept UCLA from having another remarkable spurt at the end of the season. The Bruins are a rare team that has not been upset this season, with all of their losses coming against quality opponents. They play great offense and great defense and gets elite contributions from both Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campbell, who were along for the Final Four run two years ago. They made quick work of 15-seed UNC Asheville before holding on against 7-seed Northwestern in the second round, but this matchup is certainly the most intriguing of the weekend.

UCLA and Gonzaga matched up in the Final Four in 2021 in what became one of the greatest college basketball games in the history of the NCAA Tournament. Some of those pieces remain on both sides, but it’s not about the past, it’s about a trip back to the Elite Eight for one of these programs. Defending Timme will be a primary objective for Mick Cronin’s squad, while UCLA will need that offense to keep humming along after two great performances already. This is the game to watch. We won’t get a repeat of that all-time classic from two seasons ago, but it’s impossible to know just how this one will play out.

We’ve spent a few moments previewing each of these teams and what to expect in all of these matchups. Do you agree with the rankings of the matchups as we’ve presented them? An exciting long weekend of college basketball is ahead and soon there’ll be just four teams left in the NCAA Tournament.