Nothing beats the excitement that is the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament as March Madness is truly in full swing. What’s sensational is seeing dreams become realities while many more are crushed. It’s the thrill of the Big Dance that shocks and entertains us, watching as an event for 68 schools is diminished to just sixteen in the blink of an eye.
Every single program in the NCAA Tournament fought all season long to be part of this event and they each have had their moment. Only the Sweet Sixteen teams survive the first weekend of this winner-take-all event and as such those teams remain in the spotlight moving forward. March Madness has had no shortage of late drama and heroics, crazy events, and standout performances and these remaining teams show just that.
The very being of a Cinderella seems diminished in recent years and there aren’t any mid-major programs in the Sweet Sixteen field. However, we certainly didn’t expect a few of the teams still around, like that pesky Texas squad that won three games as an 11-seed in the First Four, or the Iowa team that shocked defending champion Florida. We could talk on and on about each school in the Sweet Sixteen but that’s not the purpose here today.
Our goal here is to look closely at the current starting rotations for the Sweet Sixteen teams and to rank these teams based solely on their starting fives. A few teams are dealing with injury uncertainty and we have done our best to take that into account. Others lean more heavily on bench players and as a result may be ranked lower than you expect. Remember, this isn’t about which teams are the best or who will win in the Sweet Sixteen but the talent and productivity from their starting lineups. With deep dives into eighty players ahead, let’s just starting running through these victorious lineups.