Winners Club: Madness Sets Up Men’s Sweet 16 Field

The NCAA men’s college basketball tournament is down to the final 16 teams, plus championship odds and the top upsets from the weekend.

All March Madness brackets are officially busted. The pursuit of perfection in the men's bracket ended Friday before the round of 32 even began and the remaining teams that are headed to the Sweet 16 tell the story of four wild days of non-stop basketball.

The first two rounds—punctuated by plenty of upsets—were bookended by the last round of 32 game between No. 9 TCU and No. 1 Arizona on Sunday night, a ludicrous instant classic that needed overtime to sort itself out, and a double-overtime thriller in the final First Four game between No. 11 Rutgers and No. 11 Notre Dame on Wednesday night that bled into Thursday morning.

The men’s tournament resumes Thursday evening and the women’s tournament continues tonight with eight Sweet 16 spots still up for grabs.

Men’s Sweet 16 Set

Three of the four No. 1 seeds in the bracket are still dancing. Benedict Mathurin and No. 1 Arizona held off TCU in overtime to score an 85-80 win, No. 1 Gonzaga’s Drew Timme led his team to a comeback 82-78 victory against No. 9 Memphis and No. 1 Kansas edged out No. 9 Creighton in a 79-72 bout to keep its season going.

No. 1 Baylor, the defending champions and the top seed in the East Region, won’t be headed to the second weekend of the tournament—the Bears fell victim to No. 9 North Carolina in yet another overtime contest. The Tarheels allowed their opponent to storm back from a 25-point deficit to force overtime but hung on in the extra period for a 93-86 win.

There are more double-digit seeds in the Sweet 16 than No. 1 seeds. No. 10 Miami, No. 11 Michigan, No. 11 Iowa State and this year’s darling, No. 15 Saint Peter’s, all won their first two games and each took down a top-three seed.

Denis Poroy/AP

Pat Forde wrote how the madness of March led to an unpredictable Sweet 16 field.

• The combined seed total (85) ties for the third-highest in tourney history, along with 2018 and 2000.
• A No. 15 seed has made the Sweet 16 for just the third time, and the second straight year.
• This was the first tournament since the expansion to 64 teams in 1985 in which there wasn’t at least one No. 1 seed winning its second-round game by double-digit points.

“As suspected heading into this tourney, there is not dramatic separation of the best from the rest,” Forde writes. “And the rest know it.”

It should be no surprise that Gonzaga is still the heaviest favorite to take home the title in New Orleans after the opening weekend.

Here’s how the SI Sportsbook national championship odds look for the remaining 16 teams:

Gonzaga +220

Arizona +450

Kansas +450

Houston +900

Texas Tech +1000

Villanova+1100

Duke +1200

Purdue +1200

UCLA +1400

UNC +2000

Michigan +5000

Providence +5000

Arkansas +6000

Miami +6500

Iowa State +7500

Saint Peter’s+10000

And for the Sweet 16 spreads, click here.

Weekend Upsets

Compared to Thursday, Friday was relatively tame as far as upsets go in the men’s bracket. Saturday and Sunday things went off the rails, though.

• No. 11 Notre Dame defeated No. 6 Alabama, 78-64, despite the Fighting Irish being 4.5-point underdogs. Notre Dame’s season came to an end Sunday when it lost, 59-53, to No. 3 Texas Tech.
• No. 11 Iowa State upset No. 6 LSU, 59-54. The Tigers were 3.5-point favorites but the Cyclones prevailed and did so once again in the round of 32 against No. 3 Wisconsin. As a 4-point underdog, ISU scored a 54-49 win to advance.
• No. 9 UNC took down No. 1 Baylor first thing Saturday afternoon in a dramatic, 93-86 overtime affair. The Tar Heels were 5.5-point underdogs in the contest.
• No. 11 Michigan was favored in its first round matchup despite being the 11-seed but the Wolverines found themselves as 7-point underdogs against No. 3 Tennessee in the Round of 32. UM took down the Volunteers, 76-68, to keep its improbable run alive.
• No. 15 Saint Peter’s continued its run against No. 7 Murray State. The Racers were 8-point favorites and hadn’t lost since Dec. 22 and the Peacocks came away with a 70-60 victory.
• No. 10 Miami bested No. 2 Auburn and future lottery pick Jabari Smith to keep its run going. The Hurricanes were 6.5-point underdogs and defeated the Tigers soundly, 79-61. UM wasn’t favored in its first-round matchup with No. 7 USC, either.

Chris Carlson/AP

Click here for the updated men’s bracket.

The women’s tournament is enjoying its own rash of upsets, which Emma Baccellieri documented over the weekend.

“People talk about how there isn’t any parity in women’s basketball… This is March Madness.”

• No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast took down No. 5 Virginia Tech, 84-81, despite being a 5.5-point underdog. The Eagles run came to an end in the next round against No. 4 Maryland, though.
• No. 10 Creighton is still dancing. The Bluejays scored upset wins over No. 7 Colorado (84-74 as 2-point underdogs) and No. 2 Iowa (64-62 as whopping 12-point underdogs). Now, Creighton is headed for the Sweet 16.
• No. 10 South Dakota is also going on a run. The Coyotes took down No. 7 Ole Miss, a 4-point favorite, 75-61, and then disposed of No. 2 Baylor, a 14-point favorite, 61-47, to move on to the second weekend.
• No. 11 Princeton beat No. 6 Kentucky, 69-62, despite being a 3-point underdog. The Tigers take the court tonight against No. 3 Indiana.
• No. 11 Villanova got the best of No. 6 BYU as a double-digit underdog. The Cougars were favored by 10 but the Wildcats won, 61-57, and play No. 3 Michigan tonight.
• No. 12 Belmont defeated No. 5 Oregon, 73-70, in a double-overtime thriller. The Bruins advanced to face No. 4 Tennessee Monday.

LM Otero/AP

Click here for the updated women’s bracket.

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