Sweet 16 Power Rankings: Our Top 13 Picks

sweet 16

The East Region is authoritatively insane.

After a generally uneventful first round of the NCAA Tournament, the East created two gigantic bombshells on weekend. No. 8 Wisconsin seed toppled defending champion and top-seeded Villanova on Saturday, and No. 7 South Carolina stunned No. 2 Duke on Sunday night.

Much the same as that, what gave off an impression of being a top-heavy region is currently loaded with different shades of underdogs, including third-seeded Baylor, which lost four of its last seven games before the NCAA Tournament.
The top two seeds are alive in the West and South, while the Midwest lost second-seeded Louisville.

Here Is Our Power Ranking of the Sweet 16

1. Kansas (Midwest, No. 1)

The Jayhawks progressed to the Sweet 16 in nearby Kansas City by overpowering UC Davis 100-62, and Michigan State 90-70. All-America point guard Frank Mason drives an unstable attack and one of the country’s best backcourts. Freshman champion wing Josh Jackson is hot, scoring 40 points on 17-of-28 shooting in the NCAAs, hitting from the outside and at the rim. Landen Lucas, a 6-foot-10 senior, has posted three back to back double-doubles. He will be vital to stopping Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan in the Sweet 16.

2. North Carolina (South, No. 1)

The Tar Heels are in the Sweet 16 of course, but their scare against No. 8 seed Arkansas in the second round, before winning 72-65, even had coach Roy Williams saying, “We were truly fortunate.” Junior forward Justin Jackson, the seventh Tar Heel to score no less than 600 points in a season under Williams, will hope to kick North Carolina into high gear once more. The Heels had a terrible shooting game (38.1 percent) against the Razorbacks, yet they bounced back themselves into more chances. They lead the country in bouncing back margin (in addition to 13.1).

3. Kentucky (South, No. 2)

John Calipari’s young team is gathering steam, with a 13-game winning streak, its longest of the season. Freshman Bam Adebayo had his eighth double-double – 13 points, 10 rebounds – in a hard-fought, second-round win over Wichita State. Freshman guard Malik Monk passed Jamal Murray for the school’s freshman scoring record; he has 721 points. What about Monk, Adebayo and freshman point guard De’Aaron Fox against UCLA freshman Lonzo Ball and TJ Leaf in the Sweet 16?

4. Arizona (West, No. 2)

The Wildcats are adaptable, ready to play fast or slow, as they needed to do in wins over North Dakota and Santa Clara. Coach Sean Miller, steaming toward his first Final Four, is known for his pack-line defense, however, he additionally has tip top scorers in guard Allonzo Trier (17.1 ppg) and 7-footer Lauri Markkanen (15.8), who are hot at the opportuned time. Next up is Miller’s old manager, Xavier; however that storyline was, for the most part, depleted when Arizona beat the Musketeers in the 2015 Sweet 16.

5. Gonzaga (West, No. 1)

The Bulldogs survived Northwestern in the second round to reach the Sweet 16 for the third sequential year. Point guard Nigel Williams-Goss gives Gonzaga better-than-usual regular physicality at the position, and he will be key to softening West Virginia’s press in the Sweet 16. Williams-Goss had 20 points and eight rebounds versus Northwestern. Will the all around balanced Zags get hot from the 3-point run? They were 12 of 46 in the first two tourney games.

6. UCLA (South, No. 3)

The Bruins are a delight to watch, the most astounding scoring team in the country, drove by fab freshman point guard Lonzo Ball, who had 18 points, nine assists and seven rebound in a second-round win over Cincinnati. Presently comes a nobility rematch in the Sweet 16 against Kentucky; UCLA won 97-92 at Rupp Arena on Dec. 3. The Bruins might not be incredibly defensive, but rather they grabbed their effort significantly in February, making them title-worthy.

7. Michigan (Midwest, No. 7)

Resembling a team of fate, Michigan won four games at the Big Ten tournament after its plane dangerously slipped off the runway, and the hot streak proceeded with wins over Oklahoma State, and No. 2 seed Louisville. Forward Moritz Wagner turned into a tournament “name” with his 26 points versus the Cardinals, adding to an attack that cherishes the 3-point shot, led by guard Derrick Walton Jr. The Wolverines commit the least turnovers in the country (9.4 for each game), an ability that will prove to be useful against a high-energy group, Oregon, in the Sweet 16.

8. Wisconsin (East, No. 8)

No program has more NCAA Tournament victories (13) than Wisconsin in the past four seasons. Multi-dimensional enormous man Ethan Happ is a matchup bad dream, while tourney-tested seniors Bronson Koenig and Nigel Hayes are absolute entirety players, who combined for 80 points in wins over Virginia Tech and No. 1 Villanova.

9. Baylor (East, No. 3)

In the wake of being bounced in the first round in each of the past two seasons, the Bears look furious and gifted. This is a long, athletic team, lead by double-double forward Johnathan Motley and point watch Manu Lecomte, who saved Baylor in the second round against USC by scoring all 12 of his points in the last five minutes.

10. Oregon (Midwest, No. 3)

Perimeter play is enormous in the NCAA Tournament and Oregon’s pair of wing Dillon Brooks, and shooting guard Tyler Dorsey is more or less great. Dorsey scored 27 points on 9-of-10 shooting (counting 4-of-5 from 3-point range), in the second-round win over Rhode Island. No one plays harder than Brooks, the Pac-12 Player of the Year. Oregon’s room for mistakes is thin without forwarding Chris Boucher (ACL), yet there is still Final Four potential here.

11. Purdue (Midwest, No. 4)

The Boilermakers are in the Sweet 16 without precedent for a long time, riding the solid shoulders of sophomore All-America big man Caleb Swanigan. “Biggie” had 20 points, 12 bounce back and seven assists as Purdue held off an Iowa State rally in the second round. He is not a one-man show, however, as junior forward Vincent Edwards is just the second player in program history, with no less than 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists in a profession.

12. Florida (East, No. 4)

Desires were humble in light of the fact that the Gators lost big man John Egbunu, to damage in mid-February, and after that lost three of four games before the NCAA Tournament. Still, Florida had an excessive ability for East Tennessee State and an excess of defense for slow-it-down Virginia in a 65-39 victory. Forward Devin Robinson scored 38 in the two tournament games, and he should remain hot against Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 as the Gators generally depend on their smothering defense.

13. South Carolina (East, No. 7)

The Gamecocks can’t be called consistent (losing five of seven preceding the NCAAs), however, the upset of Duke shows the high roof. Guard Sindarius Thornwell is the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, and Frank Martin’s team plays some hellacious defense, which ought to travel well in a Sweet 16 game against athletic Baylor at Madison Square Garden.