Sweet 16: Ranking remaining teams left in the NCAA tournament

After a whirlwind of action during the first couple rounds, 16 teams remain alive for the chance to secure a national championship. Each program has taken different roads to get to where they are. We’ll rank the 16 teams left based on their performance during March Madness thus far, and how likely they are to cut down the nets. Statistics are sourced from Sports Reference.

No team can be taken lightly at this stage of the NCAA tournament. Just ask the Aztecs, who find themselves paired up with UConn in a Sweet 16 game that is a rematch of last year’s national title tilt. San Diego State was thoroughly outplayed by UConn in last year’s championship game. AP News believes that the Aztecs will have to deal with a strong UConn crowd in Boston on Thursday.

The Tuscaloosa News called Alabama’s last game against Grand Canyon a “rock fight.” The Crimson Tide were sloppy against the Antelopes, and could have gone down had it not been for some questionable shot selection from Grand Canyon. Sports Illustrated reported that Alabama guard Mark Sears is a Wooden award finalist, and he’ll need to play like one if the team is to advance further.

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Clemson’s victory against Baylor was certainly impressive, as they locked down one of the best offensive teams in the country. The Tigers also navigated foul trouble, as PJ Hall was not able to finish that game due to foul trouble. Clemson faces a huge test on Thursday as Hall will look to slow down a strong Arizona Wildcats frontline.

Sporting News has picked up on the attention that D.J. Burns continues to command as the Wolfpack advance in the NCAA tournament. The 6’9”, 275 pound behemoth has an advantage against nearly everyone he faces, and N.C. State funnels the ball to him in the post. It’s going to be fascinating to see whether Marquette doubles Burns or decides to play him straight up.

There’s a case to be made that the Bulldogs should be higher on this list, considering their thumping of McNeese State and Kansas over the weekend. Gonzaga has played extremely well, but steps up in weight class against Purdue in the Sweet 16. This is the ninth consecutive year that the Bulldogs have made the Sweet 16.

The Blue Jays got everything they could handle and more against Oregon in the last round, but were able to sneak by the Ducks. Bleacher Report called the double overtime contest the best game of the tournament. We’ll see if Creighton can get their legs back under them in time for a game against Tennessee.

The Volunteers played far from their best game in the second round, shooting only 1-21 from three point range. That figures to be an outlier for a team that can stretch the floor with the best of them. Tennessee coach Rick Barnes spoke to 24-7 Sports about how proud he was that the team played through their shooting woes and found different ways to win.

The Golden Eagles held on against an upstart Colorado team in the last round, and will face another red hot team in N.C. State in the Sweet 16. Marquette is somewhat flying under the radar, but was anchored by a huge game from Tyler Kolek in round two. The guard posted 21 points, 11 assists and five rebounds.

The Cyclones have handled their business without much drama so far in the NCAA tournament. However, that likely won’t stop head coach T.J. Otzelberger’s vocal chords from giving out on him. “T.J. loses his voice after probably every game,” said Iowa State player Robert Jones to the Des Moines Register. Everyone on the bench will need their voice working against Illinois in the Sweet 16.

Illinois’ offensive potency has been on full display during March Madness. Marcus Domask filled up the box score in round one, while Terrance Shannon dropped 30 points in the Fighting Illini’s second round game against Duquesne. They’ll look to keep the high-octane attack going against Iowa State.

The Cougars endured a scare against Texas A&M in the last round. Four out of their five starters fouled out, and Houston gave up a buzzer-beating three to force the game into overtime. It might just have been the wake up call the Cougars needed, but their perception of invincibility took a hit. They’ll need a much better performance against Duke on Friday.

The Wildcats have largely coasted so far in their first couple of tournament games. They made an interesting decision against Dayton to go small, which the Flyers tried to take advantage of. It’ll be interesting to see if Tommy Lloyd deploys a similar strategy against Clemson, who features talented big man P.J. Hall.

The Blue Devils destroyed Vermont in the opening round, and demolished James Madison in the subsequent contest. Duke might be peaking at the right time under head coach Jon Scheyer, as Jared McCain was on fire from downtown against James Madison. Clutch Points predicted back in November that Duke would win the championship, and they’re still alive to do just that.

“We don’t pay attention to if we’re being picked to win a game or what’s being said about us as a team,” said North Carolina star R.J. Davis to the Fayetteville Observer. The Tar Heels got by a gritty Michigan State Spartans team in round two, and will now set their sights on Alabama. Davis, Cormac Ryan, Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram all scored in double figures in the last game.

The Purdue revenge tour is in full swing. The Boilermakers have smacked opponents around after last year’s embarrassing loss to a 16 seed. USA Today has taken notice, and compares their performance so far to the 2019 Virginia Cavaliers. That team lost to a 16 seed the previous season, before winning the national title. Purdue hopes it can follow in the same footsteps.

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The Huskies have been a well oiled machine thus far in the tournament. They stymied Northwestern’s Boo Buie on Sunday, and will prepare for a national title game rematch against San Diego State. The Hartford Courant wondered aloud whether Connecticut was a lock for the Final Four, and they just might be at this rate.