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A lot of college basketball fans were disappointed with the little amount of upsets during the first weekend of March Madness, but that has set up some great matchups for the Sweet 16. There were still some underdogs that found a way to get wins last weekend, but only one double-digit seed made it to the second weekend. That team is 10-seed Arkansas, and they will be taking on three-seed Texas Tech this weekend. Can the Razorbacks continue their unlikely run? Will we see the favorites have another dominant weekend? Let's discuss!
Arkansas is the only double digit seed that still remains in the NCAA Tournament as they pulled off a surprising win against two-seed St. John's on Saturday. We did see a couple of 12 seeds pull off upsets in the first round, and there were some 10 and 11 seeds still alive going into the round of 32 as well. The Razorbacks were the only double-digit seed to survive. Favorites had a lot of success last week.
Now, we are down to just 16 teams left in the NCAA Tournament. There are a lot of good matchups on deck for Thursday and Friday, and here are all of the favorites:
3-seed Texas Tech: -5.5 vs. Arkansas
2-seed Alabama: -5.5 vs. BYU
2-seed Michigan State: -3.5 vs. Ole Miss
1-seed Auburn: -8.5 vs. Michigan
1-seed Duke: -9.5 vs. Arizona
1-seed Florida: -6.5 vs. Maryland
1-seed Houston: -8.5 vs. Purdue
2-seed Tennessee: -4.5 vs. Kentucky
No team is favored by double digits, so every game is expected to be relatively close. There's no way that all of the favorites are going to win, right? Here are the teams that have the best chance at advancing to the Elite 8.
Duke
Duke is the heaviest favorite this weekend for a reason. The Blue Devils are playing their best basketball right now, and they were incredibly dominant during the first weekend despite being shorthanded. Duke was without Maliq Brown, but there is a chance that he he will play for the Blue Devils this weekend.
The Blue Devils should end up winning this game comfortably, but it won't be easy. Arizona is also hitting its stride right now, but they just don't have enough talent to keep up with this mighty Duke squad. The Blue Devils played a good Baylor team in the round of 32, and the game wasn't close at all. The Wildcats are a good team, but Duke is on a different level right now. They are going to advance to the Elite Eight, and there is a good chance that they cover that spread as well.
Houston
Houston is also a comfortbale favorite over a 4-seed in the Sweet 16 as they are taking on Purdue. The Boilermakers looked like the best team in the Big Ten during the early parts of the season, but they didn't play as well down the stretch and ended up falling in the standings. If the Boilermakers can play like they did back in January, they might have a chance in this one. However, it feels like a game that the Cougars should win comfortably.
The Cougars have been one of the best and most consistent teams in college basketball all year long. You could say that they're playing their best basketball right now, but they have looked like this since the start of the season. The Big 12 champs are on a mission this season, and it's hard to imagine their March Madness run coming to an end in the Sweet 16.
Purdue looked solid during the first weekend, but they didn't have very stiff competition. The Boilermakers took down a 13-seed and a 12-seed to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16. Any win in March is big, but it wasn't a tough path. Houston will be a completely different beast.
The Cougars got a good fight from eight-seed Gonzaga in the round of 32, but the Bulldogs aren't a typical eight-seed. Gonzaga is a top-10 team on KenPom, and they went 26-9. That was not an easy second-round matchup, but Houston prevailed. They should be able to get past Purdue and into the Elite Eight.
Florida
Lastly, Florida is another favorite that has a great chance of advancing into the next round of March Madness. The Gators also got a very difficult eight-seed matchup in the second round as they had to take on UConn. The Huskies have won the last two national championships, and they are built for March. They put up a great fight and led for a good portion of the game, but Florida found a way to win.
The Gators are taking on a Maryland team that is facing a lot of distractions right now. There are a ton of rumors swirling around head coach Kevin Willard and his connections to the Villanova opening. It doesn't sound like Willard is fully present on this run, and that could spell doom for the Terrapins.
Maryland needed a buzzer-beater to take down 12-seed Colorado State in the round of 32, and things are going to be much harder against Florida. A daunting matchup mixed with off-the-court distractions isn't a good recipe for success.
Sweet 16 preview
The Sweet 16 is almost here as the action will get going on Thursday night. The East and West regions will be in action on Thursday as BYU and Alabama from the East will get the round started at 7:09 ET. Maryland and Florida will follow that one up at 7:39 ET, and then Arizona and Duke will play after the BYU-Alabama matchup finishes up. This year's Cinderella will finish off the first night of the weekend as Arkansas will look to continue its run against Texas Tech after the Maryland-Florida matchup.
Ole Miss and Michigan State will get the action started on Friday night in the South region at 7:09 ET, and Kentucky-Tennessee will get started at 7:39 in the Midwest region. The top overall seed in the tournament will be in action after the Spartans and Rebels play as Auburn will take on Ole Miss. Lastly, Purdue and Houston will battle it out for the final spot in the Elite Eight.
Only 16 teams are left standing, and that number will be cut in half by the time Friday night comes to an end. Buckle up.
