#1 North Carolina
The Tar Heels have dominated both of their opponents thus far and continue to look the part of a championship contender. Their offense is especially clicking with freshman Nassir Little stepping up. He put up 20 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench against Washington.
#2 Gonzaga
Gonzaga easily dispatched Fairleigh Dickinson and Baylor in the first two rounds. The top-seeded Zags will be looking to avenge last year’s Sweet 16 loss to Florida State.
#3 Michigan
This is a similar roster to last year’s tournament runners-up, with Ignas Brazdeikis replacing Mo Wagner. The Wolverines looked like a team that could do it again in their win over Florida.
#4 Duke
Although they have not dominated their Tournament games like many thought, they are still alive and have the star power to be the country’s most dangerous team.
#5 Virginia
After a small first-half heart attack against sixteenth-seeded Garder-Webb, the Cavaliers were able to gain some momentum with a smooth win over Oklahoma. Additionally, they have a favorable matchup with Oregon to reach the elite eight.
#6 Kentucky
Kentucky was able to to limit Fletcher Magee to 4-17 shooting and got the second-round win over Wofford. The question of PJ Washington’s health may limit this team’s ceiling.
#7 Tennessee
The Volunteers tried to give one away against Iowa, but this 31-5 team is too talented to bow out of the Tournament easily.
#8 Texas Tech
Jarrett Culver & co. have strong momentum going into the Sweet 16, but a difficult schedule ahead. They looked as good as any team in the nation in their dismantling of Murray State.
#9 Florida State
This is a deep, talented team (albeit without a whole lot of star power) that has been a tough out in the tournament in recent years. The Gonzaga rematch game will certainly be fun to watch.
#10 Michigan State
The Big Ten champs took a while to get rid of the pesky Bradley Braves, but easily knocked out conference foe Minnesota. A fully healthy Michigan State team would be a game changer, but the Spartans can still make plenty of noise.
#11 Purdue
Carsen Edwards’ 42 point domination of the Big East champs, Villanova, makes them a scary team to see on your schedule. Their match up with second-seeded Tennessee should be one of the most exciting games of the week.
#12 Houston
Two-loss Houston is rolling into the Sweet 16 with two convincing wins. However, they have to go through a gauntlet of a regional.
#13 Auburn
The Tigers get knocked back a few spots on the list for their frightening first round game with New Mexico State. North Carolina should be much more worried about the Auburn team that soundly beat Kansas in the second round.
#14 Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech has yet to be truly tested in the tournament. However, with Justin Robinson’s return, this team could return to their early season form and catch Duke by surprise.
#15 LSU
The reigning SEC champs have sort of limped into the Sweet 16 with too-close wins over Yale and Maryland.
#16 Oregon
Though they don’t have the high seed pedigree, the Ducks have grinded out wins at the most important times this season. They will really have to prove themselves in a looming match up with Virginia.
