A wild weekend has finished and the beat goes on for only 16 teams in the men’s NCAA tournament.
Despite the major amount of upsets recorded in the first round, the Sweet 16 features a decent dose of chalk, with all four No. 1 seeds making the final 16.
There are some wild seeded teams, like Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Gonzaga and Syracuse. However, the only one of that group that surprises me is the Orange.
Syracuse didn’t do much for me entering the tournament and looked almost disinterested in an early round conference tournament loss to Pittsburgh.
However, with two quality matchups, Syracuse finds itself in the Sweet 16 with a real opportunity to advance to the Elite Eight and possibly beyond.
The key to this tournament, as exposed through the first weekend, is matchups. Had you given Utah an opportunity to either stay as a 3-seed and possibly face Gonzaga, or move to the 4-seed line, it would have taken the 4-seed.
The Bulldogs are on a streak of either being a pick ’em game or favorite in three consecutive NCAA tournament games as an 11th seed. Oddsmakers love Gonzaga and for good reason.
It was favored against Seton Hall and has opened as a 4.5-point favorite against the Orange in the round of 16. Against the Utes, the Bulldogs dominated against the spread, despite the pick ’em line.
What’s even more intriguing is if Iowa State beats Virginia and Gonzaga outlasts the Orange, that would potentially set up another matchup where oddsmakers could place the Bulldogs as a favorite.
I haven’t seen a double-digit seed treated this well since Missouri entered the 2002 NCAA tournament as a 12 seed. Everyone pretty much knew the Tigers were as dangerous as team as any squad in the nation thanks to having Clarence Gilbert, Arthur Johnson, Kareem Rush and Ricky Paulding on the squad.
Gonzaga has a similar team with pros on its roster, featuring Kyle Wiltjer and Damantas Sabonis.
Unfortunately for Seton Hall and Utah, it ran into the Bulldogs at the wrong time and faced a quality 11 seed, a common theme throughout the tournament, with Wichita State and UNI also moving on past the first round.
The Bulldogs top my list of surprising teams to continue their march through the NCAA tournament. Here’s two more possibly off-the-radar picks that could make some noise in the coming days.
No. 5 Maryland
The Terrapins have coasted through to the Sweet 16 to face the overall No. 1 seed. This could be a tough matchup for the Jayhawks, though, especially with Maryland’s ability to score.
And if this tournament has showed us anything, it’s that scoring matters in today’s college basketball.
Maryland shoots the ball at an even clip with the Jayhawks, near 50 percent per game. They should be able to trade buckets with Kansas.
What also helps is that Melo Trimble could be the best basketball player on the court, giving Maryland an opportunity to come close to matching Kansas’ talent edge that it usually employs over opponents.
Without that advantage, watch for the Terrapins to not only give a scare, but possibly beat Kansas.
No. 7 Wisconsin
The Badgers are one of the few teams remaining that put a tremendous emphasis on defense. And they can play it well.
The only problem with Wisconsin is if its offense disappears, like it did against Pittsburgh, then it might bow out to the Irish.
Notre Dame defeated a quality Stephen F. Austin team in the second round and came back against Michigan in the first round to get to the Sweet 16. I don’t like Notre Dame’s mindset of falling behind, because against Wisconsin, that will spell trouble.
The Badgers will play suffocating defense against Notre Dame and I’m not sure if the Irish’s offense has enough in the tank to make shots on a consistent basis. If the Badgers can advance to the Elite Eight, watch out for Wisconsin to compete.
The Badgers have some big wins on their resume and can match up with anyone in the country on the defensive end.
