Pretty Sweet Sixteen

The Sweet Sixteen brings an exclusive group of the best teams teams playing their best ball together. Historically, teams that have pulled off upsets can’t keep up the same energy to take down a stronger opponent in the later rounds. This year’s Sweet Sixteen is just as we predicted (other than Nova dropped the ball). To kick off the week, we highlight the field of the surviving sixteen schools in this year’s March Madness tournament.

Oregon (12 seed, south region)

No one believed the Oregon Ducks belonged in this year's tournament until they beat Washington to win the Pac-12 tournament. You won't find many people outside of Eugene, OR who think this team will get past Virginia this weekend, and then either Tennessee or Purdue to punch their ticket to the Final Four in Minneapolis. But the Ducks have won 10 straight and just keep proving the haters wrong. Oregon has been a monster on defense, holding eight of their last 10 opponents to 54 points or fewer. Kenny Wooten is eighth in the nation in block percentage while Ehab Amin is fifth in steal percentage.

Virginia Tech (4 SEED, EAST REGION)

The Hokies are buzzin. Virginia Tech took care of a couple of low seeds in Saint Louis and Liberty, but their work is about to be cut out for them as ACC rival Duke is up next. Still, the Hokies are a force to reckoned with. VT has made at least 40 percent of their 3-pt attempts in both their first and second round tournament games and are sitting just below 40 percent on the year. Big man Kerry Blackshear Jr. is 34 percent from downtown and isn't afraid to pull up either. With point guard Justin Robinson back after missing the final six weeks of the season, their offense has become deadly. Even though Virginia Tech beat Duke a month ago in the regular season, Buzz Williams and company will have to be at their very best this weekend if they hope to survive and advance.

LSU (3 SEED, EAST REGION)

Geaux Tigers. LSU will have to go through a full-powered Michigan State before dancing into the Elite Eight for the first time since 2006. LSU tends to dominate with offensive rebounds and steals on defense, in which they rank in the top 10 nationally in both categories. They also make frequent trips to the free throw line where they shoot better than 75 percent which could be a difference-maker in close games. Tremont Waters is one of the most valuable guards in the tournament and will have to play out of his mind moving forward. His ability to force turnovers and create offense can swing the momentum of a game quickly. Big man Naz Reid will also have to be able to be very aggressive without getting into foul trouble against a big well-coached Tom Izzo team. Naz can shoot and has to be able to hit his threes when he gets a good look this weekend. The last time the Tigers were a 3 seed in the tournament was in 1979 where they lost to 2 seed Michigan State team in the Sweet Sixteen. That was 40 years ago, strange.

FLORIDA STATE (4 SEED, WEST REGION)

A little bit of deja vu for Florida State fans with a Sweet 16 rematch from last year.as FSU will face Gonzaga once again. The Seminoles won last year's matchup by 15 points, but Gonzaga will be looking for revenge. Florida State has won 16 of its last 18 games. The two losses came on the road against Duke and North Carolina. That's an impressive run for Coach Leonard Hamilton and one of the most athletically gifted rosters in the country. A well-coached team with plenty of depth, the Seminoles can outrun and out hustle just about any team in the tournament and should be watched closely.

AUBURN (5 SEED, MIDWEST REGION)

Charles Barkley's Auburn Tigers embarrassed Kansas in the second round but will have an uphill climb facing some tough programs from here on out. For a program that has never been to the Final Four, Auburn has been playing their best basketball as of late and will draw an unforgiving North Carolina in the Sweet 16. Auburn leads the nation in turnover percentage on defense and is lights out from three. What's more, the Tigers are making those three-point attempts at a pretty impressive rate. They have drained at least a dozen three-pointers in seven straight games, and are now 25-2 when recording at least eight steals. The strategy that has been coined "pluck it and chuck it" has served to be effective and lethal.

HOUSTON (3 SEED, MIDWEST REGION)

Is Houston the real deal this year? The Cougars had a suspect overall strength of schedule, which is why they only received a 3 seed with an 31-3 incredible record. But they could prove a lot of people wrong with a pair of dominating victories over Kentucky this weekend. Besides Gonzaga, Houston is the only school left from a non-Power Five conference. A 3 seed from the American may not count as a Cinderella story, but Houston winning it all with the kind of teams left in this year's field would be one hell of an underdog story. The Cougars will have to keep punishing teams on defense and hope Corey Davis Jr. and Armoni Brooks can stay healthy and carry the offense against a multi-faceted Kentucky team in the Sweet Sixteen.

PURDUE (3 SEED, SOUTH REGION)

Purdue looks to be just getting started after absolutely dominating defending national champion Villanova in all phases in the Second Round. They will play a Tennessee team that needed overtime to beat a 10 seeded Iowa. To reach the Final Four, Purdue will need to go through Tennessee and potentially Virginia, each of which have spent the entire regular season ranked in the top 10 by the Associated Press. Carsen Edwards will no doubt have to play a pivotal role in their run. He has resurfaced and scored 42 points in their win against Nova in the second round. Edwards shot 13-of-28 from 3-point range and scored 68 points in the first two rounds. Edwards will likely lead the team in points from here on out as he scored just under half of Purdue's points in each game, proving what has been an elite offense when he comes to play.

TEXAS TECH (3 SEED, WEST REGION)

Texas Tech had little difficulty eliminating Northern Kentucky and Buffalo, breezing into the Sweet Sixteen. However, matchups against the other title contenders including Michigan will be another story. The Red Raiders will have to battle defensively with Michigan this weekend, but their defense is strong. Matt Mooney, Jarrett Culver and Davide Moretti provide an outstanding line of defenders along the perimeter, and Tariq Owens and Norense Odiase are great rim protectors in the paint. To add to testimony, neither of Tech's opponents reached 60 points in the first two rounds.

TENNESSEE (2 SEED, SOUTH REGION)

After a couple of scrappy wins in the first two rounds, Tennessee better bring its A-game the rest of the tournament. A high­ scoring affair with Purdue, is expected this weekend. When playing at their best, Tennessee can score about as well as anyone. Stopping Purdue from keeping pace will be the question. The Vols are a 28-0 when allowing 81 points or fewer, but will have to find a way to contain Carsen Edwards and a Purdue team that put up 87 on Jay Wright's Wildcats. The Volunteers have never been to the Final Four in program history, and they certainly have their work cut out for them to get there this year.

MICHIGAN (2 SEED, WEST REGION)

The 2018 national runner-up Wolverines will have the ultimate defensive showdown against Texas Tech. First team to score 45-50 may very will win this game and Michigan gets confident early. Michigan's defense is solid and outstandingly sound. In the first round, Michigan held a good-shooting Montana team to just 55 points. As if that effort wasn't satisfying enough, the Wolverines went out and allowed just 49 points in the second round against Florida. They have limited four of their last five opponents (all NCAA tournament teams) to 55 points or fewer. Their defense and Zavier Simpson must continue to deliver if Michigan has hopes of national championship retribution. Zavier is the stabilizing force that keeps John Beilein's well-oiled machine running.

MICHIGAN STATE (2 SEED, EAST REGION)

Michigan State will draw LSU in the Sweet 16 and that is prior to a potential date with Duke in the Elite Eight. Getting past an elite defensive LSU squad forcing turnovers at-will will be quite the feat for a team which has struggled with turnovers all season long and lost the ball 16 times against Minnesota in the second round. If Michigan State can take care of the ball, stay healthy, and not get into foul trouble, Tom Izzo and the Cassius Winston-led Spartans may be as good as any Michigan State basketball team to date.

KENTUCKY (2 SEED, MIDWEST REGION)

Kentucky will draw 33-3 Houston in the Sweet 16 before a potential rematch with North Carolina in the Elite Eight. The Wildcats defeated the Tar Heels at a neutral site back in December. But they lost twice to Tennessee and got beat by 34 against Duke to open the season. This might be the revenge tour they need as motivation to punch their ticket to Minneapolis. But to do this, PJ Washington needs to come back and Tyler Herro has to start hitting threes again. Herro is 1-of-8 from three-point range thus far in the tournament, and he couldn't get any interior buckets to fall against Wofford either. If Kentucky can get the best version of Herro to show up, get Washington back, and keep defending the 3-point arc like they did in the first two rounds, they may be one of the best teams remaining.

GONZAGA (1 SEED, WEST REGION)

Gonzaga faces a familiar foe in the Sweet Sixteen, preparing to play Florida State for the second straight year. The Bulldogs will look to avenge last year's loss to the Seminoles. Gonzaga's elite offense have been scoring at an astronomical rate. They currently lead the nation at 88.6 points per game, though they don't run at a particularly fast pace. The fifth­ most noteworthy starter for the Zags, Corey Kispert, is a 38 percent three-point shooter and impact players like Killian Tillie, Geno Crandall and Filip Petrusev all contribute to Gonzaga's bench points. Still, Brandon Clarke and Rui Hachimura will have to shoulder the load for the next couple weeks. With the exception of Zion and RJ Barrett, Rui and Clarke was of the most unstoppable duo in college basketball this season. Let's not forge that they also got the best of Williamson and RJ in Maui in November. Defensive rebounding will also be key to a ticket to Minneapolis, but the Zags could essentially ride Rui and Clarke to win its first national championship in school history.

NORTH CAROLINA (1 SEED, MIDWEST REGION)

One of the strongest teams in the field, North Carolina blazed by a solid turnover-forcing Washington team and now it has to get through another one in the form of hot Auburn Tigers. The Tar Heels kill teams with speed and boards. Through the first two rounds, North Carolina is reportedly plus-SO in rebound margin, an incredible margin at that. Luke Maye almost solely out-rebounded Washington. And when Coby White and company get out in open space, it's game over.

VIRGINIA (1 SEED, SOUTH REGION)

Although nothing is easy at this stage of the tournament, drawing a 12 seeded team is bound to boost a 1 seed's confidence if even just a little bit. Compared to the what the other 1 and 2 seeds have to deal with this weekend, Oregon may appear to be a gift from the basketball gods for Virginia. Virginia ranks top 3 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, but the Cavaliers shouldn't rest easy yet. Oregon has been on a hot streak and have been playing with a high amount of confidence as well. They will have to take a page from Oregon's book and avoid getting down on themselves early when adversity hits.

DUKE (1 SEED, EAST REGION)

Duke has a rematch with ACC opponent Virginia Tech in the Sweet Sixteen. The Hokies beat the Blue Devils a few weeks ago while Zion Williamson recovering from a mild knee sprain, but the Hokies didn't have its star Justin Robinson active either. This should be a completely different game this time around with the stakes being the highest. Duke has the best player in the country in Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett is arguably the second best, at least among teams still in the field (sorry Ja). Just the duo of Zion and RJ Barrett has shown itself more than capable of carrying this team to a national championship. If Duke can improve on hitting their open shots from the perimeter, they will be the undisputed national champions.