By Aidan Joly
Cinderella is nowhere to be found entering the second weekend of the NCAA tournament.
There were still upsets in the first weekend of the tournament, with Oakland stunning Kentucky, Yale taking down Auburn and James Madison winning with a commanding performance against Wisconsin.
However, all of those teams lost in the second round, meaning there’s no real Cinderella team left.
That’s okay though. That just means that we’ll have the teams we discussed all year long duking it out for the title. All of the 1-seeds and 2-seeds are still alive, making up half of the Sweet 16. From there, you have two 3-seeds, two 4-seeds, two 5-seeds, a 6-seed, and 11-seed NC State. It’s just the fifth time in tournament history that all of the 1-seeds and 2-seeds are still alive at this point.
That being said, here are the Sweet 16 teams power ranked heading into the second weekend (I’ll go 16-1 here).
16. San Diego State
San Diego State was on upset watch in the first round, but found a way past UAB to advance. Then, it was more impressive in the second round with a 85-57 win against Yale to advance to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.
Jaedon LeDee has been very good as of late, but there doesn’t seem to be many other scoring options outside of him. The Aztecs need to shoot much more consistently as well.
San Diego State is set to face UConn in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night in a rematch of last year’s national title game. Those things being said about San Diego State combined with how hot UConn has been, it’s tough to see SDSU moving on.
15. NC State
Less than three weeks ago, the Wolfpack were 17-14 and looking at the NIT, at best.
Since a loss to Pitt in the regular season finale on March 9, NC State has won seven in a row and advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2015.
DJ Burns, the 6-foot-9, 275 pound big man, has been one of the best stories of the tournament, while DJ Horne and Mohamed Diarra have both been very good. In the first round it handled Texas Tech before needing overtime to beat tournament darling Oakland on Saturday.
NC State will play Marquette on Friday. The Wolfpack can certainly hang with Marquette, but it is tough to see a way NC State moves past Marquette.
14. Clemson
The Tigers were definitely on upset watch before their first round game against New Mexico but silenced the doubters with a convincing 77-56 win before somewhat surprisingly taking down Baylor in the second round.
Chase Hunter has averaged 20.5 points per game in the tournament so far and has been the key in Clemson’s offense. Good play in the frontcourt from PJ Hall, Jack Clark and Ian Schiefflin has also been a key for the Tigers.
Clemson will face Arizona in the opener on Thursday night.
13. Alabama
The Tide have been impressive in wins against Charleston and Grand Canyon in the first and second rounds, but the defense remains a rather large issue.
Alabama has shown nice resolve after losing to Florida in the SEC quarterfinals, though. The trio of Mark Sears, Rylan Griffin and Aaron Estrada has been very good on offense. But again, the defense remains an issue.
Can Alabama beat North Carolina on Thursday night? Sure. But it will need all of those players to be great, and limiting the Tar Heels on offense will be necessary. I have my doubts.
12. Gonzaga
Gonzaga was on the bubble much of the season, but solidified their spot late in the season and is now in the Sweet 16 for the ninth consecutive season. It’s a heck of a streak from Mark Few and the Zags.
It beat McNeese by 21 in the first round. The first half against Kansas was close, but Gonzaga turned it on in the second half and ended up winning 89-68 after out-scoring the Jayhawks 46-24 in the second half.
Ryan Nembhard is one of the hottest guards in the country, while the rest of the cast in Graham Ike, Anton Watson and Nolan Hickman are all playing well.
Despite the fact that it is crazy efficient on offense, it will see Purdue on Friday. The Zags will need to be close to perfect to advance.
11. Marquette
If not for the return of Tyler Kolek, there is a good chance that the Golden Eagles would have been eliminated by now.
Instead, Marquette is in the second weekend of the tournament for the first time since 2013 after a win against Western Kentucky, and then outlasting a tough Colorado team in the second round.
Kolek has scored 39 points and dished out 22 assists in the first two games of the tournament. Marquette has been to the Elite Eight just one time since 2003, and has a great chance to advance on Friday against NC State.
10. Tennessee
It feels strange to put a 2-seed this low, but that is the nature of the tournament and the teams that are left in it.
It dismantled Saint Peter’s in the first round, but it was very much a survive-and-advance scenario against Texas in the second round. Despite that, Dalton Knecht was very good in that game, scoring 18 points and hitting clutch shots late. Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Ziegler have been important as well.
That being said, the Vols shot 3-25 from three against Texas. That can’t happen again if it wants to advance. The Vols play Creighton on Friday.
9. Creighton
The other side of Friday night’s matchup. Creighton won the best game of the tournament so far with a 86-73 double overtime win against Oregon, but that final score obviously does not reflect how close the game was. The Bluejays scored 15 unanswered points in the second OT.
Trey Alexander did only shoot 7-21 from the field, so he will need to have a better shooting night to beat Tennessee. Steven Ashworth is a great defensive player and will need to continue that trend. Ryan Kalkbrenner is also great, he put up 19 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and swatted five blocks in the win over Oregon.
Final Four dark horses? Maybe.
8. Iowa State
I might have ranked the Cyclones a little low. Iowa State has been very clean with the basketball in both of their tournament games so far, with turnovers in the single digits in wins over South Dakota State and Washington State.
The combination of Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert makes for great guard play, while freshman Milan Momcilovic has been great in his first NCAA tournament. Also, the Cyclones have the No. 1 defense in the country.
Iowa State will face Illinois on Thursday night. The Illini are hot on offense, making this a clash of the titans.
7. Illinois
Speaking of Illinois, here they are. Terrence Shannon is the hottest guard in the country right now, having combined for 56 points in the wins over Morehead State and Duquesne. Marcus Domask is one of the best secondary players in the country, as well.
As long as it can get past Iowa State, which that game could truly go either way, this Illini team could actually give UConn a real test in Boston. It’ll have to keep up on offense.
I’m very high on Illinois right now, and think they can win at least one game in Boston.
6. Houston
I’m not as sure that the Cougars can advance to the national title game after it needed overtime to beat 9-seed Texas A&M on Sunday night after a ferocious comeback from the Aggies, but that doesn’t mean they can’t.
When Houston’s backcourt of Jamal Shead, LJ Cryer and Emanuel Sharp is on, it can be the best in the country without much question. Sharp had 30 points in the second round win.
One thing to point out: Texas A&M shot 29-45 from the free throw line on Sunday. If A&M made a few more, Houston probably loses that game.
Houston will face Duke in the Sweet 16 on Friday.
5. Duke
Duke was very impressive in the first weekend, beating Vermont in the first round by 17 and followed it up with a 93-55 dismantling of James Madison in the second round.
Jared McCain put up 30 points in the game against James Madison, while the rest of the cast in Kyle Filipowski, Jeremy Roach and Tyrese Proctor have all been key cogs all season.
It’s a good recipe for the Blue Devils, who have a top-5 offense on KenPom paired with a top-20 defense.
To beat Houston, Duke will need to limit the backcourt of the Cougars. Duke will look to pull off the upset in this one.
4. Arizona
We are an Arizona win and a North Carolina win away from the Caleb Love bowl on Saturday in Los Angeles.
Arizona moved past Long Beach State easily, but faced a little bit of a challenge against Dayton some of the way before pulling away for a 10-point win. Jaden Bradley stepped up in the win, but Kylan Boswell will need to bounce back from a poor showing against Dayton.
The Wildcats can certainly advance to the next round, and maybe the Final Four if it plays well enough against UNC. Don’t want to look to far ahead, though.
3. Purdue
All eyes were on Purdue this past weekend, and the Boilermakers passed with flying colors, a weekend that included a 106-67 dismantling of Utah State in the second round on Sunday.
The 39-point win matched the largest of the entire tournament. Zach Edey has done Zach Edey things, combining for 53 points, 35 rebounds and six blocks through the first two games.
Purdue will face Gonzaga in the Sweet 16, the two teams met last November in Maui. All eyes will continue to be on them this weekend.
2. North Carolina
The second round game against Michigan State seemed like a big one for the Tar Heels and their identity. UNC trailed 26-14 in the first half, but stormed back and were great the rest of the way en route to a convincing 85-69 win.
The Heels could have turned over and fell victim to MSU and Tom Izzo, but did not. RJ Davis and Armando Bacot have developed into a very good guard-big duo, while Harrison Ingram has been one of the better glue guys you’ll see anywhere.
Hubert Davis deserves credit for this turnaround from last season. Now, the Tar Heels are two wins away from a second Final Four appearance in three years. It needs to get past Alabama first, though. I think they can do it.
1. UConn
Could it be anyone else? UConn becomes the first defending champion to reach the second weekend since Duke in 2016 after the program won it all in 2015.
There is no sign of drop off, with a 39-point win against Stetson in the first round and then beat Northwestern 75-58 in the second round. It continues to be an offensive juggernaut behind Tristen Newton, Cam Spencer, Alex Karaban, Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle.
It feels like UConn’s national title to lose. It should be something of a shock if the Huskies don’t make the Final Four, at this point.
AJ Hoops 