We are a week removed from learning the seeding of the NCAA Tournament teams and it’s common sense that the seed you started with does dictate where you end in the tournament. The committee to choose the field is made of people and people get things wrong, but also, teams can change over the course of a week when it comes to March. So, we are going to re-rank the Sweet Sixteen field and allow for even more change by the time we get to the Final Four.
1. Duke
This Duke team looks hands down like the best team left in the field. Even outside of Cooper Flagg, this is a star-studded monster that has taken down everyone in their path with ease. Getting Arizona on the east coast should be another bonus as the Blue Devils look to make the Elite Eight.
2. Florida
While the Gators narrowly escaped their round of 32 matchup with UConn, the Huskies were the 2-time defending national champions. Everyone needs a Kemba-caliber player and Walter Clayton Jr definitely fits the bill. Florida will now be rewarded by flying to San Francisco to take on Maryland, who was already in Seatle for the past week.
3. Auburn
Auburn has been the team to beat for the majority of the season but did slightly waver during the SEC tournament. The Tigers have bounced right back en route to two double-digit victories in the tournament. Johni Broome will likely finish 2nd on the Wooden list, but Auburn looks to be the last team standing in the South region. The first team in their way is Michigan in Auburn’s backyard.
4. Houston
This Houston team seems like it has been around forever. The Cougars are experienced, uber-athletic, and put you in a pressure cooker every time you take the ball down the floor. Beating SIUE with ease and then topping an under seeded Gonzaga team has to have Houston fans hopeful. Not sure that Houston’s first pick of location to take on Purdue would be Indianapolis though.
5. Tennessee
I very nearly had Tennessee jump up into the top 4. The Volunteers are playing lock-down defense, as is the Rick Barnes staple. This Friday sets the stage for an epic showdown in Indianapolis when Tennessee takes on Kentucky for the third time this season. Kentucky took the first two rounds but beating a team 3 times in a season is incredibly tough.
6. Alabama
What is Alabama’s ceiling a year after making the Final Four? This team seems more complete than last year as they don’t seem to live and die by Mark Sears. They still play with pace and have made late runs on Robert Morris and Saint Mary’s. Playing BYU next, there will be a lot of firepower on both sides of the court.
7. Michigan State
The highest seeded Big Ten team remains the highest ranked Big Ten team. It’s March and Tom Izzo’s Spartans are getting it done. Neither the win against Bryant nor the win against New Mexico were in true dominating fashion, but wins are wins and this team is still very deep. Sparty will take on a more or less surprising Ole Miss team next in Atlanta, so the crowd likely won’t be on their side.
8. Kentucky
Kentucky has the talent to be in the top 4 but it still feels like the team has to gel. Every single player that plays meaningful minutes was not at Kentucky a season ago. There is a lot of offensive juice on the squad, but the defensive cohesion still has room to improve (see Houston and Tennessee). Defeating Troy and Illinois has UK coming into a very pro-Kentucky crowd at Lucas Oil and they will face the buzz saw that is the Volunteers again.
9. Texas Tech
The Red Raiders are the first on this list that took down a popular Cinderella pick in Drake. The Red Raiders outlasted the Bulldogs as well as the UNCW Seahawks in the Round of 64 and might just be flying under the radar a bit. JT Toppin remains a threat to all opposing teams and much like teams higher on this list, the TTU defense can suffocate groups. Next up is a date with a star-studded Arkansas team in San Fran.
10. Michigan
Michigan needed a clutch Tre Donaldson three to take down the ever-popular UCSD Tritons last week in Denver before roaring to life in the last 6 minutes against Texas A&M to beat the Aggies. If the shooters of Michigan are complimenting the inside attack of Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin, this team’s ceiling is much higher than a 5-seed. We will see if the late game heroics continue against Auburn in Atlanta, which will be a very hostile environment.
11. BYU
BYU didn’t win either of its matchups by double-digits unlike some other teams, but it won against two quality opponents in VCU and Wisconsin. The Cougars very nearly collapsed against the Badgers and were a John Tonje layup away from overtime. Luckily for BYU, Tonje went for the shot fake and now the Cougars will face Alabama in Newark.
12. Maryland
Yes, we are a Purdue-centric group, so it was heartbreaking to see Ethan Morton defend Derik Queen and force an uncalled travel as Queen hit a buzzer-beater over Morton and the Colorado State Rams. Maryland and its crab-5 are very lucky to still be dancing its way to San Francisco but a matchup against Florida can shut us all up about whether or not the Terps deserve to be here.
13. Arizona
Another Kemba-like player is Caleb Love, who single handedly willed Arizona out of Seattle with a win over Oregon. Love has been in this position before and has a very nice track record in March, but Arizona will need another big performance as they travel across the country to take on Duke.
14. Purdue
Say what you will about Purdue taking down multiple double-digit seeds en route to basically a home game in the Sweet Sixteen, but both High Point and McNeese were very popular Cinderella picks and Purdue took each down by double digits with the latter victory against the Cowboys being in dominating fashion. Purdue will need to fire on all cylinders to take down Houston in Lucas Oil, but considering how their defense has been playing in the tournament, their chances seem better.
15. Ole Miss
Ole Miss has been a team to float around the top 25 all season long and in the first round, they took on a UNC team that didn’t deserve to be in the tournament but was playing with a massive chip on their shoulders. The Rebels then came out shooting the lights out of the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee to take down Iowa State. Now, Ole Miss gets to be close to home in Atlanta to take on Michigan State where the Rebels will need more strong shooting performances to take down Sparty.
16. Arkansas
Three of the biggest names in college basketball were involved in 2 Arkansas games as John Calipari played and beat both Bill Self’s Kansas squad and Rick Pitino’s St. John’s team. Coach Cal has stuck to his schtick of getting the best recruits to come to his school and when it hits, it hits. But as with all Calipari teams, it comes down to cohesiveness.
