After a wild opening weekend to the NCAA Tournament, we are down to the Sweet 16 and it promises to be a good one. Four double-digit seeds made it to the second weekend, including this year’s Cinderella, No. 15 Saint Peter’s. Here’s a quick rundown of the Sweet 16 with our picks coming later this week.
No. 4 Providence vs No. 1 Kansas (-7.5)
It’s been a magical season for Providence. 24-4, a Big East regular-season championship and their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1997. They were a popular pick to be bounced in the first round against No. 13 South Dakota State, but pulled away late. Then they easily handled No. 12 Richmond. Now, Ed Cooley has a date with Bill Self, who is one of only three coaches in history to be a No. 1 seed ten times. Mike Krzyzewski (14) and Roy Williams (13) are the others. Kansas made it to Chicago by easily disposing of No. 16 Texas Southern and then a close battle with No. 9 Creighton, who fought hard but some late mistakes and turnovers proved costly. Can the Friars take down the blueblood and reach their first Elite 8 since 1997? We’ll soon find out.
No. 11 Iowa State vs No. 10 Miami (FL) (-1.5)
For just the fourth time in tournament history, we have a 10 vs 11 matchup in the Sweet 16. All have come since 2011. Florida State vs VCU in 2011, Stanford vs Dayton in 2014 and Syracuse vs Gonzaga in 2016. Interestingly enough, two of the winners (VCU and Syracuse) reached the Final Four. Can either the Cyclones or Hurricanes accomplish that feat? Iowa State has beaten No. 6 LSU and No. 3 Wisconsin to reach this point while Miami knocked out No. 7 USC and No. 2 Auburn. Remember, this was an Iowa State program that won just two games last season. What a turnaround under new head coach T.J. Otzelberger. This is Iowa State’s first Sweet 16 since 2016. For Miami, it’s just their fourth Sweet 16 ever, first since 2016 and third under Jim Larranaga, the man who guided No. 11 George Mason to the 2006 Final Four.
No. 8 North Carolina vs No. 4 UCLA (-2.5)
We’ve got a battle of the bluebloods in Philadelphia between the Tar Heels and the Bruins. These two were supposed to meet in Las Vegas in December, but COVID issues forced UCLA to pull out of the CBS Sports Classic. That led to UNC playing Kentucky (Ohio State also had to pull out due to COVID). The Heels got thrashed by the Wildcats. Of course, it’s now UNC in the Sweet 16 and not Kentucky after rolling over No. 9 Marquette and then surviving in overtime after blowing a 25-point lead against No. 1 and now-former champion Baylor. UCLA survived a scare from No. 13 Akron before a comfortable 16-point win over No. 5 Saint Mary’s. The Bruins now have to travel across the country but are still the favorites in this match and possibly to win the region.
No. 15 Saint Peter’s vs No. 3 Purdue (-12.5)
Last but not least, we have the Cinderella of the tournament. Saint Peter’s rallied and won in overtime to stun No. 2 Kentucky to become just the tenth No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2 seed, almost to the day of the ten-year anniversary of a pair of 15s winning on the same day (Norfolk State over Missouri, Lehigh over Duke). Then the Peacocks went and knocked the other school from Kentucky to make the field out of this year’s tournament, No. 7 Murray State, to become just the third No. 15 to reach the Sweet 16. Now, Saint Peter’s will try to do what neither Florida Gulf Coast or Oral Roberts could do: reach the Elite 8. To do so, they’ll have do get past Jaden Ivey and the Purdue Boilermakers, who are playing in their fourth Sweet 16 in the last five tournaments but haven’t reached the Final Four since 1980. Purdue has gotten past No. 14 Yale and No. 6 Texas to get to this point. It’s understandably the biggest spread of all the Sweet 16 games, since it’s a 3 against a 15 and a 15 has obviously never beaten a 3.