NCAA Sweet 16 Is Here

Did you pick a lot of the favorites and high seeds in your NCAA Tournament bracket?

If you did, you are in very good shape as the Sweet 16 matchups begin to unfold on Thursday.

The four No. 1 seeds are alive. The four No. 2 seeds are present. And so are the four No. 3s.

Kind of surprising after Virginia, a No. 1 seed, lost a year ago to No. 16 Maryland-Baltimore County in the first round, crushing brackets everywhere. No No. 1 had ever lost to a No. 16 before.

Virginia will be in action on Thursday, taking on a No. 12 seed in Oregon that has been exceptionally hot. The Ducks are tied with Auburn for the longest current winning streak (10 games). You could argue that Oregon was seeded too low after it won the Pac-12 Tournament.

The other No. 1 playing on Thursday is Gonzaga, which draws a very tough out in No. 4 Florida State. Why is FSU a tough out? A year ago, the Seminoles were seeded ninth and played the No. 4 seed – Gonzaga – in the Sweet 16. Noles 75, Bulldogs 60.

The day’s other matchups feature No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 3 Purdue and No. 2 Michigan against No. 3 Texas Tech. The Wolverines and Red Raiders will likely play a close, tactical game. The Raiders rank No. 1 in the nation in overall defensive efficiency, the Wolverines No. 2.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman