The NCAA men’s tournament is down to 16 teams with the field only consisting of schools from power conferences and just one seed higher than No. 6. It’s also the first time since 2007 the Sweet 16 has lacked a seed higher than No. 10. There are no Cinderellas left to cheer for in the regionals.
On the bright side, this means we will get matchups featuring the best teams from the presumably best conferences. Will that mean bigger ratings and better games? We’ll see. There still should be plenty of drama and uncertain about the winners on Thursday and Friday night and the four teams that will advance to San Antonio, Texas for the national semifinals.
So who how does it all shake out? Our experts are here to answer that question with their predictions for the Sweet 16 matchups, the Final Four participants and beyond.
Jordan Mendoza
Thursday’s games
Florida defeats Maryland
Arkansas defeats Texas Tech
Brigham Young defeats Alabama
Friday’s games
Auburn defeats Michigan
Michigan State defeats Mississippi
Houston defeats Purdue
Tennessee defeats Kentucky
Final Four teams: Florida, Duke, Michigan State, Houston
National champion: Houston defeats Florida
Paul Myerberg
Thursday’s games
Maryland defeats Florida
Texas Tech defeats Arkansas
Duke defeats Arizona
Alabama defeats Brigham Young
Friday’s games
Auburn defeats Michigan
Mississippi defeats Michigan State
Houston defeats Purdue
Kentucky defeats Tennessee
Final Four teams: Maryland, Duke, Auburn, Houston
National champion: Duke defeats Houston
Erick Smith
Thursday’s games
Florida defeats Maryland
Texas Tech defeats Arkansas
Duke defats Arizona
Brigham Young defeats Alabama
Friday’s games
Auburn defeats Michigan
Michigan State defeats Mississippi
Houston defeats Purdue
Tennessee defeats Kentucky
Final Four teams: Florida, Duke, Michigan State, Tennessee
National champion: Duke defeats Florida
Eddie Timanus
Thursday’s games
Florida defeats Maryland
Texas Tech defeats Arkansas
Duke defats Arizona
Alabama defeats Brigham Young
Friday’s games
Auburn defeats Michigan
Michigan State defeats Mississippi
Houston defeats Purdue
Tennessee defeats Kentucky
Final Four teams: Florida, Duke, Auburn, Houston
National champion: Florida defeats Duke
Blake Toppmeyer
Thursday’s games
Florida defeats Maryland
Texas Tech defeats Arkansas
Duke defeats Arizona
Brigham Young defeats Alabama
Friday’s games
Auburn defeats Michigan
Michigan State defeats Mississippi
Houston defeats Purdue
Kentucky defeats Tennessee
Final Four teams: Florida, Duke, Auburn, Houston
National champion: Houston defeats Florida