It’s the Sweet 16 – the second week of the NCAA Tournament – and that means bragging rights for college basketball programs.
Check the cover of media guides or banners adorning arenas. They always start with Sweet 16 appearances. No bragging about the first weekend. Playing this week means you had two good wins and you are just two wins from the Final Four.
The story of the tournament has been Kentucky’s pursuit of a perfect season. Everyone’s playing in that shadow. The Wildcats improved to 36-0 – the best start to a season for any team – and they’re trying for 40-0. That would be the first undefeated season by a national champion since Indiana in 1976.
The East Region changed dramatically entering the Sweet 16 with top seeds Villanova and Virginia ousted. It’s only the eighth time that the top two teams from one region failed to advance to the second week. The last time that happened was in 2004.
The Atlantic Coast Conference and Pac-12 entered the round of 32 as the only leagues with three or more teams not to lose a game. Virginia’s loss to Michigan State was the ACC’s first after a 9-0 start, and Oregon faced Wisconsin with a chance to make the Pac-12 8-0.