The first weekend of the men’s NCAA basketball tournament wrapped up and was decidedly chalky, with just a single double-digit seed remaining and a lone buzzer beater banked in across the first and second rounds.
While the early goings lacked drama this year, that may not be a bad thing moving forward when it comes to the level of play as the field is narrowed from 68 to four.
Things are getting serious as the journey to San Antonio moves to four regional sites across the country. Now that we know who has survived and advanced, how does every team stack up with just two weeks left in the postseason?
Channeling our inner selection committee, here’s a reseeding of teams left in the tourney as the Sweet 16 arrives:
1. Duke Blue Devils
Actual seed: No. 1, East Region
Upcoming game: vs. Arizona, Thursday, 9:39 p.m. ET (CBS)
Nobody had a more convincing opening weekend than Jon Scheyer’s team, which may have actually looked better than it did at the end of the regular season despite having to ease Cooper Flagg back into the rotation after his ankle injury. While it was no surprise the Blue Devils destroyed the No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers on Friday, their impressive dismantling of the Baylor Bears on Sunday re-cemented Duke as the team to beat. If Tyrese Proctor continues to look like Steph Curry beyond the arc, there may not be a team that can get within single digits of this group until the Final Four.
2. Florida Gators
Actual seed: No. 1, West Region
Upcoming game: vs. Kentucky, Friday, 7:39 p.m. ET (TBS)
The Gators cruised in their first game against the No. 16 seed Norfolk State Spartans, looking straight up terrifying for 15 minutes in a big statement for the SEC tournament champs. While they weren’t quite as crisp early on against the UConn Huskies, they rose to the occasion in the final minutes to knock out the back-to-back national champions. The length and versatility that Todd Golden has at his disposal should allow for favorable matchups all the way to San Antonio. A big test in a close game should serve them well moving forward.
3. Tennessee Volunteers
Actual seed: No. 2, Midwest Region
Upcoming game: vs. Kentucky, Friday, 7:39 p.m. ET (TBS)
Chaz Lanier was well known around the SEC, but he might be on his way to becoming a star nationally if he keeps playing like he did during the first weekend. The Vols reached their third consecutive Sweet 16 comfortably, holding the Wofford Terriers at arm’s length and then doing the same to the UCLA Bruins. Their defense remains impeccable when they’re locked in, but if the shooting continues at this pace, especially beyond the arc, the trip to Indianapolis could be a very productive one, even if Kentucky is a bit of a bogey team for Rick Barnes’s squad this season.
4. Houston Cougars
Actual seed: No. 1, Midwest Region
Upcoming game: vs. Purdue, Friday, 10:09 p.m. ET (TBS)
Nobody had a tougher path to the second weekend than the Cougars, thanks to the actual selection committee, but being tested could pay dividends down the road—particularly given how tough the Midwest looks this year. L.J. Cryer was fantastic against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. If he continues at this pace, playing Purdue in its backyard won’t be as big of a challenge as it looked when the bracket was released.
5. Auburn Tigers
Actual seed: No. 1, South Region
Upcoming game: vs. Michigan, Friday, 9:39 p.m. ET (CBS)
Whatever locker room speech that Bruce Pearl gave at halftime against the Creighton Bluejays sure seemed to work. The Tigers made it to the second weekend for the first time since 2019, despite All-American Johni Broome not playing as well as he’s capable of. They’ll need to get him going to emerge from the South Region and live up to the promise of this campaign that earned them the No. 1 overall seed.
6. Kentucky Wildcats
Actual seed: No. 3, Midwest Region
Upcoming game: vs. Tennessee, Friday, 7:39 p.m. ET (TBS)
The NCAA tournament was still a big question mark surrounding Mark Pope and, with a slew of injuries this season, this roster. Safe to say both answered with flying colors, pushing past a Troy Trojans team expected to be a pesky 14-seed and then putting together an even more impressive performance in clamping down on the Illinois Fighting Illini who featured several NBA draft lottery picks. This looks a lot closer to the group that was making waves in the SEC midyear, and that’s a scary thing for the rest of the Midwest, especially a Vols team the Cats swept in league play.
7. Alabama Crimson Tide
Actual seed: No. 2, East Region
Upcoming game: vs. BYU, Thursday, 7:09 p.m. ET (CBS)
How many “Bob Morris?” jokes did you see on the second day of the tourney with the Robert Morris Colonials, giving the Tide a surprisingly close game for about 35 minutes? Still, Nate Oats & Co. managed to put that behind them quickly and turned the screws on the St. Mary’s Gaels (defensively, no less) to reach their third consecutive Sweet 16. Guard Mark Sears has been up and down, but if they get close to their peak, another Elite Eight will be in the cards for a suddenly interesting basketball school.
8. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Actual seed: No. 3, West Region
Upcoming game: vs. Arkansas, Thursday, 10:09 p.m. ET (TBS)
Grant McCasland’s group is giving new life to the phrase live by the three, die by the three, after firing a tournament-record 46 times against the UNC Wilmington Seahawks and then connecting on just two shots behind the arc in beating the Drake Bulldogs. But they’re still on to the second weekend after JT Toppin started to carry the team down low. It will probably help that Darrion Williams has some time to rest his leg between rounds because he’ll need to be at the top of his game.
9. Michigan State Spartans
Actual seed: No. 2, South Region
Upcoming game: vs. Ole Miss, Friday, 7:09 p.m. ET (CBS)
Going up against the New Mexico Lobos was always going to be a difficult matchup for the Spartans, but they managed to get control of their second-round game to advance to Atlanta. The South Region has very much opened up compared to Selection Sunday. There’s something poetic about Jaden Akins scoring 16 points to deliver Tom Izzo’s 16th Sweet 16, but the rest of the team’s guards need to be much more consistent if the team wants to keep advancing.
10. Michigan Wolverines
Actual seed: No. 5, South Region
Upcoming game: vs. Auburn, Friday, 9:39 p.m. ET (CBS)
The Big Ten tournament champions sure have a type when it comes to being in close, competitive games that come down to the wire, and they somehow find ways to emerge victorious. The final score against the Texas A&M Aggies was a bit deceptive given how tight that round of 32 meeting was, but credit to Dusty May for knowing how to push all the right buttons down the stretch. If Roddy Gayle Jr. can keep shooting 50% from the field, the Wolverines will be more than capable of going up against Auburn, given the matchups they can bring in the frontcourt.
11. BYU Cougars
Actual seed: No. 6, East Region
Upcoming game: vs. Alabama, Thursday, 7:09 p.m. ET (CBS)
You could just tell how relieved the Cougars were when the final buzzer went off in the upset of the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday because it felt like every possession was draining. The combination of Richie Saunders and Egor Demin is going to keep you in games and win just as many because of their effort and shotmaking, but you have to wonder how getting tested to the final minute two games in a row is going to carry over into the Sweet 16. The good news for Kevin Young is his first foray into the Big Dance has gone well and those rapidly rising expectations in Provo, Utah, are looking warranted.
12. Ole Miss Rebels
Actual seed: No. 6, South Region
Upcoming game: vs. Michigan State, Friday, 7:09 p.m. ET (CBS)
It was hard to get a read on Chris Beard’s team coming into the tourney, but it turned out to be a pretty fun weekend for the Rebels as they quashed the North Carolina Tar Heels with some momentum coming out of Dayton and then lambasted the Iowa State Cyclones before the latter could even get to their feet. This is a really balanced group (top 25 in KenPom offensive and defensive efficiency) who can keep making noise in Atlanta but will need to control the glass against Michigan State.
13. Maryland Terrapins
Actual seed: No. 4, West Region
Upcoming game: vs. Florida, Thursday, 7:39 p.m. ET (TBS)
Derik Queen is going to live on in Maryland lore with that banked-in buzzer beater to top the Colorado State Rams in the second round, a really fun back-and-forth affair that should raise more questions about the Terps moving forward. Given all that is happening on campus and regarding coach Kevin Willard’s future, you wonder about distractions for this group going across the country to play Florida.
14. Purdue Boilermakers
Actual seed: No. 4, Midwest Region
Upcoming game: vs. Houston, Friday, 10:09 p.m. ET (TBS)
Despite being a trendy pick to be upset early, the Boilermakers took care of business quite nicely in getting past the High Point Panthers and the McNeese State Cowboys. You have to wonder, even playing down the road from campus, if this is where the run ends though, especially if Houston can clamp down on Trey Kaufman-Renn and Braden Smith to force the rest of the squad to step their games up.
15. Arizona Wildcats
Actual seed: No. 4, East Region
Upcoming game: vs. Duke, Thursday, 9:39 p.m. ET (CBS)
Tommy Lloyd and the Wildcats have come a long way since they first saw Duke in the fall, but they’re going to need a lot more than what they showed in escaping the Oregon Ducks by four points on Sunday. Caleb Love will be ready to take on the Blue Devils, but this can’t just be a one-man band situation in Newark, as they’re going to need more—particularly on defense—to keep this run going.
16. Arkansas Razorbacks
Actual seed: No. 10, West Region
Upcoming game: vs. Texas Tech, Thursday, 10:09 p.m. ET (TBS)
The only double-digit seed left standing, nobody had a better first weekend of the tournament as a head coach than John Calipari, who gets to rightfully strut around like he’s on top of the world after beating Bill Self and, more than anybody, Rick Pitino. Still, there’s a reason why this group didn’t earn a better seed, given how limited the rotation can be and how tough the offense can look for stretches. Momentum is certainly there at Arkansas, but it’ll need a lot more to keep things going.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Reseeding the Men’s NCAA Tournament Ahead of Sweet 16.
