Ranking All 16 Men’s March Madness Second-Round Games

Take a deep breath everyone. You’ve made it through the first two days of the men’s NCAA tournament. And though there may not have been the usual number of upsets, a few Cinderellas have broken through and we had our fair share of high-level action.

No. 12 High Point got the action started early by shocking No. 5 Wisconsin and the legend of Chase Johnston’s first two-point bucket of the season was born. Then No. 11 VCU stormed back from 19 points down in the second half to upset No. 6 North Carolina.

The action continued into a much chalkier Friday, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t time for madness to occur. Otega Oweh’s half-court heave instantly became a March memory as it forced overtime against Santa Clara and allowed Kentucky to escape an upset bid.

Not to pat ourselves on the back, but the No. 1-ranked game on Sports Illustrated’s round of 64 list was VCU-UNC. Villanova vs. Utah State wasn’t far behind at No. 5. That said, Santa Clara vs. Kentucky was No. 17 and Wisconsin vs. High Point was No. 21. You win some, you lose some!

But those matchups are in the past. All we can do is look forward. So how about we turn our focus to the next 16 games on tap over the weekend? Here’s our ranking of each and every game, from No. 16 to No. 1:

16. No. 1 seed Florida vs. No. 9 Iowa

Sunday, 7:10 p.m. ET, TBS

Nothing we saw from the Hawkeyes on Friday, even against a stout Clemson defense, inspires much confidence that they’ll be able to keep up with the defending champs, who obliterated Prairie View A&M with a 60-point first half. The glaring issue in this matchup is rebounding. Florida’s work on the glass has been historic all season long, ranking first nationally with 45.42 rebounds per game. Iowa, on the other hand? Ben McCollum’s group is 354th of 361 eligible teams in rebounding (29.42 per game). Suffice it to say, the Hawkeyes could be in for a long night on the boards.

15. No. 2 Houston vs. No. 10 Texas A&M

Saturday, 6:10 p.m. ET, TNT

An old Southwest Conference rivalry should bring plenty of juice to Oklahoma City on Saturday night, but the product on the court could be a slog. Houston had no runner-up hangover from last year’s tournament as freshman point guard Kingston Flemings looked right at home in his March Madness debut. A&M’s defense, which forced 18 turnovers against Saint Mary’s, probably won’t have the same luck against the Cougars, who seem to have picked up right where they left off last March.

14. No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 9 Utah State

Sunday, ~7:50 p.m. ET, truTV

Utah State impressed against Villanova on Friday and provided another feather in the cap for the mid-major contingent trying to stick up for itself in this tournament. Mason Falslev and MJ Collins Jr. got to the cup regularly against Villanova and the Aggies needed just two threes to advance. Utah State hasn’t relied on the deep ball much this season, but it may need to in order to keep pace with Arizona, which pulled no punches against Long Island. The Aggies did manage to get Kevin Willard to suggest firing his staff midgame, so perhaps they can frustrate Tommy Lloyd to the same degree.

13. No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 7 Miami

Sunday, 12:10 p.m. ET, CBS

The Hurricanes struggled to break away from Mark Mitchell and Missouri late on Friday night, but eventually became too much for the Tigers to handle. A plus-15 advantage on the boards and balanced performances from Tre Donaldson and Malik Reneau was enough to get the win. Miami will need to bring that same sort of physicality to the round of 32 against Purdue, where Trey Kaufman-Renn and Oscar Cluff await. With Braden Smith as the engine, the Boilermakers are humming on offense dating to the start of the Big Ten tournament and show no signs of slowing down after racking up 104 points against Queens in the first round.

Purdue guard Braden Smith is the engine that powers the Boilers. | Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

12. No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 6 Louisville

Saturday, ~2:45 p.m. ET, CBS

The Cardinals proved a lot of doubters wrong by taking down a very solid South Florida team in the first round, and doing so without star freshman Mikel Brown Jr. The issue is that Louisville will still be without Brown and needed seven threes from Isaac McKneely just to hold off the Bulls, who scored a whopping 52 second-half points on Thursday. It’s unlikely that Michigan State, which already seems to have a sprinkle of Tom Izzo’s March magic, will start off as poorly as USF.

11. No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 11 Texas

Saturday, 7:10 p.m. ET, TBS/truTV

Is it time to buy Sean Miller’s Longhorns as a real Cinderella? Texas became the 13th First Four team in 15 years of the Dayton play-in games to advance to the second round, but there’s a path in which this run could continue. The Longhorns dominated the glass against BYU, plucking down 16 offensive boards. That feat will be difficult to replicate against Gonzaga and Graham Ike, however, as the Bulldogs are one of the better rebounding teams in the country.

10. No. 1 Duke at No. 9 TCU

Saturday, 5:15 p.m. ET, CBS

Duke’s opening-round game against Siena was 31st of 32 games on the list and ended up delivering plenty of entertainment as the Blue Devils got quite a scare. And it’s absolutely worth watching how Jon Scheyer’s group responds. Keep an eye on Cameron Boozer in particular, who faces a difficult post matchup against TCU’s David Punch. The potential No. 1 pick in this summer’s NBA draft looked rather passive and willing to defer for better shots by his teammates in the opener. That may not have been the best approach with the Blue Devils struggling to get the ball in the basket, so we could see Boozer take a more aggressive approach in game No. 2.

9. No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 5 Texas Tech

Sunday, ~9:45 p.m. ET, TBS

Both teams are shorthanded. Texas Tech without the injured JT Toppin. Alabama without Aden Holloway due to his arrest earlier this week. And yet both teams prevailed over very talented mid-majors in the opening round. This matchup is a delightful clash of styles with the Red Raiders ranked 243rd in tempo and the Crimson Tide ranking fourth, per T-Rank. And yet both programs are in the top six nationally in threes made per game—Bama because it takes so many and Tech because it makes so many. Whichever team controls the pace will likely come out on top.

8. No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 6 Tennessee

Sunday, 6:10 p.m. ET, TNT

Virginia won its first NCAA tournament game since its national championship in 2019—a testament to the job that Ryan Odom has done in his first season. But the Hoos looked rather unsteady and needed Jacari White (26 points, 6 of 8 from three) to go basically unconscious in order to stave off No. 14 Wright State. Tennessee, on the other hand, completely exerted its will in a clear mismatch against Miami (Ohio). The Vols will face much more resistance in the paint from the Cavaliers and the availability of star forward Nate Ament remains somewhat of an unknown after he played just 18 minutes and didn’t score on Friday.

7. No. 2 Iowa State vs. No. 7 Kentucky

Sunday, ~2:45 p.m. ET, CBS

These two teams played vastly different games on Friday. Iowa State hung 108 points on Tennessee State, while Kentucky needed March heroics from Otega Oweh just to force overtime against Santa Clara. Mark Pope’s program avoided disaster by riding the emotional high to victory in the extra period, and how the Cats come out of such a roller-coaster game in the opening few minutes will tell us a lot about whether they’re capable of pulling off the upset.

6. No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 5 Vanderbilt

Saturday, ~8:45 p.m. ET, TNT

Sign us up for Pryce Sandfort vs. Tyler Tanner. The former poured in 23 points in Nebraska’s first-round matchup against Troy, but it was the Huskers defense that really stood out. That’s been the calling card for Nebraska all season long and the Commodores will give that unit all it can handle. Vandy faced a tougher test in the round of 64 as McNeese led for nearly 40% of the matchup. Then Tanner took over, ending with 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists in his NCAA tournament debut. A few less turnovers for the Dores will go a long way against the Huskers’ opportunistic defense.

5. No. 2 UConn vs. No. 7 UCLA

Sunday, ~8:45 p.m. ET, TNT

Will an officiating staff be able to hold up under the scrutiny that Dan Hurley and Mick Cronin are sure to provide in spades? Time will tell, but the on-court product in this game should be excellent. Plus, these are two of the most historic brands in the sport. UConn’s offense, as Hurley predicted it would, looked somewhat freed up in its opener against No. 15 Furman—the issue was just actually making the open shots. UCLA struggled to shut the door on a physical UCF team without Tyler Bilodeau, but still won with Donovan Dent having an awful shooting night—and will be hoping to get Bilodeau back by tip on Sunday night.

UConn head coach Dan Hurley will face off against another hot-head coach in UCLA’s Mick Cronin. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

4. No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 9 Saint Louis

Saturday, 12:10 p.m. ET, CBS

If you’re looking for efficient offenses, look no further than this matchup on Thursday night. The Wolverines (seventh in effective field goal percentage) shot 67% from the floor in the win against Howard and it seemed like just about every rotation player got in on the action. Saint Louis (second in EFG%) connected on 58% of its attempts, getting up and down the floor against a fast-paced Georgia team and spreading the wealth with 27 assists. Both of these teams are just delights to watch—and the Billikens should provide a real challenge to the Midwest’s No. 1.

3. No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 11 VCU

Saturday, ~7:50 p.m. ET, TNT

VCU authored the sixth-largest comeback in NCAA tournament history on Thursday, but don’t take that as a sign that this team will be outmatched against Illinois. Terrence Hill Jr., who had 34 points in the opener, may be one of the most exciting players to watch create off the dribble—and he’ll meet his foil in standout Illinois freshman Keaton Wagler. It was David Mirković who dominated for the Illini in their opener, posting 29 points and 17 rebounds as his team cruised past an outmatched Penn. The Rams are a much more difficult challenge and will be looking to pull off a second upset in as many days on Saturday night.

2. No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 5 St. John’s

Sunday, 5:15 p.m. ET, CBS

If you thought Hurley vs. Cronin was good, can I interest you in Bill Self vs. Rick Pitino? That’s before you even get to the talent on each sideline, helmed by potential No. 1 pick Darryn Peterson. Yet once again, questionable substitution patterns and second-half usage around the Kansas guard was on full display as the Jayhawks nearly let No. 13-seed California Baptist get back into their first-round game. Such an approach won’t work against the Red Storm, who have won 21 of their last 22 behind the steady play of Big East Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor.

1. No. 12 High Point vs. No. 4 Arkansas

Saturday, ~9:45 p.m. ET, TBS/truTV

I’m frankly not sure if the Panthers will have the juice after such a weighty game against Wisconsin, but after watching them operate, I’m a believer. Chase Johnston can pull up from anywhere on the court—or apparently run out on a fast break and make a consequential layup. Rob Martin is unafraid and has the speed to get past just about anyone on the perimeter. And awaiting High Point in this game is Darius Acuff Jr., who played well beyond his years in a balanced effort from the Razorbacks in Round 1. The potential issue for Arkansas could be a lack of depth against a team that plays as quickly and scores as well as High Point. John Calipari leaned on just six players in the opener and that heavy workload could take a toll against the Panthers.

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