Four Burning Questions for the Rest of the Men's NCAA Tournament

Author:
Molly Geary
Publish date:
Mar 24, 2021

We're down to just 15 games in the men's NCAA tournament, with the Sweet 16 kicking off on Saturday. Here are four burning questions we have as things progress into the second weekend.

1. Will the Pac-12 keep this up?

Few outside of Bill Walton saw the Pac-12's tournament resurgence coming. Sure, USC and Oregon might have been trendy picks to reach the Sweet 16, but to do it in such dominant fashion made a statement. Meanwhile, UCLA and Oregon State were much bigger long-shots to stick around in Indy, with the Bruins needing to win three games just to get here and the Beavers only getting in after storming the conference tourney.

The road ahead, however, is bumpy. The good news: USC and Oregon, by virtue of playing each other on Sunday, are guaranteed to earn the Pac-12 a spot in the Elite Eight. The bad news: That means at least one of the four is going home, and the other two have their hands full: UCLA gets a formidable Alabama team, and Oregon State meets a stingy Loyola Chicago team that's been in this position before.

2. Which high seed will be next to fall?

One No. 1 seed (Illinois), two No. 2 seeds (Ohio State, Iowa) and three No. 3 seeds (Texas, Kansas, West Virginia) bit the dust on the tournament's first weekend, leaving Gonzaga, Baylor, Michigan, Alabama, Houston and Arkansas remaining. Who could be next? Odds are against Gonzaga or Baylor; Arkansas gets a No. 15 seed; and Alabama looked mighty fine destroying Maryland on Monday. On paper, that suggests Michigan and Houston should both be looking out—and the Wolverines have arguably the toughest Sweet 16 matchup of any of the above, meeting No. 4 seed Florida State. The Cougars, meanwhile, get a red-hot Syracuse team after managing a last-minute escape vs. Rutgers. But, of course, the games aren't played on paper.

3. Can Michigan win the title if Isaiah Livers stays sidelined?

Back to the Wolverines: Once considered by many to be a title favorite on the level of Gonzaga and Baylor, the Livers injury in the Big Ten tournament dampened some of the high expectations for this group. Livers does a bit of everything for Michigan and is its best three-point shooter, and even though Chaundee Brown Jr. stepped up against LSU, there's no question not having the senior out there is a major loss. But the Wolverines have a "next-man up" mentality and plenty of talent remaining, so they won't be an easy out. The more they win without Livers, the more they'll adjust and believe, as well.

4. How chaotic will the rest of the tourney be?

This year’s men's Sweet 16 features the lowest average seed of any year since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Perhaps we should've expected that in this COVID-19 season, but a high number of early upsets doesn't always mean the rest of the tournament will be just as anarchic. Juggernauts Gonzaga and Baylor don't look like they're going anywhere, and it would be a fun twist if, after everything, those two square off after all for the national title. Still, the lowest seed to ever win the men's tournament was No. 8 Villanova, way back in 1985. Will Loyola Chicago or any of the double-digit seeds have anything to say about that?

Michigan's Franz Wagner and Eli Brooks — Courtesy of NCAA Photos

ICYMI

Leigha Brown has hit her stride as Michigan earns its first trip to the Sweet 16 in the women's NCAA tournament (By Emma Baccellieri)

From Gonzaga to Oral Roberts, ranking the men's Sweet 16 teams after the opening weekend. (By Kevin Sweeney and Molly Geary)

We have an endearingly weird men's Sweet 16, which is fitting after a regular season of unprecedented weirdness. (By Pat Forde)

Max Abmas doesn't mind Oral Roberts's Cinderella label, but he and the Golden Eagles are striving for more. (By Jason Jordan)

SI Gambling reviews men's Final Four and national champion futures odds prior to the Sweet 16. (By Roy Larking)

Best Thing We Saw

Iowa freshman sensation Caitlin Clark went OFF against Kentucky on Tuesday, outscoring the Wildcats by herself at halftime (24 points for Clark, 22 for UK) and draining threes all over the court. She finished with 35 points, seven rebounds and six assists to secure the Hawkeyes a Sweet 16 date with fellow freshman phenom Paige Bueckers and UConn.

Pick 'Em: Women's Second Round

SI's Molly Geary makes her picks for Wednesday's women's second-round games:

No. 2 Maryland over No. 7 Alabama: The Tide's offense could make this a sneakily tricky matchup for the Terps, but Maryland will pull away on the back of its own scoring prowess.

No. 5 Missouri State over No. 13 Wright State: Angel Baker and Wright State made school history to get here, but it'll be tough to do it two times in a row.

No. 6 Oregon over No. 3 Georgia: Hot shooting by the Ducks will carry the day, though they can't turn it over like they did vs. South Dakota.

No. 2 Louisville over No. 7 Northwestern: The Wildcats' defense meets its match in Dana Evans and the Cardinals.

No. 4 Indiana over No: 12 Belmont: The Hoosiers will win the battle on the interior to hold off the Bruins from another upset.

No. 7 Iowa State over No. 2 Texas A&M: The Aggies nearly got clipped by No. 15 seed Troy. Another big day by Ashley Joens springs this upset.

No. 3 Arizona over No. 11 BYU: The Cougars had an impressive first-round win over Rutgers, but coughed the ball up 19 times. The Wildcats' pressure will bite them, this time.

No. 3 UCLA over No. 6 Texas: Charli Collier and the Longhorns can make things interesting, but the Bruins prevail in a 2018 tournament rematch.

Crystal Ball

There are four double-digit seeds left in the men's NCAA tournament (UCLA, Syracuse, Oregon State, Oral Roberts), but zero will reach the Elite Eight.

At the Buzzer

Ten years ago, the 2011 men's NCAA tournament had an eerily similar chaos-heavy opening weekend. In fact, four double-digit seeds made the Sweet 16, and a No. 8 seed private school mid-major of recent Big Dance glory from the Midwest took down a No. 1. Sound familiar? Here was the cover of Sports Illustrated that week: