The Sweet 16

Here are the remaining 16 teams as they sit in KenPom. Numbers are KenPom overall ranking and then the teams offensive and defensive rankings. Italics indicate teams I believe can win it all.

1. Villanova (1, 1, 19)

2. Duke (3, 3, 8)

3. Purdue (4, 2, 32)

4. Gonzaga (7, 12, 14)

5. Kansas (9, 5, 46)

6. Michigan (10, 36, 3)

7. West Virginia (11, 11, 39)

8. Texas Tech (13, 47, 4)

9. Clemson (14, 42, 7)

10. Kentucky (16, 20, 24)

11. Nevada (23, 6, 110)

12. Texas A&M (25, 65, 10)

13. Florida State (30, 32, 55)

14. Loyola (36, 63, 27)

15. Kansas State (39, 74, 20)

16. Syracuse (44, 139, 5)

Is this the worst Sweet 16 ever? Probably not but it is pretty weak. There are 10 teams from KenPom top 16. Part of the issue is, we had a historically weak 1-seed in Xavier and the Virginia loss. Michigan State, Cincinnati and UNC bowing out early hurt as well. Cincinnati’s loss was especially bad given how the bracket had broken for them. It’s possible Mick Cronin can replicate what Bob Huggins did and keep Cincinnati in the upper echelon of college hoops. If he can’t, they might be kicking themselves. Ask Marquette fans about having these opportunities to get back to a Final 4 in ‘12 and ‘13. Chances as good as the one Cincinnati had do not come around that often.

From a fan’s standpoint, it’ll be an enjoyable Sweet 16. Other than Syracuse, I don’t have a particular grudge against any squad nor huge rooting interest. Nova, Zags, Duke and Michigan probably would be the teams I’ll pull for. Could be a wild weekend