It takes just six days to narrow the field of 68 down to 16 teams, and after that whirlwind of wall-to-wall basketball, we get to spend some time hitting reset on the NCAA Tournament picture. When the Sweet 16 tips off on Thursday and Friday with eight regional semifinal matchups across the two nights, it truly is the beginning of a tournament within the chaos that is March Madness.
One exercise we enjoy this time of year is taking stock of the remaining teams with a re-ranking of the Sweet 16. It’s not a true re-seeding exercise with focus on Quad 1 wins or references to the NET rankings or Wins Above Bubble, but we have noted each team’s original NCAA Tournament selection committee ranking as a reference point. Our re-seeding is much more along the power rankings variety, reacting to what we saw in the opening rounds as a way to challenge the pre-tournament ratings and expectations.
Don’t believe the obituaries: This year’s chalky first weekend didn’t kill March Madness’ beloved Cinderella
David Cobb
It should not come as a huge surprise, then, that after an opening weekend where one of the biggest storylines was the dominance of top teams that we see a pretty chalky re-ranking of the teams remaining. Our top seven teams are the same top seven teams the selection committee has in their ranking for the initial bracket, though we do have some notable shifts among the No. 1 seeds inside the top four. After that we’ve got some changes in the pecking order, reacting to notable results and readjusting the pecking order for teams that mostly fall between the No. 3 and No. 6 seed in the bracket.
Let’s dive in, beginning with a new No. 1 overall team in the field.
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