The Elite Eight field is set.
Following some down-to-the wire Sweet 16 games, the remaining teams are just one game away from playing into April – in the Final Four.
We have three No. 1 seeds, one No. 2 seed and one No. 3 seed among the teams still dancing. But this tourney has hardly been all chalk, and we can thank the Pac-12 for that – with three unexpected teams advancing this far.
No. 12 seed Oregon State has led the bracket-busting as an automatic qualifier that didn't even have a March Madness ticket until winning the Pac-12 Tournament, while fellow Pac-12 double-digit seed UCLA pulled off the biggest upset of the Sweet 16 by ousting No.2 Alabama in an overtime thriller. No. 6 Southern California rounds out the field after dumping Oregon.
ELITE EIGHT OR SENT PACKING: Winners and losers from the men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
SWEET 16 RECAP: What you missed in women's, men's tournaments on Sunday
What we learned from the Sweet 16, as it applies to the Elite Eight:
Gonzaga, Baylor seem destined to meet
The two teams have been No. 1 and No. 2 in the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll throughout most of 2020-21 and have continued to look like national title favorites in this tournament. The Bulldogs (29-0) cruised past Creighton in the Sweet 16 and have been putting on offensive clinics with its three stars – Corey Kispert, Drew Timme and Jalen Suggs. The Bears (26-2) aren't undefeated like the 'Zags, but they have 11 top-30 NET victories – including impressive wins in the NCAAs over Wisconsin and Villanova – since January compared to Gonzaga's two. Baylor's just as dangerous offensively and returns its entire group from last year's team. The backcourt trio of Jared Butler, MaCio Teague and Davion Mitchell averages more than 46 points combined and helps Baylor lead the field in three-point shooting.
Don't sleep on Michigan
The Wolverines (23-4) are proving doubters wrong by winning – and winning big –without second-leading scorer Isaiah Livers. Coach Juwan Howard has inspired his team and, as a result, Michigan has looked very much the part of the No. 1 seed it earned in wins over LSU and now Florida State. In an 18-point victory over the Seminoles on Sunday, Michigan got help from its supporting cast. And there are still two stars on this roster in All-American big man Hunter Dickinson and 6-9 guard Franz Wagner. It's not as if Michigan is a dark-horse to win it all as a No. 1 seed, but how fast this group has been able to regroup without one of its best players speaks to the winning culture Howard has instilled. While the other eight Big Ten teams are at home, Michigan is still dancing.
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