What Are the Best March Madness Matchups in Men’s Sweet 16?

At the halfway mark of the March Madness, the picture is clear on who’s facing who in their respective regional semi-finals commonly referred to as the Sweet 16. It also means that the competitions are becoming more intense for some to handle. The next 2 weeks are sure to bring more spice into this single-knockout tournament. The must-watch fixtures have especially created some excitement.

In the Eastern region, defending champions UConn will lock horns against a courageous San Diego State. The Huskies are coming off two comfortable wins against Stetson and Northwestern previously. While they completely decimated the Hatters with a 39-point victory margin, beating Northwestern 75-58 was also commendable. At the same time, after surviving an upset against UAB in their opening encounter, the Aztecs came back with a bang by blowing away Yale 85-57.

The other regional semi-finalists are Clemson and Arizona. While the Wildcats haven’t truly been tested yet, the Tigers aren’t to be taken lightly as they are coming off a monumental victory over the No.3 Baylor in the Round of 32. Moreover, this is only the second time they have advanced to the Sweet 16.

Jumping to the field where every minute is turning to be a crucial one, the South is steaming with some different madness at the moment.

The most unpredictable region in March Madness

South is the most competitive region where the top four seeds are battling it out for a ticket to the Sweet 16. First up is the No.1 Houston against the Blue Devils. Despite being the higher-ranked team, Cougars have been more shaky in the competition so far. After earning a comfortable first-round victory against Longwood, Houston nearly became the victim of a Cinderella story in an overtime thriller against Texas A&M. In the meantime, John Scheyer’s Duke has completely transformed themselves ever since the March Madness started. Following an impressive 64-47 victory over Vermont, they completely tore apart James Madison in the battle of the Dukes inspired by a scintillating 30-point performance by their freshman guard Jared McCain.

After taking down the ACC favorites North Carolina in the championship game, few would argue that the Wolfpacks don’t deserve to be in the Sweet 16. Moreover, they caused another upset when they kicked No.6 Texas Tech out in the Round of 64. Their opponents Marquette will undeniably be their toughest challenge yet. The Golden Eagles have their own successful journey as they have bounced back after their Big East Finals defeat to UConn in style. They took down Western Kentucky with ease and had to dig deep to get an 81-77 victory against the Buffs.

Next in the list are the western regions looking to draw for the regional semifinals.

The heavyweights of the West

In West, top seeds North Carolina will be challenged by a spirited Alabama. The Tar Heels will have a task at hand going past the formidable defense of the Crimson Tides. On the other hand, the never-say-die attitude of UNC has rescued them from tight situations. This was evident in their previous game when despite not capitalizing on the rebounds, they won comfortably by 85-69.

Read More: UConn, Houston, Purdue or North Carolina – Which 1 Seed Men’s Team Has the Easiest March Madness Path?

Another mouth-watering clash is the battle between Illinois and Iowa State. The Fighting Illini are appearing in their first Sweet 16 game in 19 years. After comfortable victories against Morehead State and Duquesne Dukes, Illinois will enter the contest as underdogs. Meanwhile, the Cyclones have a golden opportunity to headline the regional finals for the first time since 2000. Both teams are evenly matched when it comes to drawing comparisons offensively and in terms of defense.

With a handful of not-so-familiar faces for this March Madness to Zach Edey’s Purdue, which four teams will square off in the Midwest.

The underrated Midwestern region

There were quite a few surprises coming out of the first two games in the Midwest. It features the flying Bluejays against the fired-up Vols. This No.2 vs No.3 battle will be worth a watch as Creighton will look to enter the back-to-back regional finals whereas Tennessee is searching for its first Elite Eight entrance since 2010. On paper, the Volunteers clearly look like the better team courtesy of a scintillating form of its star transfer, Dalton Knecht. However, fans can expect Creighton to have some tricks up their sleeves having the likes of Baylor Scheierman (18.3 P.P.G) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (65.1 FG%) in their locker room.

Anyhow, the battle to look forward to here is between the No.1 Purdue and No.5 Gonzaga. The Bulldogs pose a serious threat for Zach Edey and Co. in this upcoming fixture. Seemingly, they have shown that they can take down higher ranked teams with ease by their recent 19-point victory over the No.4 Jayhawks. Nonetheless, the Boilermakers are adamant to write off the ghost of their previous season’s disappointment. This was evident in the manner they have been victorious in their opening two rounds of the March Madness.

Read More: Which Team Can Stop UConn From Becoming Back-to-Back National Champions Ahead in the March Madness?

Surely, it’s going to be a thrilling next few days. While there is no telling what the results might me, some teams hold a slight edge over their opponents entering into the contest.