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?