Re-Seeding the Sweet 16

03/23/2023

By: Jeff Yoder

Odds, Favorites & Matchups Before Week 2 of the NCAA Tournament Tips Off Tonight

We’re just 11 days away from one team cutting down the nets in Houston, but the new-look bracket needs a refresh. After 68 teams entered the NCAA Tournament last weekend, only 16 remain. They’re not who you thought. Only three brackets in the NCAA Challenge correctly picked 15 of the Sweet 16 (our group’s highest mark was 12). Princeton comes into Week 2 donning Cinderella’s slipper, but Florida Atlantic, Arkansas and Michigan State will have their say. The Spartans’ head coach Tom Izzo is the only remaining coach with an NCAA title on his resume. Alabama and Houston are the clear-cut favorites. Storylines galore. Let’s play with the seeds.

Re-Seeding the Sweet 16

The lowest seed ever to win it all is an 8, and the lowest seed to reach the Final Four is an 11. That means both #9 Florida Atlantic and #15 Princeton can make some history. After the opening weekend shakeup, each region has its own flavor of chaos. The East is void of a 1 or 2-seed. The Midwest is chalky, to say the least. Every underdog-lover is eyeing Princeton in the South, and the West could produce the game of the tournament with the UCLA-Gonzaga rematch of the 2021 Final Four game.

Our perspective on each team looks a little different than it did one week ago. Here’s a look at the remaining 16 teams, re-seeded based on the updated odds to win it all and how they performed in the first two rounds.

1-Line

1. Alabama (1) | Odds: +350

2. Houston (1) | Odds: +375

3. UCLA (2) | Odds: +700

4. Texas (2) | Odds: +1000

2-Line

5. UConn (4) | Odds: +1000

6. Gonzaga (3) | Odds: +1200

7. Tennessee (4) | Odds: +1400

8. Kansas State (3) | Odds: +2500

3-Line

9. Creighton (6) | Odds: +1200

10. Xavier (3) | Odds: +3500

11. Michigan State (7) | Odds: +2500

12. San Diego State (5) Odds: +4000

4-Line

13. Miami (5) | Odds: +4000

14. Arkansas (8) | Odds: +3500

15. Florida Atlantic (9) | Odds: +4500

16. Princeton (15) | Odds: +18000

Obviously, the remaining 16 teams won’t be re-seeded into quadrants with a 1-4 seed, but a reworked bracket gives clarity to the shift from where we were just one week ago. If we’re being realistic, teams 1-13 making the Final Four from here wouldn’t be surprising. It’s the final three teams that make things interesting, particularly the Owls (FAU) and Tigers (Princeton).

Sweet 16 Schedule (Tonight)

#3 Kansas State (25-9) vs. #7 Michigan State (21-12)

Time: 6:30 pm ET, TBS

Spread: MSU (-2.0)

#4 UConn (27-8) vs. #8 Arkansas (22-13)

Time: 7:15 pm ET, CBS

Spread: UConn (-3.5)

#4 Tennessee (25-10) vs. #9 Florida Atlantic (33-3)

Time: 9:00 pm Et, TBS

Spread: TENN (-5.0)

#2 UCLA (31-5) vs. #3 Gonzaga (30-5)

Time: 9:45 pm ET, CBS