March Madness winners, losers as NCAA men’s tournament reaches Sweet 16

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Duke, Arkansas, and Houston headline Men’s Sweet 16

With the Sweet 16 upon us, USA Today Sports’ Mackenzie Salmon previews a few of the top matchups we’re most looking forward to.

Sports Seriously

We’ve seen 68 teams trimmed to 64, 64 teams cut to 32 and now, with one weekend in the books, we’re down to just 16 teams still alive in the men’s NCAA Tournament.

It’s a who’s-who of college basketball heavyweights. After an uneventful start to tournament play in terms of upsets, higher seeds dominate the Sweet 16 and create the possibility for a star-studded Final Four next month in San Antonio.

All four No. 1 seeds are among this group. So are three of the four No. 2 seeds. There’s just one double-digit seed in the Sweet 16. Favorites have prevailed, by and large, leaving no real Cinderella story among the teams still competing for the national championship.

In terms of upsets, No. 12 McNeese State topped No. 5 Clemson for the first tournament win in program history and No. 10 Arkansas pulled off a stunner by beating No. 2 St. John’s to reach the Sweet 16 in coach John Calipari’s first season.

Here are the biggest winners and losers from the tournament’s first two rounds:

WINNERS

No. 1 seeds

Auburn overcame a rocky start against No. 16 Alabama State and then advanced against No. 9 Creighton. Houston dominated SIU-Edwardsville before needing nearly every second to survive against No. 8 Gonzaga. Florida breezed past Norfolk State before winning 77-75 against No. 8 Connecticut, the two-time defending national champions. But the most impressive of this bunch has definitely been Duke, which faced no pressure against Mount St. Mary’s and No. 9 Baylor, winning by a combined 67 points.

Duke

Let’s single out the Blue Devils further, and not just for being the most impressive team on the No. 1 line through the opening weekend. Another big asset in their favor has been the play of freshman forward Cooper Flagg, who injured his ankle in the ACC semifinals and missed the…

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Publish date : 2025-03-24 10:09:00

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