March Madness upset predictions: Ranking 5 most likely Sweet 16 surprises

While the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament delivered mostly chalk results, there are a few surprises in the Sweet 16, led by No. 11 seed Texas and No. 9 Iowa.

The Longhorns, while not much of a Cinderella due to its school’s stature as one of the most well-known brands in college sports, has already won three games in the Big Dance, after taking down NC State in the First Four before upsetting No. 6 BYU and No. 3 Gonzaga to set up a bout with No. 2 Purdue.

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Re-seeding Sweet 16 teams: Separating the contenders from pretenders

No. 9 Iowa, meanwhile, has the upset of the NCAA Tournament so far. The Hawkeyes defeated No. 1 Florida 73-72 on a game-winning 3-pointer from Alvaro Folgueiras for a spot against Big Ten-foe Nebraska in an all-Midwest matchup (in the South Region) — The Battle for the Corn.

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Men’s Sweet 16 players to watch during March Madness

How sweet it is. Sixteen teams remain in the March Madness 2026 tournament. Here are some top players and matchups to watch.
No. 11 Texas vs. No. 2 Purdue Texas: Matas Vokietaitis

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Men’s Sweet 16 players to watch during March Madness

How sweet it is. Sixteen teams remain in the March Madness 2026 tournament. Here are some top players and matchups to watch.
No. 11 Texas vs. No. 2 Purdue Texas: Matas Vokietaitis

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Men’s Sweet 16 players to watch during March Madness

No. 11 Texas vs. No. 2
Purdue Purdue: Braden Smith

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Men’s Sweet 16 players to watch during March Madness

No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 4 Nebraska
Iowa: Bennett Stirtz

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Men’s Sweet 16 players to watch during March Madness

No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 4 Nebraska
Nebraska: Pryce Sandfort

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Men’s Sweet 16 players to watch during March Madness

No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 1 Arizona
Arkansas: Darius Acuff Jr.

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Men’s Sweet 16 players to watch during March Madness

No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 1 Arizona
Arizona: Brayden Burries

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Men’s Sweet 16 players to watch during March Madness

No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 2 Houston
Illinois: Keaton Wagler

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Men’s Sweet 16 players to watch during March Madness

No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 2 Houston
Houston: Emanuel Sharp

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Men’s Sweet 16 players to watch during March Madness

No. 5 St….

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Publish date : 2026-03-25 09:02:00

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