Sweet 16 Power Rankings

The opening weekend of March Madness is complete, and now we are down to the final 16 teams. Only two 1 seeds remain, and for the third consecutive tournament, we have a 15 seed moving on to the sweet 16. Let's re-rank the remaining teams and predict the final four and national championship matchup.

The Field

The Rankings:

1. Alabama

Alabama entered the tournament as the overall #1 seed, and they haven't disappointed. They are by far the best offense left in the tournament and it is looking uncertain if anyone can stop them. Also, Alabama has probably the easiest schedule to make the national championship game out of anyone else in the tournament.

Alabama does struggle with turnovers offensively, most likely because of their pace of play, so that could hurt them moving forward, but it is safe to say Alabama is legit and has serious national championship potential.

2. Houston

Houston has not looked like their usual self the last couple weeks, but a dominating second half against Auburn has proven that they still are a contender. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the Cougars, but year after year, they continue to prove they are a great team.

Thir offensive struggles will definitely hurt them, but their defense is one of the best in the country. It will be interesting how they do against an offensive powerhouse, like Alabama.

3. Texas

Another team in the Midwest Region, the Texas Longhorns could find themselves in the final four if they can knock off Houston. Texas won the Big 12 championship and have continued that momentum into the tournament. I would not want to get in their way right now, because they are playing great basketball.

The only thing that can hurt Texas is that they got screwed in their seeding and region. The Midwest Region has the best remaining seeds, and it is going to be a gauntlet to get out of that region.

4. UCLA

Another year, another great UCLA tournament run. This team has taken over march the last 3 years, and they have the experience that most teams lack. Their defense ranks 2nd in the country behind Tennessee, and their offense may lack scoring power, but they get the job done.

Similar to Texas, UCLA got a bad draw with their region. They have to play Gonzaga next, who just so happens to be our next team in the rankings, but the winner of that game should advance to the final 4.

5. Gonzaga

Where UCLA lacks scoring power, Gonzaga makes up for it. They have the number 1 offense in the country and also have Drew Timme in the front court. It is odd seeing Gonzaga struggle a little bit in the regular season, but it is also very dangerous that they are a 3 seed.

It's the same problem every year for Gonzaga, their defense just can't do it in big games. As said before, their next game against UCLA should be great. Two complete opposites facing off against each other in the sweet 16. I'm excited to see who comes out on top.

6. UCONN

Probably a hot take, but it seems that UCONN is playing as well as anyone in the country right now. The Huskies were ranked as high as #3 in the country in the regular season, but then suffered a couple bad losses. They now have started to play like that team they were earlier, and they are scary.

Ranked 3rd on offense and 14th on defense makes UCONN one of the most complete teams remaining. However, they as well, are in that gauntlet of the Midwest region. Can they make it out? They have the ability to, but it isn't going to be easy.

7. Tennessee

Tennessee is a tricky team. They do have the #1 defense according to KenPom's defensive efficiency rankings, but lacks scoring on offense. They also have a high turnover rate to add to their offensive struggles.

The good thing about Tennessee is that they have a relatively easy schedule to make it to the final four. They should handle business against FAU, and then face two beatable teams in Michigan State or Kansas State.

8. Creighton

A lot of people jumped on the Creighton futures towards the end of February, and they probably cashed out some sweet 16 futures. Unfortunately, I did not bet them, but they are playing really good right now, and have the easiest opponent to advance to the Elite 8.

It's hard to bet against Creighton right now, but they are just not a to