Men's March Madness 2025: Picking every Sweet 16 game - ESPN

And, breathe. Despite seeing few upsets or down-to-the-wire wins, it was quite the first weekend of men's NCAA tournament games.

For the first time in three years, we don't have a Cinderella team dancing into the Sweet 16. We also won't have back-to-back national champion UConn.

Instead, we have seven teams from the SEC (half of the conference's tourney-record 14 bids), four from the Big Ten, four from the Big 12 and a single program from the ACC. All four 1-seeds remain in the chase for the title too.

We've analyzed how they each booked a spot in the regional semifinals. We ranked all 16 teams. Now, it's time to look at the actual matchups.

ESPN's Jeff Borzello, Myron Medcalf and Joe Lunardi (mostly) agree on who will win each Sweet 16 game. But why? And who will be key in each? Let's find out.

(2) Michigan State Spartans vs. (6) Ole Miss Rebels

Friday, 7:09 p.m. ET, CBS, Atlanta

Borzello's prediction: Michigan State 72-69
Medcalf's prediction: Michigan State 75-70
Lunardi's prediction: Michigan State 70-65

Why Michigan State will win: Over its first two NCAA tournament games, Ole Miss made nearly half of its 3-point attempts. Michigan State, the top 3-point defensive team in America, will try to prevent Ole Miss from continuing that form. Besides that, Tom Izzo's squad dominates on the offensive glass, and Spartans guard Jase Richardson will be the best player on the court. It all adds up to a Michigan State win. — Myron Medcalf

Player to watch: Tre Holloman. He will overperform for the Spartans in this one. Holloman has gotten into a rhythm late in the season, recording double figures in four of Michigan State's past five games. The Spartans went 4-1 in that stretch. — Medcalf

(1) Florida Gators vs. (4) Maryland