Men's March Madness 2026: Ranking the remaining 16 teams - ESPN

Now, we're down to only 16 teams.

We've had plenty of surprises in the opening weekend of this year's men's NCAA tournament. Iowa, which upset 1-seed Florida on Sunday, and Iowa State, which beat Kentucky without All-American Joshua Jefferson on the same day, are in the Sweet 16 together for the first time.

Alabama has been the same offensive juggernaut it was all season, even without Aden Holloway. And we're not going to call Texas a Cinderella, but it's the closest we have to one this tournament. (Per ESPN Research, this is the second straight year the Sweet 16 is made up of only major conference schools — the only two instances in NCAA tournament history in which the final 16 teams are all from major conferences.)

The top of the list is where it gets more complicated. No. 1 overall seed Duke is still a great team, but the Blue Devils are missing something with Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II not at 100%. This doesn't look like the same team that beat Michigan in February. Houston, Illinois and Purdue also seem to be closing the gap on the group of remaining 1-seeds.

Here's how we see the current landscape of the national title chase with the Sweet 16 approaching in a few days.

All times Eastern

See how the round of 32 was set:
Saturday | Sunday

1. Arizona Wildcats
Original seed: No. 1 (West)
Tournament results: Defeated No. 16 Long Island 92-58 (first round); defeated No. 9 Utah State 78-66 (round of 32)

The Arizona Wildcats have depth, a great coach and an overall talent pool to win the program's — and the West Coast's — first national title since 1997. That's why they've been picked by many fans to win it all. Here's a skill that might have been overlooked: an uncanny ability to get to the free throw line.