NCAA March Madness Sweet 16 Preview

We are getting ready for the ’Sweet 16’ round to begin after what we could only describe as a whirlwind of an opening weekend. Now, we look at the teams remaining in the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

As expected, there were upsets, including McNeese, Drake, Colorado State, and Arkansas, but after the first round of March Madness, the field has mostly settled into a lineup of favorites.

Thus far, all the teams that made for the No. 1 seeds, Duke, Auburn, Florida, and Houston, advanced. Three of the four No. 2’s are officially in. Only Texas Tech and Kentucky won twice to represent the three seeds.

No. 4’s Arizona, Maryland, and Purdue round out the favored squads to make it to week two of the grueling tourney, and the surprise squads that live to see another day include No. 5 Michigan, No. 6’s Mississippi, and BYU and No. 10 Arkansas.

Still, we are eager for the upcoming matches to go down, and we can’t wait to see what is in store for all basketball fans once the Sweet Sixteen makes it to the courts.

For now, it is time to take a deep dive into the match-ups and give our predictions.

NCAA March Madness Sweet Sixteen: Florida Gators vs. Maryland Terrapins

It was great to see how Maryland finally won at the buzzer over Colorado State, but it is a bit concerning that the game came down to the wire in the first place.

If the Terps play around with Florida like that, they’ll get blown out. We have to admit that part of us wants to see Maryland advance, but being honest, the Florida Gators are likely to get this and make it look easy.

Florida Gators vs. Maryland Terrapins Betting pick: Florida Gators

NCAA March Madness Sweet Sixteen: Duke Blue Devils vs. Arizona Wildcats

We don’t think Arizona defends well enough to stop what Duke wants to do on offense, as they probably get run over.

We don’t trust the Wildcats to maintain their 50% shooting percentage from three-point range, which they have achieved over the first two rounds. This level of performance is not typical for them and seems to be a surprising streak; therefore, it is likely to come to an end soon.

This will likely be a match for the Blue Devils to show off.

Duke Blue Devils vs. Arizona Wildcats Betting Pick: Duke Blue Devils

NCAA March Madness Sweet Sixteen: Michigan State Spartans vs. Ole Miss Rebels

We believe that the Michigan State Spartans will be heavily favored in this NCAA clash against Mississippi, as they won their last game at the free-throw line, where they went 19-of-28 in a game they won by eight points over New Mexico.

Luckily for them, Ole Miss loves to send teams to the free throw line, ranking bottom 20 in the nation in opponent attempts. Giving the Spartans some easy work on the upcoming game.

Michigan State Spartans vs. Ole Miss Rebels Betting pick: Michigan State Spartans

NCAA March Madness Sweet Sixteen: Houston Cougars vs. Purdue Boilermakers

This one might be either a pretty interesting match or an easy one for both sides. McNeese was able to force Purdue into 19 turnovers but failed to take advantage on offense and couldn’t keep the Boilermakers off the free throw line.

If Houston’s top-rated defense can cause that many turnovers, then the Cougars won’t fail to capitalize, and they are likely to win.

Houston Cougars vs. Purdue Boilermakers Betting pick: Houston Cougars