March Madness has truly begun! By the end of the first round, a trio of top seeds had already gone — No. 1 seed Purdue, No. 2 seed Arizona and No. 4 seed Virginia — and gone with them millions of broken brackets.
Here’s what to know about NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 betting, including favorites and underdogs and key games:
TOP SEED
The top four seeds in the tournament were dealt to Alabama, Houston, Kansas and Purdue. Everyone had their share of headaches to set up an already chaotic tournament, and the Boilermakers were the first to fall, ousted in a stunning first-round matchup. Here are the latest from each region:
EAST REGION: The Boilermakers were ranked No. 1 for the fourth time, but Purdue was dropped by Fairleigh Dickinson in a near-historic upset. The region appears to be wide open for the likes of Marquette, Duke, Michigan State and others.
SOUTHERN REGION: alabama, under coach Nate Oates during a challenging season, seeded No. 1 for the first time since SEC Player of the Year Brandon Miller, who has an armed guard on hand after being the subject of threats. The Crimson Tide opened the tournament an easy win. Potential hurdlers could include Baylor, Missouri and Creighton. Princeton or Furman, anyone?
MIDWEST REGION: Houston got the top seed and won the first but American Marcus Sasser limps in case of groin injury. Potential upsets could include No. 2 seed Texas, who advanced to face an upset Pension state.No. 3 seed Xavier was held off by Kennesaw State in his opener.
WESTERN REGION: Kansas is the top seed in the region, and the Jayhawks face an exciting second-round matchup against Arkansas. Kansas was without coach Bill Self, who is recovering from heart surgery. No. 2 seed UCLA looked like a title contender in the opener, No. 3 Gonzaga came out on top, and a juicy 4-5 matchup pitted UConn against Saint Mary’s in the second round.
BRIGHT MOMENTS
Unforgettable plays are piling up.
Princeton used a late run to capitalize first NCAA Tournament win in 25 years by ousting No. 2 seed Arizona. Furman celebrated its first tournament since 1980 win over No. 4 seed Virginia on deep three-pointer by JP Pegues with 2.4 seconds left on the left.
Then came No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson’s win over Purdue, as the 22 1/2-point underdog throttled center Zach Eddy 7-4 to advance and to join UMBC in the record books.
At the player level, Texas A&M had no answer for 3-point acumen Andrew Funk of Penn State, who made 8 out of 10 to help send Aggie home. Marquette’s Cam Jones scored a stunning goal in the second half to lead the Golden Eagles to victory in their first game.
GAMES TO WATCH
No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson (21-15) vs. No. 9 seed FAU (32-3), Sunday, 7:45 p.m. ET (truTV)
One of those unheralded teams is headed to the Sweet 16. The underdog Knights of FDU may be the smallest team in the tournament, but after knocking off 7-foot-4 center Zach Eddy and Purdue, they now to meet the ninth team. sown owls Florida Atlantic is breaking away exciting win over Memphis and coach Penny Hardaway.
No. 6 seed Kentucky (22-11) vs. No. 3 seed Kansas State (24-9), Sunday, 2:40 p.m. ET, (CBS)
There are many wild cats! Oscar Chibwe had 25 rebounds, second in the tournament since 1973, when Kentucky beat Providence. That’s just four less than Kansas State had in its 77-65 win over Montana State. K-State’s win was its first tournament win since 2018, when it beat … Kentucky.
No. 7 Michigan State (20-12) vs. No. 2 Marquette (29-6), Sunday, 5:15 p.m. (CBS)
Quickly name two coaches you think are awesome. Tom Izzo and Shaka Smart should be in your top 10, but only one will reach the Sweet 16 in this tournament. The Spartans ousted Southern Cal trailing Joey Hauser by 17 points, and will face Marquette 18 straight points from Cam Jones in the second half of a 78-61 win against Vermont.
GO DEEPER
Violence with weapons cost lives and disrupted college sports all season, touching on some of the top programs in college basketball, including Alabama. Coaches played uncertain and unwelcome roles in trying to make sense of the topic – and the implications The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
On a lighter note, if you feel like you know March Madness well, try this 25 question quiz collected AP.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
The NCAA tournament is filled with great players and AP All-American team this is a good place to get to know the names. It is also an event where guys you’ve never heard of — no offense, Drake — can take a star turn. Guard play will always be important (see: Baylor, 2021 title winner) and there is some NBA prospects in the mixture.
Bet on this, too: Some players—perhaps more than one—will have a chance to join moustached Doug Edert (remember Saint Peters’ inspirational run last year?) and find a way to capitalize on his celebrity.
HOW TO WATCH
Every game of the men’s tournament will be broadcast — here is the schedule — on CBS, TBS, TNT or TruTV and their digital platforms. cbs, which also has a handy schedule that includes team announcements, will be chasing the Final Four and the national title this year.
The NCAA broadcasts games through it March Madness live variant and CBS games are televised Paramount+. Fans of longtime announcer Jim Nantz should soak up every moment: It is his last NCAA tournament.