Sweet 16 Power Rankings (TLDR: Tech best non-#1 seed)

[SwampRayder]

From the athletic (sorry for the way it copy pasta)

After a somewhat tepid Round of 64, the 2025 men’s NCAA Tournament took a step up in quality in the second round. We finally got a few terrific games, with Maryland-Colorado State, Florida-UConn, BYU-Wisconsin and Houston-Gonzaga leading the way.

And speaking of that Maryland-Colorado State game, we finally got a buzzer beater, too. After the underdog Rams hit a massive go-ahead 3 with six seconds left, the Terrapins’ Derik Queen answered with a running bank shot as time expired, a reminder of the emotional swings that March provides.

Chalk still remains a theme throughout the bracket, though. As The Athletic’s Chris Vannini pointed out, this is the first NCAA Tournament since 2007 without a single team seeded No. 12 or worse in the Sweet 16. Only four conferences are represented: the ACC, the Big 12, the Big Ten and the SEC. Quite simply, this is not the year of the Cinderella squad. The silver lining: The second-weekend matchups are loaded.

All four No. 1 seeds made it through to the second weekend, meaning the top of our rankings of the most likely title winners remained unchanged, but there was plenty of movement beyond that grouping.

1

Duke Blue Devils​

1
Last Rank


ACC
EAST


2

Florida Gators​

2
Last Rank



SEC
WEST


3

Houston Cougars​

3
Last Rank

BIG 12
MIDWEST


4

Auburn Tigers​

4
Last Rank

SEC
SOUTH


5

Texas Tech Red Raiders​

7
Last Rank

BIG 12
WEST


6

Alabama Crimson Tide​

6
Last Rank


SEC
EAST


7

Tennessee Volunteers​

8
Last Rank


SEC
MIDWEST


8

Michigan State Spartans​

9
Last Rank


BIG TEN
SOUTH


9

Maryland Terrapins​

13
Last Rank


BIG TEN
WEST


10

Kentucky Wildcats​

12
Last Rank


SEC
MIDWEST


11

Michigan Wolverines​

NR
Last Rank


BIG TEN
SOUTH


12

Arizona Wildcats​

14
Last Rank


BIG 12
EAST


13

Purdue Boilermakers​

16
Last Rank


BIG TEN
MIDWEST


14

BYU Cougars​

NR
Last Rank


BIG 12
EAST


15

Ole Miss Rebels​

NR
Last Rank


SEC
SOUTH


16

Arkansas Razorbacks​

NR
Last Rank


SEC
WEST

 

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