NCAA Tournament: Sweet Sixteen Power Rankings

2 of 9

Mar 19, 2017; Greenville, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Sindarius Thornwell (0) celebrates after beating the Duke Blue Devils in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /

Teams 15 and 16

Sweet Sixteen Appearance: Fourth (First since 1973)

Head Coach: Frank Martin, 94-73 (Fifth Season)

Top Players: G Sindarius Thornwell: 21.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.2 spg (Coaches SEC Player of the Year); G PJ Dozier: 13.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.9 apg; F Chris Silva: 10 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.3 bpg.

How they got here: South Carolina opened the first round by beating 10-seed Marquette 93-73. They followed that up with a 88-81 victory over 2-seed Duke in the second round.

Best Case Scenario: South Carolina continues their magical run beating Baylor in the Sweet 16 and beating Florida for a second time this season in the Elite 8 to reach the Final Four for the first time in school history. There they lose in a blowout to Gonzaga in Phoenix.

Mar 18, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Xavier Musketeers guard Malcolm Bernard (11) reacts to defeating the Florida State Seminoles in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Sweet Sixteen Appearance: Eighth (First since 2015)

Head Coach: Chris Mack, 186-90 (Eighth Season)

Top Players: G Trevon Bluiett: 18.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.1 apg (First Team Big East); F RaShid Gaston: 7.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg; G JP Macura: 14.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.4 spg.

How they got here: Xavier opened the first round by beating 6-seed Maryland 76-65. They followed that up with a 91-66 victory over 3-seed Florida State in the second round.

Best Case Scenario: Xavier continues to blow people’s minds with a close win over Arizona and former coach Sean Miller in San Jose. However the Musketeers can’t get past the press of West Virginia in the Elite 8 and fall short of the Final Four.

Home/UNC Basketball