March Madness action continues tonight and through the weekend, with the Sweet 16 followed by the Elite Eight.
By Monday morning, the 2025 Final Four will be set in stone. But before that, we have eight games scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
Let’s take a look at all of those matchups and identify some intriguing pieces of information about all of the teams that qualified for the Sweet 16.
📰 Table Of Contents
South Region
#1 Auburn vs. #5 Michigan
The last six times the Auburn Tigers have made it to the NCAA Tournament, they have won at least one game five times. This season marks the second time in the last seven years that the Tigers have advanced to the Sweet 16. The last time Auburn made it this far (2019), they eventually moved on to the Final Four.
Since the start of the Big Ten tournament, the Michigan Wolverines have allowed opponents to average 69 points over their last five games, 2.3 points less than their season average. In terms of national rankings, that’s the difference between having the 154th-ranked scoring defense and the 83rd-ranked scoring defense. It helps that they’re holding opponents to 35.2% from the field during that stretch, a 4.9% decrease from their regular season average.
#2 Michigan State vs. #6 Ole Miss
This is the 22nd time in program history that Michigan State has advanced to the Sweet 16. Head coach Tom Izzo has been responsible for leading the Spartans to 16 of those appearances, where he has a 0.667 win percentage in that round of the NCAA Tournament (10-5 all time).
Ole Miss has been dealing with an uncharacteristic turnover problem in its recent outings. After averaging only nine turnovers per game offensively (tied for third-fewest in the country), the Rebels have turned the ball over 32 times in their last three contests (10.7 turnovers per game).
In 2000, Tom Izzo coached future NBA star Jason Richardson to a national title at Michigan State.
25 years later, Izzo and Richardson’s son Jase are taking the Spartans to the Sweet Sixteen. pic.twitter.com/e2wJ6SPZkj
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 24, 2025
Midwest Region
#1 Houston vs. #4 Purdue
Even though Houston has faced stiffer competition in recent matchups, they’re still playing at an elite level. They have the number-one-ranked scoring defense in the country right now, which is only surrendering 58.4 points per game. However, if we remove their Round of 64 blowout from the equation, they’re allowing opponents to score 65.5 points per game in their last four contests.
Purdue junior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn has been one of the best players in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. He is averaging a double-double through the first two rounds of March Madness (21.5 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per game) while shooting 60.7% from the field. Over his last five games, Kaufman-Renn has averaged 25.2 points.
#2 Tennessee vs. #3 Kentucky
It may not sound like a lot, but this marks the third consecutive year that the Tennessee Volunteers have reached the Sweet 16. That is an incredibly impressive feat considering they only have 11 Sweet 16 appearances in the basketball program’s 116-year history. Head coach Rick Barnes, who has been with the program for ten years, is responsible for more than a third of the school’s Sweet 16 appearances (four out of 11).
The Kentucky Wildcats have won eight NCAA Tournament Championships all-time, the second-most in college basketball history. They already hold the record for the most NCAA Tournament appearances in college basketball history (62). On top of that, if they can pull off the win on Friday, the Wildcats will take sole possession of the record for most NCAA Tournament wins all-time (133).
West Region
#1 Florida vs. #4 Maryland
Florida’s offensive onslaught has been a huge reason why they have already made it this far in the NCAA Tournament. They are third in the nation in scoring and have put up at least 75 points in eight consecutive games. Over their last five outings, the Gators are averaging a whopping 91.4 points per game.
It’s easy to focus on star freshman Derik Queen, who hit that crazy buzzer-beater to defeat the Colorado State Rams in the Round of 32. However, Queen is just one piece of the puzzle. All five of the Terrapins’ starters average at least 12 points per game. In their last ten matchups, four different players have led the team in scoring at one point or another.
#3 Texas Tech vs. #10 Arkansas
The Texas Tech Red Raiders have been one of the highest-scoring teams in the country this season, averaging 80.8 points per game, which is good for 28th in the nation. Even against the Drake Bulldogs, the top-ranked defensive team coming into the tournament, Texas Tech scored 75 points. With that in mind, it’s worth noting that the Red Raiders are averaging just under 77 points per game over their last ten matchups.
Similarly to Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, Arkansas head coach John Calipari has made 16 Sweet 16 appearances in his coaching career. The difference is that Calipari has done it with four different programs (UMass, Memphis, Kentucky, and now Arkansas). If Coach Cal can pick up two more victories this week, he’ll move into a tie with former Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim for the fourth-most wins in NCAA Tournament history.
John Calipari and Arkansas take down legendary coaches BACK-TO-BACK in Cal’s first year with the Razorbacks 😮 pic.twitter.com/6yq5MVHUir
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 22, 2025
East Region
#1 Duke vs. #4 Arizona
A lot of attention is being given to Duke Blue Devils freshman guard Cooper Flagg, and rightfully so. But junior guard Tyrese Proctor has been an unsung hero for the team in recent weeks. Over his last three contests, Proctor is averaging 21 points per game while going 63.6% from the field. He’s also shooting 63.3% from beyond the arc during that stretch.
This will be the tenth time that Arizona fifth-year guard Caleb Love will be facing the Duke Blue Devils after he spent the first three years of his college career at UNC. In nine games against Duke, Love has averaged 15.9 points, 4.2 assists, and 3.3 rebounds.
#2 Alabama vs. #6 BYU
Alabama continues to play like the best offensive team in the country after putting up 80+ points in their last six games. The last time they were held below 80 points in a game was on the road against the second-seeded Tennessee Volunteers. In their last ten matchups, the Crimson Tide are averaging 91.9 points per game while shooting over 50% from the field.
BYU has been riding high recently with an 11-1 record over their last 12 games. Their only loss during that stretch came to the number-one-seeded Houston Cougars in the Big 12 Tournament Championship. Their offense has been a huge catalyst for this recent run, averaging 83.5 points per game during this period, 2.2 more points per game than their season average.
