Sweet 16 Bracket: Power Ranking Round's Best Matchups

With a crazy mix of top seeds and Cinderellas, the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament provides plenty of intriguing matchups. 

Obviously, as we can tell with the plethora of upsets that have already transpired, anything can happen. That said, these next three matchups shape up to be absolute barn burners. 

No. 3: Florida (3) vs. FGCU (15)

FGCU's magical ride has led them to the Sweet 16 against mighty Florida.

On the surface, Florida would seem to be overwhelming favorites. The Gators entered this tournament with legitimate title hopes, and they have done nothing but boost those hopes as this tournament has progressed.

With wins over Northwestern State and Minnesota, the Gators' combined margin of victory at this year's NCAA tournament is a whopping 44 points.

However, with that lack of stiff competition, it is going to be hard for them to come out and match FGCU's intensity, and the Eagles could make them pay for that in a hurry.

FGCU has a balanced attack, but this team is at its best in transition. They can rattle off points in a hurry.

I expect the Eagles to run out to an early lead. However, look for Florida to chase them down and wind up on top at the final buzzer. 

No. 2: Ohio State (2) vs. Arizona (6) 

As an indication of how wild this tournament has been, Ohio State and Arizona will battle as the highest seeds left in the West region, and it should be a great matchup. 

For starters, this game features two excellent coaches who happen to be close friends. Ohio State head coach Thad Matta and his Arizona counterpart Sean Miller once shared an office as assistants at Miami of Ohio, and Matta later hired Miller as an associate head coach while at Xavier. 

Besides these two friends battling wits, this game also features an excellent point-guard matchup. 

Aaron Craft, who hit the game winner in Buckeyes' Round of 32 triumph over Iowa State, is an excellent distributor and outstanding defensive player. 

Meanwhile, Arizona's Mark Lyons is a natural scorer who has scored 50 points in this tournament. 

While Ohio State's run of 10 consecutive wins and their talent makes them the logical pick here, don't forget this game will be played in Staples Center, which should give the Wildcats a home-like atmosphere.

No. 1: Duke (2) vs. Michigan State (3)

What a power matchup this is. Two of the game's great coaches, Tom Izzo and Mike Krzyzewski, will lead their teams for the right to advance to the Elite Eight. 

Both of these teams were not at their best in their tournament openers. Duke beat Albany, 73-61, while Michigan State took down Valparaiso, 65-54. 

Meanwhile, the Spartans were downright dominant in beating Memphis in the Round of 32, 70-48.

Duke finished off Creighton 66-50 with a strong second half, but still did not look to be at their best.

The key to this game is going to be the Spartans' ball handling. They can be prone to turnovers and the Blue Devils can certainly force them. And no matter what happens, it is safe to expect a great game.

Link to Printable PDF

Link to Live Bracket

Follow all the exciting NCAA tournament action with March Madness Live.