Power Ranking the Sweet 16 Teams in the Men's 2026 NCAA Tournament
Though it feels like the 2026 men's NCAA tournament has only just begun, more than three quarters of the original field has already been eliminated, leaving us just 15 games away from crowning a national champion.
And though we would love to have gotten at least one legitimate Cinderella candidate into the mix here, the list of remaining teams is outrageously stacked.
Of the 16 teams still standing, 14 ranked in the top 19 of our original 68-team power rankings, with Florida the only pre-tournament top 10 squad that has bitten the dust.
However, as was the case for our 32-team power rankings after the first round, we aren't simply squeezing together the remaining teams in the same order as before. How each team looked through its first two (or three, in Texas' case) wins is a key piece of the puzzle here.
For the most part, though, these rankings are a product of what these teams were over the course of their first 30-plus games as opposed to the most recent victories, so we're not completely re-shuffling the deck or anything.
Of note, remaining path means nothing here. We'll also have a title odds piece Wednesday for that part to be taken into consideration, but this is a straight-up ranking of the 16 remaining teams from worst to best.
16. Iowa Hawkeyes
1 of 16
Previous Rankings: No. 28 before tournament; No. 28 after first round
How They've Looked: Upsetting. We mean that in the "prone to pulling off upsets" way, not in the disappointing or troubling sort of way. And in the second-round upset of Florida, Iowa did the unthinkable in breaking even on the glass with the mighty Gators. The Hawkeyes completely neutralized Rueben Chinyelu, who ended up with no points, one rebound and four fouls in 18 minutes played. Ben McCollum might be some kind of a warlock for that one.
Bread and Butter: Slow and steady. There is no speeding up Iowa, which seems to always get up a good shot, even if it comes as the shot clock is expiring. Though, in a pinch, they do possess the ability to score in a hurry, as evidenced by that game winner from Alvaro Folgueiras against Florida, who almost seemed taken aback by Iowa's sudden burst of speed.
Achilles' Heel: Defense. Iowa generates a good number of turnovers and has allowed 66 points per game over the course of the season, but that latter number is much more so a product of pace than of prowess. In fact, in the seven losses the Hawkeyes suffered in their final 10 games before the dance, they allowed 1.22 points per possession, unable to even stifle Maryland or Penn State.
MVP: Bennett Stirtz. Iowa has played 685 minutes over the course of its last 17 games. Stirtz was on the bench for seven of those minutes. Not seven per game. Seven total. He never comes out, he always scores in double figures and he usually does it efficiently. He is that proverbial arm on the court, the extension of this coaching staff who keeps everything running according to design.
15. Texas Longhorns
2 of 16
Previous Rankings: No. 43 before tournament; No. 25 after first round
How They've Looked: Unflappable. Sloppy opener against NC State? No problem. Flying to Portland that night/morning at 3 a.m. to then run into 35 points from BYU's AJ Dybantsa? No problem. Trailing Gonzaga by eight late in the first half in a game that played more to the Zags' style than the Longhorns'? You guessed it. No problem. All three games were tight late, but these cats have at least nine lives.
Bread and Butter: Bully ball. Texas' comfort zone is a game with around 40 combined fouls and 50 free-throw attempts, as well as a considerable advantage on the glass. In fact, on the latter front, they have won 14 consecutive games when grabbing at least 36 rebounds, including both the game against NC State and BYU.
Achilles' Heel: Half-court defense. In what has been quite the deviation from the norm, Texas' first three tournament opponents combined for 205 points on 199 possessions. That's an impressive 68.3 points per game and 1.03 points per possession. But was it fools' gold? Because the Longhorns' previous six opponents went for 514 points on 422 possessions, or 85.7 PPG and 1.22 PPP.
MVP: Matas Vokietaitis. Dailyn Swain is the team leader in total points, rebounds, assists and steals. However, on a per 40 minutes basis, Vokietaitis leads the way in points, rebounds and blocks among the main seven Longhorns. He also draws fouls at one of the highest rates in the entire country, towering at the forefront of their bully ball approach. He's up to 55 points and 33 rebounds through three games.
14. Arkansas Razorbacks
3 of 16
Previous Rankings: No. 13 before tournament; No. 15 after first round
How They've Looked: Insatiable. Arkansas didn't prevent much against Hawaii or High Point, but the Razorbacks went for 97 points in the former and 94 in the latter. This despite essentially playing with just six players with both Karter Knox and Nick Pringle sidelined. Darius Acuff Jr. got most of the spotlight, but Meleek Thomas has scored 40 points while Malique Ewin racked up 30 points, 24 rebounds, nine assists and five blocks.
Bread and Butter: Up-tempo offense. Arkansas has now scored more than 90 points in 17 of its 36 games this season, including seven of the past 10. The Hogs don't shoot a ton of three-pointers, but Acuff and Meleek Thomas both shoot better than 42 percent from deep while rarely committing turnovers. In fact, Arkansas has the lowest turnover rate in the country, and always seems to get up high-percentage shots.
Achilles' Heel: Defensive stops. Arkansas arguably has the worst defense of teams left in the field. Texas' overall defensive efficiency is a bit worse than what Arkansas brings to the table, but at least the Longhorns play with physicality and grab defensive rebounds at a high rate. The Razorbacks, on the other hand, often go through stretches in which they seem to treat defense as an opportunity to conserve energy for offense.
MVP: Darius Acuff Jr. A unanimous first-team All-American, Acuff averages 23.3 points and 6.5 assists for the year; 30.2 points and 7.2 assists since postseason play began. For all the Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson talk this season, this freshman is maybe the player most likely to single-handedly carry his team to the Final Four.
13. Nebraska Cornhuskers
4 of 16
Previous Rankings: No. 18 before tournament; No. 17 after first round
How They've Looked: Rejuvenated. Toward the end of the regular season, Nebraska looked nothing like the team that started out 20-0 behind the strength of unstoppable offense. Led by Pryce Sandfort, though, they drained 14 three-pointers in the opening rout of Troy before also shooting the lights out in a sensational second-round showdown with Vanderbilt.
Bread and Butter: Perimeter offense. More than half of Nebraska's field-goal attempts come from beyond the three-point arc, but the Cornhuskers also share the sugar about as well as any team in the country, averaging 18.0 assists on 27.4 made buckets. Free-flowing, NBA-like games always have been Fred Hoiberg's preferred style as a coach, but this is by far the best version of it that he has had at Nebraska.
Achilles' Heel: Manufacturing points. In Nebraska's six losses, it averaged 5.5 offensive rebounds and 7.3 made free throws. Meanwhile, its opponents in those games averaged 11.7 and 14.3, respectively. This team shoots well and doesn't commit many turnovers, but not doing much of anything in the second chance and charity stripe departments is how the 'Huskers were held below 60 three times over the final month of the season.
MVP: Pryce Sandfort. The Iowa transfer—what a fascinating Sweet 16 matchup looming there—shoots 41 percent from three-point range and has made more than 33 percent of Nebraska's triples on the season.
12. Tennessee Volunteers
5 of 16
Previous Rankings: No. 17 before tournament; No. 13 after first round
How They've Looked: Towering. Poor Miami (OH) never stood much of a chance against this Tennessee frontcourt. And even against a Virginia team that won 30 games on the strength of its big men, the Volunteers won both the rebounding battle and the block contest by a slim margin. Freshman big man Nate Ament clearly isn't playing at 100 percent, but he's still giving it everything he's got.
Bread and Butter: Offensive rebounding. Both Jaylen Carey and JP Estrella rank among the best offensive rebounders in the entire country, anchoring an offense that averages just a shade under 16 per game. Rick Barnes' best teams over the years typically have been strong in this department, but never to this degree of grabbing almost 45 percent of possible offensive rebounds.
Achilles' Heel: Scoring. Whether the Volunteers will actually turn a good chunk of those second chances into points is the eternal unknown, as they have mediocre shooting percentages and a propensity to turn the ball over. There have been three losses this season—two of them in the past month—in which Tennessee grabbed at least 23 offensive rebounds and still failed to score 70 points.
MVP: Ja'Kobi Gillespie. One year after playing phenomenally in the shadow of a lottery pick freshman (Derik Queen at Maryland), Gillespie has once again been sensational even as everyone is tuning in to watch the freshman phenom (Ament, in this case). Gillespie is Tennessee's leader in points, assists and steals, racking up a combined total of 50, 15 and four, respectively, in those first two wins. If he continues to convert his shots at a high clip, the Volunteers might finally reach that elusive Final Four.
11. Alabama Crimson Tide
6 of 16
Previous Rankings: No. 19 before tournament; No. 19 after first round
How They've Looked: Undeterred. There were some concerns that Aden Holloway's sudden removal from the equation would pose problems for this offense. But if Alabama is missing its second leading scorer, it hasn't shown. The Crimson Tide went for 90 against each of Hofstra and Texas Tech in a pair of blowout victories. Between the two games, they shot 31-for-78 from three-point range, letting it fly even more than usual.
Bread and Butter: Scoring at will. Alabama ranks fourth in adjusted tempo and third in adjusted offensive efficiency, which is a lethal combination on par with the 2005 and 2009 North Carolina teams that won it all, and the 2021 Gonzaga team that almost went undefeated. Alabama averages 91.7 points per game, doing about 42 percent of its damage from beyond the arc. They've made 436 three-pointers this season, and the Tide would surely demolish the NCAA record (464 by Villanova in 2017-18) if they go all the way.
Achilles' Heel: Preventing points. In its nine losses, Alabama averaged a respectable 81.7 points. The problem is it allowed 91.4 points in those games. The Crimson Tide do have four wins while allowing more than 90 points, though, so we know they can prevail even on the nights that they abstain from defending. But as was the case in the Final Four two years ago—as well as two months ago at Florida—lack of defense could get them run out of the gym by a quality foe.
MVP: Labaron Philon Jr. The sophomore leader couldn't find his shot Saturday night against Texas Tech, so he went out and racked up a career-high 12 assists instead. He's now averaging 19 points, 9.5 assists and 7.0 rebounds through two tournament games, and Alabama is going to have a good shot at knocking off Michigan if that continues.
10. Iowa State Cyclones
7 of 16
Previous Rankings: No. 7 before tournament; No. 11 after first round
How They've Looked: Resilient. After losing Joshua Jefferson to an ankle injury three minutes into the opener against Tennessee State, Iowa State could have just about folded up shop. After all, as far as KenPom is concerned, only Cameron Boozer was more valuable this season. Instead, they steamrolled through those first two games, rallying from an early 12-point deficit against Kentucky to win that one by 19.
Bread and Butter: The margins. As in turnover margin and rebounding margin, where the Cyclones have year-to-date edges of +5.2 and +4.8 per game, respectively. They out-rebounded Tennessee State by 14 and ended up +13 in turnovers in that statement win over Kentucky. Combine those advantages with Milan Momcilovic being one of the best three-point shooters on the planet and there are nights where Iowa State looks like the favorite to win it all.
Achilles' Heel: Free-throw shooting. It hasn't come into play yet in the tournament, but struggling to get to and convert from the charity stripe is a looming disaster in a close game. In its two closest losses of the season, Iowa State went a combined 6-for-16 on free-throw attempts.
MVP: Joshua Jefferson. Fans in Ames have all of their fingers crossed that Jefferson will be able to return for the Sweet 16 game against Tennessee, as he entered the tournament averaging 16.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He is the Cyclones' Swiss Army knife, and without him, it's hard to imagine they survive the sheer size of Tennessee and (if it knocks out Alabama) Michigan this weekend.
9. Connecticut Huskies
8 of 16
Previous Rankings: No. 9 before tournament; No. 10 after first round
How They've Looked: Overwhelming. Well, overwhelming in the frontcourt, at any rate. UConn didn't get much from its primary ball-handlers in those first two wins, but Tarris Reed Jr. played like a Monstar with 41 points and 40 rebounds while Alex Karaban went for 22 against Furman and a career-high 27 against UCLA. They'll need more out of the likes of Solo Ball to really threaten to make it three titles in four years, but that dynamic duo took over in Philadelphia.
Bread and Butter: Stingy defense. This is the part that was baffling about UConn's struggles in Big East play, occasionally unable to stop anything. However, the Huskies allowed 61.2 points through their first 15 games of the season, and they're now sitting at 61.9 points over their last nine contests. And with all five of their starters averaging better than 10 points per game, best of luck trying to beat them when that defense shows up.
Achilles' Heel: Turnovers. Connecticut had 16 giveaways in that stupefying loss to Marquette to end the regular season, 17 in that blowout loss to St. John's in the Big East championship and 16 more in Sunday's second-round game against UCLA. Granted, similar carelessness with the ball didn't stop them from steamrolling through the 2023 NCAA tournament. However, this team simply is not as overpowering as that one was, and there's little to no chance the Huskies will survive this loaded East Regional with that many self-inflicted wounds.
MVP: Tarris Reed Jr. The big man recorded his 11th and 12th double-doubles of the season in UConn's first two tournament games, but he doesn't need to score to make an impact. Reed is relentless on the glass and a great shot-blocker, both literally and figuratively the biggest reason this defense is so good.
8. Michigan State Spartans
9 of 16
Previous Rankings: No. 10 before tournament; No. 8 after first round
How They've Looked: Generous. Between the wins over North Dakota State and Louisville, Michigan State has 59 made field goals, tallying assists on 48 of them. They typically do have one of the highest assist rates in the nation. Even by their standards, though, greater than 81 percent is a bit ridiculous. Jeremy Fears Jr. was already leading the nation in assists, and he was responsible for 27 of those dimes.
Bread and Butter: Rebound margin. The assist rate is fun, but this is where Michigan State generally keeps the opposition at bay, ranking 10th in offensive rebound percentage and No. 1 on the defensive glass. Every once in a blue moon, an opponent will out-rebound Sparty by one or two. But they usually bounce back with around a +15 in the subsequent game.
Achilles' Heel: Turnovers. This seems to be a problem every single year for Michigan State, and it was almost fatal in the second round against Louisville. The Cardinals outscored the Spartans 20-7 in points off turnovers, but MSU kept those giveaways under control for most of the second half.
MVP: Jeremy Fears Jr. Through six games thus far in March, Michigan State's veteran point guard is averaging 17.3 points and 11.0 assists. He does also have at least three turnovers in each of those games, so there's a bit of give and take here. Usually, though, there's far more plus than minus, and the Spartans can beat any team in the country when he's cooking.
7. St. John's Red Storm
10 of 16
Previous Rankings: No. 12 before tournament; No. 9 after first round
How They've Looked: Poised. Cutting down on turnovers was a massive part of what turned this season around for St. John's. After averaging 12.3 giveaways during a 9-5 start, the Johnnies are sitting at 8.4 in that department in winning 21 of the last 22 games. And eight giveaways in each of the first two tournament games—not to mention the poise to get that game-winning buzzer beater against Kansas—was huge.
Bread and Butter: Impenetrable defense. Per Torvik, St. John's has had the stingiest defense in the country dating back to mid-February, and it's not even close. The Red Storm has held 12 consecutive opponents to 72 points or fewer, allowing 764 total points in 820 possessions. Northern Iowa never stood a chance, and with nine minutes remaining on Sunday, Kansas was on pace for about 51 points before finally getting into somewhat of a groove.
Achilles' Heel: Making baskets. Things aren't as dire in this department as they were last year, but St. John's is so good at so many elements of the game...except for the art of putting points on the board. While 10 of the 16 remaining teams rank top 35 in effective field-goal percentage, the Johnnies narrowly rank in the top 200. And it's a good thing Bryce Hopkins was draining threes against Kansas, because the rest of the team was laying bricks left and right.
MVP: Zuby Ejiofor. Few players stuff the stat sheet quite like Ejiofor, who is averaging 18.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.1 blocks and 1.3 steals during the Johnnies' eight-game winning streak. He also had a 33-point, 15-rebound extravaganza back in early January and could keep pace with Cameron Boozer just like JT Toppin and Caleb Wilson did in handing Duke its only two losses of the season.
6. Purdue Boilermakers
11 of 16
Previous Rankings: No. 8 before tournament; No. 7 after first round
How They've Looked: Improved. After starting out 17-1, Purdue lost seven of its final 13 regular season games. Maybe Braden Smith's pursuit of the career assists record became a distraction, but mostly the defense just had some horrific performances, punctuated by a 97-93 home loss to Wisconsin to end the season. But between winning the Big Ten tournament and their first two games of the dance, the Boilermakers have held six straight foes to 72 or fewer.
Bread and Butter: Historically efficient offense. Purdue plays slow on both ends of the floor, so it doesn't often reach the century mark. But pick a category other than free-throw rate and there's a good chance this offense ranks top 20 in the nation in it. Smith is the primary architect, but team-wide ball movement and shooting percentages are great, they don't commit many turnovers and the three-headed force of Oscar Cluff, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Daniel Jacobsen spearheads an excellent offensive rebounding unit.
Achilles' Heel: Contesting shots. Purdue does a fine job of limiting second-chance opportunities and not committing fouls. However, opponents have a 52.1 effective field-goal percentage against the Boilermakers, which is their worst mark in more than two decades. And in their eight losses, they've allowed 44.9 percent shooting on threes and 59.5 percent shooting inside the arc. Can they prevent/survive a game played in the 80s?
MVP: Braden Smith. He's no longer hunting assists, but he still gets them practically in his sleep. Smith has 38 points and 16 assists through Purdue's first two tournament games, although he did get uncharacteristically sloppy against Miami with eight turnovers. His racking up 11 dimes without even one giveaway in the Big Ten championship against Michigan was maybe the biggest reason Purdue won that game.
5. Illinois Fighting Illini
12 of 16
Previous Rankings: No. 6 before tournament; No. 6 after first round
How They've Looked: Unchallenged. Penn was without its leading scorer, Ethan Roberts, due to post-concussion symptoms. Penn's second-leading scorer, TJ Power, was also not himself due to an illness. In Illinois' second round game against VCU, the Rams immediately lost starting point guard Nyk Lewis to an ankle injury. And those short-handed underdogs never had much of a prayer of hanging with the Illini.
Bread and Butter: Relentless offense. Illinois' offense ranks top 20 in the nation in each of two-point percentage, free-throw percentage, rebounding, turnover rate and three-point rate. As a result, the Illini have averaged at least 1.13 points per possession in 19 of their last 20 games, including a preposterous 1.54 mark in the tournament opener against the Quakers.
Achilles' Heel: Defense. While Illinois doesn't have one of those "top five offense, outside top 100 defense" conundrums that should never be trusted, this team definitely isn't as proficient on that other end of the floor. The Illini force turnovers at the lowest rate in the country, and they have gone winless in seven games when allowing at least 83 points. As great as the offense is, they do need to generate stops occasionally.
MVP: Keaton Wagler. The freshman guard hasn't been doing as much heavy lifting as he did for those few weeks that Kylan Boswell was out with a fractured hand, but Wagler has still scored in double figures in 26 consecutive games, averaging better than five assists per game along the way.
4. Houston Cougars
13 of 16
Previous Rankings: No. 5 before tournament; No. 5 after first round
How They've Looked: Oppressive. We rather expected Houston to beat Idaho by 31 points. That's just what the Cougars have done against first-round opponents in recent years. But also beating Texas A&M by 31 points—while getting just nine points out of Kingston Flemings, no less—was an eye-opening statement.
Bread and Butter: Physicality. Houston is relentless on the offensive glass, as Texas A&M found out the hard way. The Cougars also boast one of the best turnover margins in the nation, tough with the ball on offense while also proficient at forcing turnovers, but what else is new? The players change, but that's been Kelvin Sampson basketball for six years running.
Achilles' Heel: Shooting. Another "what else is new?" point here, Houston ranks outside the top 120 in effective field-goal percentage for a third consecutive season, settling for long two-point attempts more often than it should. Flemings can make those mid-range jumpers better than most, but it's still a low percentage shot.
MVP: Kingston Flemings. Houston's freshman leader didn't exactly make a Darius Acuff Jr. or Cameron Boozer type of impact in the opening weekend, but he also didn't need to as the Cougars cruised to a pair of uneventful wins. But when he goes for at least 10 points and five assists, Houston has been virtually unbeatable this season. They go as he goes.
3. Duke Blue Devils
14 of 16
Previous Rankings: No. 1 before tournament; No. 4 after first round
How They've Looked: Lethargic. Not having Patrick Ngongba in the first game and not having Caleb Foster for either game was a noteworthy factor. But Duke trailed Siena by 13 early in the second half and was down by two at roughly the same juncture against TCU in the second round. They did eventually finish strong in both games, but that didn't much look like the Duke team we had watched over the previous four months.
Bread and Butter: Defense. Siena scoring 43 points in the first half was flabbergasting. But Siena and TCU combining to score 46 second-half points against the Blue Devils felt about right. They lead the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom, particularly thriving in the paint. They don't block many shots, but they contest everything without fouling and own the glass.
Achilles' Heel: Health? Before losing Foster and Ngongba—the latter played 13 minutes off the bench against TCU, but made minimal impact—we would've said Duke's biggest weakness was the simple fact that it is too comfortable playing in low-scoring affairs, where one opposing player getting hot from distance can carry so much more weight. But the bigger concern now is definitely Foster's status for the latter stages of the dance. Because though Cayden Boozer has played admirably, the Blue Devils definitely have not been the same without their veteran leader.
MVP: Cameron Boozer. He had some slow starts this week, managing just two points in the first half against TCU. But then you look up at the end of the games and it appears to have been business as usual, averaging 20.5 points, 12.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in his first two tournament games.
2. Michigan Wolverines
15 of 16
Previous Rankings: No. 3 before tournament; No. 3 after first round
How They've Looked: Inevitable. Both Howard and Saint Louis scored enough against Michigan's defense to keep things interesting until a few minutes into the second half. Against each opponent, though, there came a point where the Wolverines kicked it into overdrive and turned the game into a laugher, reminiscent of those blowouts that were commonplace early in the year.
Bread and Butter: Big speed. The vast majority of teams have to choose whether to be big or whether to be fast. Michigan does both at an elite level, punctuated by that ridiculous play on Saturday where 6'9" Yaxel Lendeborg threw the ball some 70 feet to 7'3" Aday Mara for a reverse alley-oop layup. Later on, there was that fast break where Lendeborg Eurostepped his way to a dunk, which jump-started a 25-7 run.
Achilles' Heel: Turnovers. For the year, Michigan has committed 33 more turnovers than it has forced. It's been a negative turnover margin in six of the last seven games, including that disastrous minus-13 performance in the near-loss to Iowa. And though the Wolverines are 4-0 when committing at least 15 turnovers, all four were low-scoring affairs that came right down to the wire.
MVP: Yaxel Lendeborg. A unanimous first-team All-American, Lendeborg is the do-it-all star who tends to take over games when Michigan needs that jolt. He only scored nine in the opener, but he went for 25 on 13 shots against Saint Louis. He's also an 83 percent free-throw shooter, which will come in handy if the Wolverines ever play in a close one.
1. Arizona Wildcats
16 of 16
Previous Rankings: No. 2 before tournament; No. 1 after first round
How They've Looked: Glassy. Building upon what has been a major strength all season long, Arizona was +21 in rebound margin against Long Island and +28 in that department against Utah State. The Wildcats had a rare poor shooting performance against the Aggies and also got sloppy with the ball in the second half, but they had such a commanding edge on the glass that it just didn't matter.
Bread and Butter: Being big. In addition to cleaning up on the glass, Arizona dominates the two-point battle. Opponents shoot 43.7 percent inside the arc, which is the second-lowest rate in the nation. Meanwhile, Arizona has made 880 two-point buckets, good for second-most in the country. (No. 1 is Gonzaga, 12 ahead of Arizona, but already eliminated from the dance.)
Achilles' Heel: Turnover margin. This wasn't a problem for most of the season, but Arizona is minus-10 in the turnovers department over its last nine games. That's mostly because the Wildcats don't particularly hunt steals on defense, but that has played into Colorado scoring 79 and both Baylor and Iowa State scoring 80. And with how minimally this team relies upon threes, giving up 80 could be fatal.
MVP: Jaden Bradley. Cases could be made for quite a few other Wildcats here, but the way Bradley put the team on his back midway through the second half against Utah State was a vivid example of why he was named Big 12 Player of the Year. He also drained that buzzer-beater against Iowa State in the semifinals of the conference tournament, repeatedly coming through in the clutch for this team dating all the way back to the season opening win over Florida.
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