March Madness 2019: Updated Bracket and Sweet 16 Picks

Will there be madness this March, or will the top teams continue to roll through the NCAA tournament?

By Sunday night, the Final Four will be set as the Sweet 16 round takes place on Thursday and Friday, followed by Elite Eight matchups on Saturday and Sunday. And if these rounds are anything like the opening two, then expect a lot of the top-ranked teams to keep moving on.

NCAA tournament play resumes on Thursday after a three-day break, with four Sweet 16 matchups taking place that night.

Bracket

Predictions

There haven't been many upsets so far during March Madness, and it wouldn't be surprising to see that stay the same later this week.

The competition will be tougher for the top-ranked teams in the tournament, but many of those schools are also more talented than its upcoming opponents. For example, the three ACC No. 1 seeds—Duke, Virginia and North Carolina—will have competitive matchups against No. 4 Virginia Tech, No. 12 Oregon and No. 5 Auburn, respectively.

However, all three of those teams should move on into the Elite Eight.

Duke is seeking revenge in its Sweet 16 matchup, as it lost its only meeting with Virginia Tech on Feb. 26, one of only five losses for the Blue Devils this season. However, they were without freshman star Zion Williamson for that game, and now he is back having huge performances.

That should make the difference as Duke avenges that earlier loss.

Virginia may be playing the lowest-seeded team remaining in the tournament in No. 12 Oregon, but the Cavaliers know not to underestimate opponents after losing to No. 16 seed UMBC in 2018 and playing a close first half against No. 16 seed Gardner-Webb in the first round this year.

The Cavs' defense should shut down Oregon's scoring attack and push them into the next round.

John Minchillo/Associated Press

North Carolina is playing Auburn, which has momentum after winning the SEC tournament championship and NCAA tournament games against No. 12 seed New Mexico State and No. 4 seed Kansas.

The Tar Heels had a bit of a slow start in their first-round game against No. 16 seed Iona, but they notched the win and then went on to beat No. 9 seed Washington in a contest in which they never trailed.

"I think, needless to say, anybody that advances past this point you feel good about a win in the second round," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said, according to 247sports.com. "Last year, we had a really, really nice year. In the second round we stumbled. We talked about it quite a bit this summer, and I think the kids were really good at times [Sunday]."

Although it's likely that many of the favorites will win in the Sweet 16 round, one upset to watch for comes in Thursday's first game between No. 1 seed Gonzaga and No. 4 seed Florida State.

The Bulldogs are the only team to beat Duke when the Blue Devils were at full strength this season. However, Gonzaga's West Coast Conference schedule was much lighter than Florida State's ACC slate.

The Seminoles beat the Bulldogs in this same round last year, and they've won 16 of their past 18 games this season. So, it's quite possible this year's Sweet 16 begins with the first loss for a No. 1 seed.

Picks to win: Florida State, Tennessee, Michigan and Virginia on Thursday; Michigan State, North Carolina, Duke and Kentucky on Friday.