The Sweet 16

Dan · Mar 22, 2026

1 Duke vs 5 St. John's
2 UConn vs 3 Michigan State

4 Nebraska vs 9 Iowa
2 Houston vs 3 Illinois

1 Arizona vs 4 Arkansas
2 Purdue vs 11 Texas

1 Michigan vs 4 Alabama
2 Iowa State vs 6 Tennessee

Official Bracket (ncaa.com)

Piotyr · Mar 22, 2026

6 B1G
4 SEC
3 B12
2 BE
1 ACC

Illini2010-11 · Mar 22, 2026

Piotyr said:
6 B1G
4 SEC
3 B12
2 BE
1 ACC

And the B1G still has a chance to get all 4 spots in the Final 4.

lstewart53x3 · Mar 22, 2026

Dan said:
1 Duke vs 5 St. John's
2 UConn vs 3 Michigan State

4 Nebraska vs 9 Iowa
2 Houston vs 3 Illinois

1 Arizona vs 4 Arkansas
2 Purdue vs 11 Texas

1 Michigan vs 4 Alabama
2 Iowa State vs 6 Tennessee

Official Bracket (ncaa.com)

Ranking the remaining teams:

1. Arizona
2. Michigan
3. Houston
4. Duke
5. Illinois
6. Iowa State
7. Purdue
8. Michigan State
9. Alabama
10. Nebraska
11. Arkansas
12. St. John’s
13. Uconn
14. Tennessee
15. Iowa
16. Texas

Piotyr · Mar 22, 2026

And the B1G still has a chance to get all 4 spots in the Final 4.

It would be extremely hilarious for 4 B1G teams in the F4 in Indy, 4 weeks after the B1G tournament in Indy.

BatteredWifeSchwartz · Mar 22, 2026

6 great, interesting matchups
1 meh matchup
1 gross rematch no one wants to watch

Fly Illini Fly! · Mar 22, 2026

Dan said:
1 Duke vs 5 St. John's
2 UConn vs 3 Michigan State

4 Nebraska vs 9 Iowa
2 Houston vs 3 Illinois

1 Arizona vs 4 Arkansas
2 Purdue vs 11 Texas

1 Michigan vs 4 Alabama
2 Iowa State vs 6 Tennessee

Official Bracket (ncaa.com)

Just imagine if Texas Tech did come back lol.

PleaseMakeABowlGame · Mar 22, 2026

BatteredWifeSchwartz said:
6 great, interesting matchups
1 meh matchup
1 gross rematch no one wants to watch

May I ask which?

IlliniFaninHoosierLand · Mar 22, 2026

Fly Illini Fly! said:
Just imagine if Texas Tech did come back lol.

Dan being wrong about something? That hasn't happened in at least a week lol.

IlliniwekKDR · Mar 22, 2026

PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
May I ask which?

I would also like to know. I'm interested in all of them

hoang64 · Mar 22, 2026

All 3 big 10 teams in South region are still alive in sweet 16.

RabidDawgClassic · Mar 23, 2026

Illini2010-11 said:
And the B1G still has a chance to get all 4 spots in the Final 4.

I don’t know that my stomach could take THAT pressure.

fatboyslim · Mar 23, 2026

PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
May I ask which?

My guess would be for meh - 2 Iowa State vs 6 Tennessee

Gross rematch no one wants to watch - 4 Nebraska vs 9 Iowa

wc_illini · Mar 23, 2026

Here are the updated odds for the remaining rounds based on tonight's FanDuel moneylines and futures.

- Michigan took over the top odds across the board. I think their path was already viewed as somewhat easier than AZ (with Alabama definitely shorthanded and IAST potentially so), but they were also viewed as slightly inferior to AZ before the last round and now are seen as equal.
- Nebraska's and (to a lesser extent) Purdue's E8 odds increased with Florida's and Gonzaga's losses, but their odds for F4 and beyond didn't change nearly as much
- Our F4 odds (and somewhat beyond that) increased with Florida's loss. We're now T-5th with Purdue for odds to win it all at ~5%

Here is a stab at estimating relative strength of the remaining teams from the above odds. The values have something to do with calculating head-to-head odds between any two teams, but I would just pay attention to the general order/tiers.

BrownTown · Mar 23, 2026

Dan said:
1 Duke vs 5 St. John's
2 UConn vs 3 Michigan State

4 Nebraska vs 9 Iowa
2 Houston vs 3 Illinois

1 Arizona vs 4 Arkansas
2 Purdue vs 11 Texas

1 Michigan vs 4 Alabama
2 Iowa State vs 6 Tennessee

Official Bracket (ncaa.com)

How in the world did the South region become the Big Ten West Megabowl?!

Houston better stock up on Busch Lattes and get REAL used to being flooded with pale Midwestern dudes who can stand to lose a few pounds (I can say it, I am one).

Houston has NEVER seen so many dudes wearing seed corn hats their dealer gave them last fall. I can promise you that!!!

the juiceman cometh · Mar 23, 2026

https://twitter.com/x/status/2035920599449534799

NarrowJ · Mar 23, 2026

Torvik top 20 prior to tournament starting:

11 of the Torvik top 16 from pre-tournament are in the actual S16

Alabama & Nebraska just on the outside at #17 and #19, respectively, so 13 of the Torvik top 19 made the S16

The 3 teams in the S16 not in the top 20 are Arkansas (#21), Iowa (#23), Texas (#45)

So 15 of the 16 teams still alive were in Torvik top 23 teams

Seems like for all of the "metrics are dumb, the eye test blah blah blah" that Torvik was pretty accurate after all

Bigtex · Mar 23, 2026

Dan said:
1 Duke vs 5 St. John's
2 UConn vs 3 Michigan State

4 Nebraska vs 9 Iowa
2 Houston vs 3 Illinois

1 Arizona vs 4 Arkansas
2 Purdue vs 11 Texas

1 Michigan vs 4 Alabama
2 Iowa State vs 6 Tennessee

Official Bracket (ncaa.com)

LOVE the SOUND of Sweet 16 and Illinois still alive and opportunity for Elite 8 and Final 4

Good year to have a great MARCH

westcoastillini · Mar 23, 2026

Am I just a jerk when I saay I want all the big ten teams to lose except for the illlini? I hate it when other BIG teams go farther than us

Goillinikobd · Mar 23, 2026

And the other Illini Sweet 16 team plays Vandy tonight at 6 CT on ESPN2.
ILL

Vandy -12.5

lstewart53x3 · Mar 23, 2026

NarrowJ said:
Torvik top 20 prior to tournament starting:

View attachment 48599

11 of the Torvik top 16 from pre-tournament are in the actual S16

Alabama & Nebraska just on the outside at #17 and #19, respectively, so 13 of the Torvik top 19 made the S16

The 3 teams in the S16 not in the top 20 are Arkansas (#21), Iowa (#23), Texas (#45)

So 15 of the 16 teams still alive were in Torvik top 23 teams

Seems like for all of the "metrics are dumb, the eye test blah blah blah" that Torvik was pretty accurate after all

Tournament only Torvik top 25. Of course, Houston is #1. Duke is the only tournament team not pictured, coming in at #33

OrangeKrush1981 · Mar 23, 2026

NarrowJ said:
Torvik top 20 prior to tournament starting:

View attachment 48599

11 of the Torvik top 16 from pre-tournament are in the actual S16

Alabama & Nebraska just on the outside at #17 and #19, respectively, so 13 of the Torvik top 19 made the S16

The 3 teams in the S16 not in the top 20 are Arkansas (#21), Iowa (#23), Texas (#45)

So 15 of the 16 teams still alive were in Torvik top 23 teams

Seems like for all of the "metrics are dumb, the eye test blah blah blah" that Torvik was pretty accurate after all

Does anyone truly think that "metrics are dumb"? Does anyone disagree with the idea that Torvik is "pretty accurate"?

Grandpa · Mar 23, 2026

westcoastillini said:
Am I just a jerk when I saay I want all the big ten teams to lose except for the illlini? I hate it when other BIG teams go farther than us

Ideal would be beating a big 10 team in the elite 8, final 4, and championship game.

I want a B1G team to win if we don't, but I also agree with you. But not Michigan, or Mich State.
Or Iowa.

It needs to be us!!!!

Rap47 · Mar 23, 2026

lstewart53x3 said:
Ranking the remaining teams:

1. Arizona
2. Michigan
3. Houston
4. Duke
5. Illinois
6. Iowa State
7. Purdue
8. Michigan State
9. Alabama
10. Nebraska
11. Arkansas
12. St. John’s
13. Uconn
14. Tennessee
15. Iowa
16. Texas

Iowa State is not top 6 without Jefferson. They just got lucky to play Kentucky who were terrible,

QCUIGrad0512 · Mar 23, 2026

westcoastillini said:
Am I just a jerk when I saay I want all the big ten teams to lose except for the illlini? I hate it when other BIG teams go farther than us

No, but I think it's good to have the conference representation that we do...that said, F Iowa. I won't hear the end of it from Iowa fan friends and coworkers if they make it farther than us. Hell, even if we both lose, they will still say "we're just as good as Illinois".

The Sweet 16

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