Jay Bilas: Ranking the Sweet 16 ... Take notes -- test this Thursday and Friday

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• Jay Bilas, College Basketball AnalystMar 27, 2024, 08:04 AM ET

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  • College basketball analyst for ESPN and ESPN Insider
  • Played and coached at Duke
  • Practicing attorney

If you were bright and savvy enough to use The Bilastrator's picks from the "More Than Five Minutes Bracket" piece on ESPN, a hearty congratulations on being at the top of your respective bracket pools. As we enter the Sweet 16, The Bilastrator gifted you 12 of the 16 teams that remain, with seven teams remaining projected to reach the Elite Eight and all four Final Four selections remaining. Kentucky, Auburn and Oregon were impediments to our perfection, and NC State is the lone slipper-wearer, overcoming mental and physical fatigue to do the unthinkable: win seven games in 11 days. Amazing.

The Sweet 16 is an interesting group. All four No. 1 seeds remain, all No. 2 seeds remain, two No. 3 seeds remain and two No. 4 seeds remain. The lowest single-digit seed remaining is No. 6 seed Clemson, and the sole double-digit seed remaining is NC State.

Of the remaining 16 teams, only two are mid-majors: Gonzaga and San Diego State. Those two programs are hardly Cinderellas; Gonzaga is participating in its ninth consecutive Sweet 16, and San Diego State was a Final Four team last year. Fourteen of the Sweet 16 teams are major conference teams.

Of the Sweet 16 teams, four are from the ACC; three are from the Big East; two each from the Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC; and one each from the Pac-12, Mountain West and West Coast Conference. Including the play-in games, the Big East is 6-0, the ACC 8-1, the Pac-12 6-3, the Big Ten 6-4, the Big 12 7-6, the SEC 5-6 and the Mountain West 4-5.

Based upon the KenPom.com efficiency ratings, the Sweet 16 includes 13 of the top 14 teams in the country and 15 of the top 23. The lowest-rated team remaining is NC State, rated 52nd by KenPom. In a season in which March chaos was expected, the bracket has been written in chalk.

Here are The Bilastrator's rankings of the remaining 16 teams still alive to compete for the national championship -- which is, in the end, what this tournament is really all about. As always, you're welcome.

No. 16 San Diego State Aztecs

NO. 5 SEED | EAST REGION

Round of 64: def. No. 12 Alabama-Birmingham 69-65

Round of 32: def. No. 13 Yale 85-56

Sweet 16 opponent: No. 1 UConn (Thursday, 7:30 p.m. ET)

The Aztec program has championship DNA, and the most improved player in the nation in Jaedon LeDee. An elite defensive team with a deliberate but solid offense, San Diego State shot the lights out against Yale, hitting 13 of 27 from deep. That marksmanship was from a team that shot only 32% from distance on the season -- ranking in the bottom third of Division I -- and the lowest among the remaining teams in the field. If San Diego State shoots the ball like it did against the Ivy champs, it can give UConn a go. Absent that, UConn is too strong, and the ride ends in the Sweet 16 for the Aztecs.

No. 15 NC State Wolfpack

NO. 11 SEED | SOUTH REGION

Round of 64: def. No. 6 Texas Tech 80-67

Round of 32: def. No. 14 Oakland 79-73 (OT)

Sweet 16 opponent: No. 2 Marquette (Friday, 7 p.m. ET)

Thanks to "Miracle Mike," the impossible ride of the Wolfpack continues. Michael O'Connell's banked 3-pointer to take the team to overtime against Virginia in the ACC tournament semifinal not only saved the season, it extended one of the great postseason runs in NCAA history. The headliner is DJ Burns Jr., the offensive lineman with Baryshnikov's feet. I have been asked several times how Burns was not this effective during the regular season. He was, but his teammates were not. Since the start of the ACC tournament, O'Connell has been a double-figure scorer and more aggressive option, Mohamed Diarra has been a rebounding and defensive machine, and Casey Morsell has been a stopper and a reliable scoring option. Burns is a tough decision on doubling. He catches it far off the lane and backs his defender down. It is a long distance to bring a double-team, and he is a terrific passer who is now passing to more capable and dangerous teammates. I keep waiting for mental and physical fatigue to show in NC State, but it hasn't shown yet. Marquette presents a challenge with its turnover-forcing pressure defense. But NC State can impact the glass, where Marquette can have issues.