March Madness 2024: Top Storylines and Expert Picks for Men's Sweet 16 Bracket

The first weekend of the 2024 men's NCAA tournament wasn't nearly as wild as some we've seen in recent seasons.

Maybe that means we're overdue for the full madness of March. One thing it definitely means, though, is that there are a bunch of tremendous teams still standing as tournament play shifts to the Sweet 16.

The four No. 1 seeds and the four No. 2 seeds remain in the championship chase. In fact, only two teams left in the field were seeded worse than fifth: sixth-seeded Clemson and 11th-seeded NC State.

In other words, this should be an epic weekend in the college basketball world, so let's dive into it with the upcoming schedule, the top storylines and expert predictions.

Thursday, March 28

West Region: No. 6 Clemson vs. No. 2 Arizona (7:09 p.m. ET, CBS)

East Region: No. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 1 UConn (7:39 p.m. ET, TBS/truTV)

West Region: No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 1 North Carolina (9:39 p.m. ET, CBS)

East Region: No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 2 Iowa State (10:09 p.m. ET, TBS/truTV)

Friday, March 29

South Region: No. 11 NC State vs. No. 2 Marquette (7:09 p.m. ET, CBS)

Midwest Region: No. 5 Gonzaga vs. No. 1 Purdue (7:39 p.m. ET, TBS/truTV)

South Region: No. 4 Duke vs. No. 1 Houston (9:39 p.m. ET, CBS)

Midwest Region: No. 3 Creighton vs. No. 2 Tennessee (10:09 p.m. ET, TBS/truTV)

With a tournament field this loaded, there are compelling storylines to find in every matchup. Still, there are a few that hold our attention more than others at the moment.

For starters, will we see any vulnerability from UConn, Purdue or North Carolina, who have all looked the part of top-seeded juggernauts so far? All three are about to face their toughest tournament tests so far, so will those scoring margins start to come down, or are these teams really as dominant as they've appeared?

And what should we make of Houston needing an overtime period to sweat out a victory over ninth-seeded Texas A&M? The Cougars have been awesome for much of this season, but they were torched by Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament final and saw a double-digit lead completely erased in the last two minutes of regulation against the Aggies. And now, Houston has its hands full with a Duke team that won its first two tournament outings by a combined 55 points.

Elsewhere, the tussle between Iowa State and Illinois looks like it could be the round's best. It's the proverbial bout between the unstoppable force and the immovable object. Illinois has the top-rated offense at KenPom, while Iowa State holds the top spot in defensive efficiency. This is high-level strength against high-level strength, and the team that dictates the terms of engagement likely comes out on top.

Finally, we'd be remiss not to mention the Cinderella watch with the Wolfpack. NC State largely played an up-and-down season, but coach Kevin Keatts' team is streaking at the right time, having won seven in a row. If the Wolfpack can exploit their size advantage over the Golden Eagles, their magical run could continue.

To get a taste of how experts think things will go, let's dive into the picks made by two trios of site experts: Jeff Borzello, John Gasaway and Myron Medcalf at ESPN, and B/R's own David Kenyon, Kerry Miller and Joel Reuter.

There are only two matchups in which all six experts agree on the outcome: UConn ousting San Diego State and Arizona dispatching Clemson. The ESPN crew included score predictions with their picks, and all three had the Huskies winning by nine-plus points and the Wildcats winning by at least seven.

Next, two teams had the support of five of the six experts: North Carolina and Marquette. Borzello was the only expert calling for an Alabama win, writing that "if Carolina lets the Tide run, it could be a breakout game." Miller was the lone Wildcat supporter, and B/R's guide to an NC State win included "exploiting the advantage inside" and DJ Horne "[making] things uncomfortable for Tyler Kolek on the defensive end."

Of the remaining four contests, they all elicited majority opinions with four experts siding with Iowa State, Purdue, Houston and Creighton. Reading between the lines, that means two experts had Gonzaga and Duke dispatching No. 1 seeds, while only two liked Tennessee's chances against Creighton.

"There were a lot of defensive issues in Creighton's win over Oregon, but that 15-0 run in the second overtime showcased its offensive capabilities," Medcalf wrote. "Saturday's win for Tennessee proved that the Vols can look like a different team if Dalton Knecht (1-for-8 from beyond the arc) ever struggles. But Creighton just has more options."