3 teams you need to have in your Sweet 16
Want to play a bracket contest with a chance to win big money? Try theScore $100K Team Tourney Challenge! Download theScore app on iOS or Android and play today!
So you're filling out a bracket and you can't figure out which teams are safe to pencil into the Sweet 16, huh?
Fear not! Here are three teams that won't let you down as you fill in the Sweet 16 of your ladder:
No. 3 UCLA (South Region)
Upsets tend to come from high-scoring teams, so it should relieve you to know that nobody scores more points per game than UCLA. The Bruins also rank first in assists per game, meaning they rely on high-percentage shots instead of isolation sets. Neither Kent State nor potential Round 2 foes Cincinnati, Wake Forest, and Kansas State have the talent to run up and down the floor with Lonzo Ball and company.
No. 5 Iowa State (Midwest Region)
Despite winning the Big 12 tournament, Iowa State continues to fly under the radar. No. 5 seeds have a history of flopping in the NCAA tournament, but you can trust Monte Morris and the Cyclones, who are as hot as anyone in the nation heading into the tournament. Nothing about Nevada scares Iowa State in Round 1, while the Cyclones' guard play compensates for the size disadvantage they'll have in a potential Round 2 meeting with Purdue.
No. 6 Maryland (West Region)
It takes guts to trust any Big Ten team this year, but Maryland is the one you can comfortably count on to win you a pair of games. The Terrapins begin the tournament against a Xavier team that has one win against a program not named DePaul (who's pretty darn awful) since Feb. 4, and could then face a Florida State squad that has struggled almost as much in the final third of the campaign.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)