March Madness rounds the corner to the Sweet 16

We know you’re upset. Underdogs have blown up every bracket inthe country.

An upside of the upsets: perhaps the maddest March ever.

Defending national champion Kansas and fellow No. 1 seed Purdueare gone — the Boilermakers with a slice of unwanted history. TheSweet 16 won’t have blue bloods Kentucky, Duke or North Carolinafor only the second time since 1979.

In are upstarts like Princeton, Florida Atlantic and a teampicked to finish last in the Big 12 Conference.

And, this being March, of course there’s Tom Izzo.

SOUTH REGION

Alabama has looked every bit the No. 1 overall seed, blowing outTexas A&M-Corpus Christi and Maryland despite turmoil swirlingaround the program.

Waiting for Alabama in Louisville, Kentucky, will be San DiegoState. The fifth-seeded Aztecs are old and love to knock aroundopponents — just ask College of Charleston and Furman.

The second game marks Princeton’s first Sweet 16 in 56 years.The No. 15 seed Tigers had the first major March upset by knockingoff No. 2 Arizona and proved it was no fluke by taking downMissouri.

They face Creighton, one of three Big East teams to get thisfar. Inconsistent early, the bombing Bluejays and big man RyanKalkbrenner are in the Sweet 16 for the second time in threeseasons after bouncing No. 3 seed Baylor.

EAST REGION

Florida Atlantic won the battle of bracket darlings by knockingoff Fairleigh Dickinson, the second No. 16 seed ever to beat a No.1, taking down Purdue.

The Owls better be ready for some bruises against Tennessee atMadison Square Garden in their first Sweet 16. The third-seededVols bullied their way through the first two rounds, pushing aroundDuke after grinding out a win over Louisiana.

Sharing the Garden marquee will be Michigan State and KansasState.

The Spartans are at their best in March under coach Izzo, whowon his record 16th NCAA Tournament game as a lower seed bybouncing No. 2 seed Marquette.

Jerome Tang is taking underdog Kansas State from one Manhattanto another in his first season in the Little Apple.

Picked last in the Big 12, the Wildcats and undersized butundeterred guard Markquis Nowell shoved aside Montana State andwore down Kentucky for their first Sweet 16 since 2018.

MIDWEST REGION

Tang said the Wildcats won because they’ve “got dudes.” Houstonhas a few of its own.

The Midwest’s No. 1 seed, the Cougars have played the lockdowndefense that made them a Final Four favorite at the start of theseason, holding Northern Kentucky to 52 points and Auburn to64.

The Cougars’ bid to play the Final Four at home now heads toKansas City, Missouri, where they will face Miami.

The speedy, fifth-seeded Hurricanes hit Indiana with a galeforce of offensive rebounds, scoring 29 second-chance points toreach the Sweet 16 for the second straight season under JimLarrañaga.

Another Texas team is still in the mix to reach the Final Fourin its home state — the one from Austin.

No. 2 seed Texas overcame the midseason firing of coach ChrisBeard to play some outstanding basketball under interim coachRodney Terry. The Longhorns shut down sweet-shooting Colgate in thefirst round and earned their first Sweet 16 appearance in 15 yearswith a 71-66 win over Penn State.

Up next is another coach making the most of an opportunity.

Fired by Arizona two years ago, Sean Miller landed back where hestarted at Xavier. The Musketeers earned their first Sweet 16appearance since 2017 with a 84-73 win over Pittsburgh.

WEST REGION

Losing guard Jaylen Clark has done little to slow down No. 2UCLA. Now the Bruins hope their lineup isn’t depleted further afterkey guard David Singleton injured his ankle late in a 69-63 victoryover Northwestern.

UCLA still has Jaime Jaquez and Tyger Campbell, which will givethem at least a shot at beating Gonzaga in Las Vegas.

There were midseason whispers the Zags were in a down year. Aneighth straight trip to the Sweet 16 under Mark Few put those torest.

Two coaches with familiar last names face off in the other SinCity game.

Eric Musselman, son of longtime NBA and college coach BillMusselman, has shown off his coaching chops by leading Arkansas tothe Sweet 16 for the third straight season. The Razorbacks gotthere with a takedown of top-seeded Kansas that had Musselmantaking off his shirt — again.

Danny Hurley’s father is a Hall of Fame high school coach, hisbrother the NCAA’s all-time assist leader. Bob’s son and Bobby’sbrother has revitalized UConn, taking the Huskies to the Sweet 16for the first time in nine years.