The first two rounds of the Big Dance are in the books. We saw upset city with the likes of Liberty and UC Irvine getting wins. We saw star power with Purdue's Carsen Edwards scoring 42 and hitting nine trifectas against Villanova.
We saw Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett advancing by a nose, getting past UCF. Johnny Dawkins' squad put up quite a battle, baby!
There were several blowouts on Saturday and Sunday. I don't think we will see that in the Sweet 16.
The top three seeds in each region advanced to the Sweet 16 for just the second time since 64-team seeding began in 1985. That means a lot of great matchups on Thursday and Friday.
As we head there, think about this: The ACC has five teams left, the SEC has its top four and the Big Ten has three. That adds up to 12 of the Sweet 16! Those three leagues should be proud so far.
Fourteen of the Sweet 16 teams were ranked in the AP preseason poll. Only Houston and Texas Tech were not ranked in the initial poll.
Think about the big-name coaches still dancing. Half of the Sweet 16 teams have coaches who have reached the Final Four before.
There will be several great games in the Sweet 16. Think about the rematch between Florida State and Gonzaga. Last year's Sweet 16 saw the Seminoles beat the Zags by 15 as Terrence Mann scored 18 points. Mark Few's team has Brandon Clarke now and he scored 36 points in a win over Baylor in the second round.
Michigan and Texas Tech will be an interesting battle. Chris Beard's team can defend, and this will be a challenge for Charles Matthews and the Wolverines.
John Calipari's Kentucky team survived a scare against Wofford. The Cougars of Houston had a record-setting win total this season, making their first Sweet 16 since 1984.
Matt Painter's Purdue team was 6-5 in mid-December. He has done a super job, and Edwards will have to have his "A" game against Tennessee's Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield.
Virginia Tech beat Duke during the regular season, but Zion Williamson was injured. The Blue Devils will be ready for their ACC rival.
Virginia and Oregon should be a low-scoring affair. The Cavaliers lead the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents below 55 points per game. The Ducks led the Pac-12 in scoring defense.
Michigan State and LSU will play electric basketball. There is star power with Cassius Winston and Nick Ward going up against Tremont Waters and Naz Reid.
Can North Carolina slow down the barrage of trifectas from Auburn? Kansas was the latest victim as Bruce Pearl's team rolled to a 51-25 halftime lead.
It will be excitement galore in the Sweet 16. Awesome, baby, with a capital A!