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College basketball analyst Andy Katz power ranks Texas, Sweet 16 teams

Joey Hickey
·6 min read
5

The Texas Longhorns remain one of the best teams left in the NCAA Tournament. College basketball analyst Andy Katz ranked the Longhorns No. 3 out of the remaining 16 teams.

Texas head coach Rodney Terry and company survived the dangerous Penn State shooting attack winning 71-66. They did so without much help from the three-point line. The Longhorns shot a putrid 1-for-13 from long range adding to the degree of difficulty to pull off a win. Perhaps they earned style points by winning with far below average three point shooting.

Two No. 1 and 2 seeds have been eliminated from the NCAA Tournament. No. 1 seed Purdue became just the second No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64-plus teams. No. 2 seed Arizona fell prey to Princeton, who advances to the Sweet 16. Kansas and Marquette fell out of contention in second round losses to Arkansas and Michigan State.

Here’s a look at how Andy Katz views the remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament.

Florida Atlantic

Katz isn’t too impressed by Florida Atlantic after narrow wins over Memphis and Fairleigh Dickinson. Even so, the team is 33-3 on the season and a dangerous foe for a banged up Tennessee team.

Princeton

The Princeton Tigers have made a strong tournament showing after defeating Arizona and Missouri to reach the round of 16. Can they join St. Peter’s as a No. 15 seed to reach the Elite 8?

San Diego State

The Aztecs haven’t had the toughest path getting past College of Charleston and Furman. Even so, credit them with solidly beating the teams in front of them.

Kansas State

The Wildcats are being undervalued here after an impressive win over Kentucky and its head coach John Calipari. I had Calipari’s team going to the Final Four. Jerome Tang and K-State shut that pick down.

Creighton

The Bluejays took care of the Baylor Bears fairly quickly. Now they’ll face the Princeton Tigers in what could be a three point shootout.

Tennessee

For all the criticism Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes receives, he put up one of the more surprising and impressive coaching performances of the Tournament. Without his point guard Zakai Zeigler, Barnes stifled the Duke Blue Devils to get back to the Sweet 16.

Miami

Look out for the Miami Hurricanes who rolled past the Indiana Hoosiers in the round of 32. Miami takes on a Houston team that struggled in its first two games. Can head coach Jim Laranaga recapture the magic that helped him guide George Mason to the Final Four?

Michigan State

Tom Izzo can flat out coach. This Michigan State team isn’t particularly impressive. Even so, Izzo’s coaching guided the Spartans past Shaka Smart and the Marquette Golden Eagles.

Xavier

The Xavier Musketeers are one of the more perplexing teams remaining in the Tournament. Midwest No. 3 seed Xavier had to come back from down 13 points with around 10 minutes left against No. 14 Kennesaw State in its first game. Texas gets a rematch against the team after falling to Xavier 79-71 in a 2004 Sweet 16 matchup.

Arkansas

After burying Illinois and upsetting the Kansas Jayhawks, it appears the Razorbacks have started to put it all together. Their reward for winning is a matchup with the surging UCONN Huskies.

UCONN

You could argue Connecticut head coach Danny Hurley is the best coach in college basketball. Hurley’s team is playing at a high level at the right time.

Gonzaga

Gonzaga head coach Mark Few and post presence Drew Timme guide the school to its eighth consecutive trip to the Sweet 16. The Bulldogs have a chance to once again make the Final Four.

UCLA

UCLA head coach Mick Cronin is emerging as another challenger to replace Coach K as the new coaching standard in college basketball. The Bruins face Gonzaga in a crucial matchup for the West Region.

Texas

The Longhorns are one of the more complete teams in the Tournament. They showed their versatility against Penn State by winning with only one made three point basket.

Houston

Houston has struggled early in this year’s Tournament. Despite a close first game against Northern Kentucky, the Cougars’ winning track record is reason for optimism for the team.

Alabama

Alabama hasn’t got much from its top scorer Brandon Miller this NCAA Tournament. Even so, the team is finding ways to dominate competition.

Story originally appeared on Longhorns Wire