The NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 is hereupon us, and March Madness has certainly lived up to its nickname. Nobody said winning USA TODAY’s NCAA Men’s Tournament Survivor Pool contest would be easy. In fact, out of 8,109 entries, only 309 remain alive heading into the 3rd round.
There are 16 teams remaining, and blue bloods Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina are nowhere to be found in the Sweet 16 for the 2nd time in 3 years. In fact, you have to go back to 2014 to find a recent national champion still remaining — the UConn Huskies.
As an employee, I’m not eligible to win this NCAA Tournament Survivor Pool contest. I’ve been in the “Loser’s Lounge” for a while now, but for those of you who have a shot at the $5K first prize — I hope I can help. But I get it if you want to go it alone as I was bumped on the first day thanks to 15-seed Princeton’s upset of Arizona. Plus, I had 2 losing picks in the 2nd round with Furman (vs. San Diego State) and Auburn (vs. Houston).
Here’s my strategy of how to advance out the Sweet 16, and eventually win the Men’s Basketball Tournament Survivor Pool.
A rules reminder: Remaining entries are required to pick just 1 team to win for the remaining rounds — no spread involved. Once you pick a team, it can’t be used again, similar to an NFL survivor pool.
You’ll pick 1 team in the Sweet 16, 1 in the Elite 8, 1 in the Final Four and then the National Championship Game winner — if you still have eligible teams to choose from.
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Along with not being able to pick the same team twice, the other tricky rule is that points are earned equal to your winning teams’ seeds.
There are still a lot of points available in the Sweet 16 and beyond, including the following:
- 15 – Princeton Tigers
- 9 – FAU Owls
- 8 – Arkansas Razorbacks
- 7 – Michigan State Spartans
- 6 – Creighton Bluejays
- 5 – Miami Hurricanes, San Diego State Aztecs
- 4 – Tennessee Volunteers, UConn Huskies
- 3 – Gonzaga Bulldogs, Kansas State Wildcats, Xavier Musketeers
- 2 – Texas Longhorns, UCLA Bruins
- 1 – Alabama Crimson Tide, Houston Cougars
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Sweet 16 pick
CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS (23-12)
Who they play: Princeton Tigers (23-8)
When: Friday, 9 p.m. ET (TBS)
Where: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville
I love Creighton in this game. Princeton is the lowest seed remaining, and it’s the first time the Tigers have made the Sweet 16 since 1967. It’s been a fun run for Princeton, a school with a rich basketball history.
If you’re old like me, you’ll remember head coach Pete Carril, and you can still see all the backdoor cuts in 1989 on St. Patrick’s Day in 16th-seeded Princeton’s near-miss against mighty No. 1 Georgetown in Providence, R.I. The Tigers led 29-21 at halftime, but the Hoyas pulled out a 50-49 victory.
The Tigers would have been the first 16 seed to pull off such an upset, long before UMBC (2017 upset No. 1 Virginia) and Fairleigh Dickinson (2023 stunned Purdue) made history.
Georgetown led Princeton 50-49 with just 23 seconds left in that 1989 game after an Alonzo Mourning free throw. The Tigers would get the ball back with a chance to a win against a Big East power. Kit Mueller had a chance with 1 tick left, but Mourning got a piece of the shot to keep the Hoyas from becoming a trivia answer.
OK, sorry for the history lesson. You just want a winner, right? Well, so far I’ve been better at providing historical angles than plucking winners in this contest. But it’s interesting, since Princeton is up against another Big East power, and like 1989, it’s going to see a Big East team sending the Tigers home.
Creighton is the largest favorite of the 8 games in this Sweet 16, laying 9.5 points, per Tipico Sportsbook. Fortunately for the contest, we just need it to win outright.
The Bluejays ousted a good NC State team in the 1st round (72-63), and the defending champ Baylor Bears in the 2nd round (85-76). This Creighton team is starting to look like the one which was in USA TODAY’s Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Top 25 earlier in the season — the Bluejays were ranked as high as No. 7 in late November.
Creighton C Ryan Kalkbrenner has been unstoppable in the postseason, averaging 20.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in 4 games between the Big East Tournament and NCAA tourney. G Ryan Nembhard is also hot, going for 15.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 4.0 APG in the postseason. They are 2 of 5 Bluejays who average double figures in points.
Creighton is not going to be denied by Princeton as Cinderella’s slipper breaks Friday night.
Good luck and make sure to check back before the Elite 8 for the next winning pick.
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