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The NCAA Tournament heads to the Sweet 16 as the first 2 rounds are in the rear-view mirror. Just 640 entries in USA TODAY’s NCAA Men’s Tournament Survivor Pool contest remain out of the 7,821 who signed up.
As for the Sweet 16 teams, NC State is the only double-digit seed still in the field as an 11. All 4 No. 1 seeds — UConn, Houston, Purdue and North Carolina — and all 4 No. 2 seeds — Iowa State, Tennessee, Marquette and Arizona — are still alive as 14 of the 16 are 1 through 5 seeds.
The other 2? NC State and 6th-seeded Creighton.
Hopefully you were able to scoop up plenty of points in the first 2 rounds. With so many high seeds remaining, the chances to scoop up big points and make up ground is going to be super tough.
I was bumped out of the 1st round with upsets by 11th-seeded Oregon and 13th-seeded Yale. They knocked out my 2 SEC plays of No. 6 seed South Carolina and 4th-seeded Auburn, respectively. I did rebound in Round 2 with NC State (for 11 points) and No. 5 seed San Diego State (5 points). Hopefully, you were able to tail one or both of those and collected a boatload of points in the process.
As an employee, I’m not eligible to win this contest, but I was eliminated in the opening round anyway. However, I’m here to assist those of you who have a shot at the $2.5K first prize — but I’d understand if you don’t want my advice.
Here’s my strategy of how to advance out of Round 3 and eventually win the Men’s Basketball Tournament Survivor Pool.
A rules reminder: Remaining entries are required to pick 1 team in the Sweet 16, 1 in the Elite 8, 1 in the Final Four and then the winner of the National Championship Game — if you still have an eligible team to select.
Along with not being able to choose the same team twice, points are earned equal to your winning teams’ seeds. At this point, there actually aren’t many points available in the Sweet 16 and beyond, so choose wisely.
Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!
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Sweet 16 pick
PICK: ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI (28-8)
Who they play: Iowa State Cyclones (29-7)
When: Thursday, 10:09 p.m. ET (TBS, truTV)
Where: TD Garden, Boston
The 3rd-seeded Fighting Illini have looked championship caliber, but they’ve faced a pair of double-digit seeds in No. 14 seed Morehead State and 11th-seed Duquesne. We’ll find out a lot about Illinois Thursday night, but it is one of the lowest seeds which can help you grab an extra point or two.
Illinois won the first 2 games by an average margin of victory of 21.0 points per game (PPG).
G Terrence Shannon Jr. has been on fire in the postseason, racking up 31.6 PPG across 5 tourney games in the Big Ten and Big Dance. F Marcus Domask posted the 10th triple-double in NCAA Tournament history against Morehead State with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. F Dain Dainja has been a tremendous tertiary scoring option, tallying 29 points in the 2 wins, including 21 vs. Morehead State. Forwards Coleman Hawkins and Ty Rodgers have been gobbling up their share of rebounds, too.
This team is rolling along, and I just don’t trust Iowa State. The Cyclones shot just 40.4% (23-for-57) from the field in a 2nd-round, 67-56 win over 7th-seeded Washington State. ISU did shoot 50% (7-for-14) from behind the 3-point line, while turning it over 6 times.
The Cyclones turned it over just 15 times in its 2 tourney games. However, they’ll need to do more offensively to keep up with the Illini, who are a legit Final 4 team. Sorry, but the dance ends here for the Cyclones.
Stream select live college basketball games and full replays: Get ESPN+
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