NCAA Tournament 2018 Sweet 16: 5 most likely national title contenders

The NCAA Tournament is already flying by. As we head into the second weekend, which five teams stand out as the most likely national title contenders?

If you’ve been lucky enough to watch the 2018 NCAA Tournament, you’d realize that this season has been one of the wildest in recent memory. While there weren’t a ton of double-digit seed upsets in the first round, there were some massive ones that made history.

The most notable upset was No. 16 seed UMBC beating No. 1-seeded Virginia, becoming the first-ever No. 16 seed to win a first-round game over a top seed. The Cavaliers were ranked No. 1 in the nation for a good chunk of the season and virtually no one saw the upset loss coming.

Other major upsets included No. 11 seed Loyola (IL) over No. 6-seeded Miami in the first round and then again over No. 3 Tennessee to advance to the Sweet 16. The Ramblers might just be everyone’s favorite underdog at this point in the tournament.

Defending champion North Carolina was taken to the woodshed by Texas A&M. The Aggies throttled the second-seeded Tar Heels, advancing to the Sweet 16 — something Texas A&M basketball hasn’t been used to in its program’s history.

No. 1 seed Xavier, No. 2 Cincinnati, No. 3 Michigan State and No. 4s Auburn and Arizona have all fallen short of the Sweet 16 as well, begging the question, who is the best of the rest?