NCAA Tournament Sweet 16: 5 strongest national title contenders

COLUMBUS, OHIO - MARCH 22: Coby White #2 and Nassir Little #5 of the North Carolina Tar Heels share a laugh as they take on the Iona Gaels during the second half of the game in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

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COLUMBIA, SC – MARCH 24: Ty Jerome #11 of the Virginia Cavaliers moves the ball around Christian James #0 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament held at Colonial Life Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) /

3. Virginia

Just a year after suffering the ultimate embarrassment of losing to a 16-seed, the Virginia Cavaliers are back in the Sweet 16 and poised for a deep March run. The Cavaliers gave their fans a heart attack by struggling with another 16-seed in Gardner Webb for a bit, but Virginia pulled away in the second half.

Oklahoma actually ended up being a much easier matchup for the Cavaliers, who controlled the game from the jump to advance to Louisville. Virginia used its patented Pack Line defense to stifle the Sooners, limiting Oklahoma to just 36.5 percent from the field.

While there have been concerns in the past about Virginia’s ability to win close games due to their lack of firepower, these Cavaliers are different because they can knock down threes. Virginia knocked down 40.9% of its triples during the regular season, and that development could be just what the doctor ordered for Virginia to claim their first national championship.

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