It’s the year of the No. 5 seed. The No. 4 v. No. 5 matchups were the best of the bunch in the first weekend of NCAA tournament action and three of the No. 5 seeds advanced to the Sweet 16. Alabama nearly made it a full sweep, falling short in a two-overtime thriller that will be difficult to top.
It’s been a chalky field so far. The No. 5 seeds are the lowest to reach the second weekend, making it the first time since at least 2017 the Sweet 16 field has not featured a team seeded sixth or lower.