Re-Seeding the Sweet 16

As we head to the second weekend of the world's greatest sporting event, I take a few minutes to re-seed the bracket after 68 was whittled to 16.

1) Ohio State (East #1)- The preseason favorites became the tournament favorites in March, and their blowout wins against UT-San Antonio and George Mason have solidified their standing as the team to beat. Its hard to see the Buckeyes losing unless Jared Sullinger finds himself in early foul trouble and the rest of the team goes cold from outside. Predicition: National Champions

2) Kansas (Southwest #1)- The Jayhawks let both Boston U and Illinois hang around for 30 minutes before the Morris twins put them away. The only top seed the survive the bracket breakdown in the Southwest, the Jayhawks won't have to face a team seeded higher than 10th until the Final Four. Prediction: Loss to Ohio State in National Championship game

3) Connecticut (West #3)- The Huskies put Bucknell down quickly, then cruised to victory over Big East rival Cincinnati. Kemba Walker has shown no sign of fatigue after his record breaking performance in the Big East tournament, and looks primed to lead a team that tied for ninth in the Big East (with Marquette, the conference's only other representative in the Sweet 16) back to the Final Four. Prediction: Loss to Ohio State in the Final Four

4) Duke (West #1)- Duke barely escaped a second round match-up with 13-loss Michigan after dispatching Hampton in the first round. However, recently recovered point guard Kyrie Irving gets another couple days of practice before the Blue Devils go to Anaheim and if he's ready to return to early season form, Duke could be hard to stop. Prediction: Loss to Connecticut in regional final

5) North Carolina (East #2)- The Tar Heels squeaked past Washington after a turnover-filled win over Long Island. They can obviously score, but they likely don't have the defense needed to get past Ohio State, if they get that far. Prediction: Loss to Ohio State in regional final

6) Wisconsin (Southeast #4)- The Badgers ran away from chic upset pick Belmont in the first round and then survived a career day from Kansas St. star Jacob Pullen to get back to the Sweet 16. They look like the class of a weak region, but they'll need better shooting from Jordan Taylor to get past battle-tested Butler and the Jimmer. Prediction: Loss to Kansas in Final Four

7) San Diego State (West #2)- The Aztecs have something to prove after they struggled to get past Temple in two overtimes in he second round and letting 15-seed Northern Colorado hang around for 25 minutes. They'll have to find a way to limit Kemba Walker's touches in Anaheim if they want to secure the school's third NCAA tournament win. Prediction: Loss to Connecticut in Sweet 16

8) Brigham Young (Southeast #3)- The Cougars appear to finally be adapting to life without Brandon Davies, stopping Wofford in round one and then slapping down popular upset pick Gonzaga in round two. They will go exactly as far as Jimmer Fredette can take them- if he's hot, no one will be able to stop them. Prediction: Loss to Wisconsin in regional final

9) Kentucky (East #4)- The Wildcats scraped out a couple of nail-biters against Princeton and West Virginia, led by freshman phenom Brandon Knight. Their reward for their hard-fought victories? A date with Ohio State in Newark. There will be plenty of NBA ready talent on display on both benches, but young Wildcats will have a tough time stopping the senior-laden Buckeyes. Prediction: Loss to Ohio State in Sweet 16

10) Florida (Southeast #2)- The criminally over-seeded Gators cruised past UC-Santa Barbara before burying UCLA in round two. Billy Donovan's squad will have its hands full in the Sweet 16, however, in trying to stop Fredette. Prediction: Jimmered in the Sweet 16

11) Marquette (East #11)- There's been plenty of talk that the Big East may not have deserved 11 bids with only two teams from the league advancing to the second weekend. But it's tough to argue that when the last of those bids went to the Golden Eagles, who crushed Xavier before out-hustling Big East rival Syracuse to secure their spot in the Sweet 16. If they can make shots, the Golden Eagles have the talent to beat just about anyone. Prediction: Loss to North Carolina in the Sweet 16

12) Butler (Southeast #8)- Last year's tournament darlings are at it again, with photo finishes over Old Dominion and top-seeded Pittsburgh. They may not have the talent to match-up with their opponents, but its clear their experience and leadership is giving them an edge against bigger, faster and stronger foes. Prediction: Loss to Wisconsin in Sweet 16

13) Arizona (West #5)- The Wildcats have advanced after scraping past Memphis and Texas in rounds one and two. They find themselves now in a match-up of blue bloods against Duke, and they'll need to find a way to stop Nolan Smith if they want to have any chance of advancing further. Prediction: Loss to Duke in Sweet 16

14) Florida State (Southwest #10)- Where did Florida State come from? The unheralded Seminoles were an at-large after thought, not on the bubble but not expected to make any noise. But after upsetting Texas A&M and then putting the Big East on notice with a rout of Notre Dame, the Seminoles are mighty noisy. Prediction: Loss to Kansas in regional final

15) Richmond (Southwest #12)- The A-10 tournament champions saved the conference after Xavier was upset by Marquette and Temple dropped a heart-breaker to SDSU. The Spiders held on late for this year's classic 5-12 upset over Vanderbilt, then breezed past fellow giant killer Morehead State. Next up: Kansas. Good luck. Prediction: Loss to Kansas in Sweet 16

16) VCU (Southwest #11)- Its difficult to imagine a more emphatic way that the Rams could have shut up the haters that said they didn't belong in the tournament: a 13-point win over fellow 11-seed USC, followed by a pair of 18-point smack-downs over Georgetown and Purdue. The snubbed teams that hated? Virginia Tech was ousted in the second round of the NIT, and St. Mary's was one and done. Prediction: Loss to Florida State in Sweet 16