2024 NCAA Tournament bracket picks for second weekend: Final Four favorites, and more

The NCAA Tournament kicked off in grand fashion last weekend with upsets by Oakland, Yale and others headlining the March Madness chaos which led to millions of busted brackets. However, a relatively tame Round of 32 led to a second weekend with plenty favorites still involved.

The Cinderella stars have mostly come and gone, although 11-seed NC State remains with big man DJ Burns drawing in quite a few fans. Now it is time for several blue-blood juggernauts and top-ranked teams to take center stage on the way to the Final Four.

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After correctly picking 31/52 winners (60%) in the first weekend, here are my best projections for the chalky Sweet 16 and Elite Eight as March Madness resumes this weekend.

Sweet 16

East (Boston)

1 UConn vs. 5 SDSU
2 Iowa State vs. 3 Illinois

Outside of a Round of 64 exit by Auburn, the top seeds all advanced in the East region this year. UConn continues to look like a great candidate to make a Final Four return, but first goes through a national championship rematch against SDSU. Meanwhile, Iowa State and Illinois could turn into one of the best matchups of the weekend.

West (Los Angeles)

1 North Carolina vs. 4 Alabama
2 Arizona vs. 6 Clemson

North Carolina and Alabama meet in an interesting matchup between top offenses in college basketball, despite both teams being as far away from home as possible. Arizona gets de-facto homecourt advantage against a surging Clemson team which won two games as the underdog last week.

South (Dallas)

1 Houston vs. 4 Duke
2 Marquette vs. 11 NC State

Houston held on in overtime against Texas A&M to set up a matchup with Duke. Now the question centers on their ability to get healthy and overcome depth issues against a talented Blue Devils team. NC State is the darling here, but comes up against Marquette in the toughest game they have played since last week in the ACC Tournament.

Midwest (Detroit)

1 Purdue vs. 5 Gonzaga
2 Tennessee vs. 3 Creighton

Purdue survived the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament and shed the baggage of 2023. They now meet Gonzaga, who has looked like a different team than the one which struggled at times early in the year against elite teams. Meanwhile, Tennessee and Creighton is a great candidate to become the most closely contested game of the weekend.

Elite Eight

East (Boston)

1 UConn vs. 3 Illinois

UConn looks to have everything it needs for a Final Four run, but faces the toughest challenge yet against an Illinois team which has heated up late in the season.

West (Los Angeles)

1 North Carolina vs. 2 Arizona

North Carolina and Arizona could be the most marketable matchup of the NCAA Tournament with Caleb Love reuniting with his old teammates on the court for a trip to the Final Four.

South (Dallas)

1 Houston vs. 2 Marquette

Houston has remained on top of all the computer numbers, but with health and depth a question exiting the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, the run could become difficult. Marquette has also seen a relatively easy path toward this point, facing three double-digit seeds to open March Madness.

Midwest (Detroit)

1 Purdue vs. 3 Creighton

Purdue continues to quest to avenge last season’s early exit from the NCAA Tournament, but will face a tough challenge no matter who advances on the other side. Creighton or Tennessee could not only have to stop Zach Edey, but find a way to recover quickly after a big matchup.