Breaking down the Final 16

We are down to the final 16 teams in the NCAA tournament and as always, there are a few surprises. Of the 16 teams remaining, 10 of those coincide with their seedings as we have all four numbers ones, two numbers twos, two numbers threes and two numbers fours still in the mix. Bradley, who was one of the last teams to be given an at-large bid, is the lowest remaining seed at number 13. George Mason is the only other team with a double-digit seeding that remains while the last four teams are seeded fifth through seventh.

Connecticut and Villanova are the two numbers ones that were taken to the final minutes in the second round while Duke and Memphis made it through with ease. The Big East leads the way with four teams remaining and of the top seven conferences, only the Big 10 is without a representative. All of the media experts who were up in arms about the Missouri Valley Conference receiving four bids can now wipe the egg off of their faces since that conference has two teams left, the same as the ACC, Pac Ten and SEC.

Schedule strength usually plays a big part in teams making it through since tough games tend to get teams more prepared this time of year. However, that has not been the case this year as only five teams remaining have schedules ranked in the top 25. Florida, Gonzaga, Washington, Memphis and George Mason all have strength of schedule rankings of 81st or worst while the average schedule strength of the remaining 16 teams in just 48.9.

Defense wins championships but don