March Madness 2024: Ranking all Sweet 16 games as NCAA Tournament rolls on to regional semifinals

Here is the breakdown of which games are going to be the best in Thursday and Friday's regional semifinals

By David Cobb Mar 27, 2024 at 10:00 pm ET• 4 min read

The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament provided a taste of everything that makes March Madness so incredible. There were upsets, overtimes, unforgettable finishes and heroic individual performances. But when the dust settled, Cinderella was nowhere to be found.

With teams like No. 14 seed Oakland and No. 13 seed Yale bowing out in the second round after big wins, the second weekend of the Big Dance is shaping up as a hangout session for the sport's big boys. While No. 11 seed NC State is an unexpected guest, the Wolfpack are an ACC program with two national titles in their past. That's hardly the same as a No. 15 seed like Saint Peter's or Oral Roberts reaching the Sweet 16, as we saw in recent years.

But the absence of a true Cinderella has its advantages by creating a series of powerhouse matchups featuring big brands and elite talent. All of the No. 1 seeds and No. 2 seeds are part of the action. So are big brands such as No. 4 seed Duke and No. 5 seed Gonzaga. Outside of NC State, no one worse than a No. 6 seed is still standing. That means we should be in store for some heavyweight battles as NCAA Tournament action rolls on.

As the action approaches, let's take a closer look at which games are most compelling by ranking the Sweet 16 games in terms of watchability. Games are ranked in descending order.