While 16 teams are onto the next round of the tournament, 16 were left with a sour taste in their mouths. The Cinderella run was over for squads such as UAB Blazers, Georgia State Panthers, and the Dayton Flyers. The top seeded Villanova Wildcats couldn't hit enough shots to beat a physical NC State Wolfpack team, and despite a great season in the ACC, the Virginia Cavaliers fell once again to the Michigan State Spartans. 

Lets start with the dark-horses, though. These teams were always seen as contenders, but never favorites. Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and Utah have moved on to the Sweet 16 and will each be taking on a top 3-seeded team in the next round. The Spartans leaned on defense, rebounding and a few clutch shots to take down Virginia. Tom Izzo is now 13-1 in round of 32 games, which of course puts him in elite status among NCAA coaches. Speaking of which, Roy Williams and his Tar Heels got past a stingy Arkansas Razorbacks team this past weekend for Williams 750th career victory. This will be the 32nd Sweet 16 appearance for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Their floor general Marcus Paige scored 22 points and hit all 9 of his attempts from the charity stripe. 

The Utes of Utah faced up against Georgetown Hoyas this round, as the Hoyas have not found much sucess in the past three tournaments. They were upset in the first round last year, but a sweet 16 redemption would not be in the cards this year. Utah was led by a balanced attack of Poelti, Wright, and Taylor, and also attempted 23 more free-throws than Georgetown. Finally, in a historic matchup with the distinct flavoring of an in-state rivalry, Wichita State took down Kansas 78-65. Tekele Cotton led the way with 19 points, while steady point guard Fred VanVleet had 17 points to go along with 6 assists and 4 steals. 

The Wichita State Shockers and Michigan State Spartans will take on three-seeds in the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Oklahoma Sooners, respectively. North Carolina and Utah, on the other hand, get the top seeded Wisconsin Badgers and Duke Blue Devils in the next round. 

Many fans thought teams such as Colorado State or Temple deserved a spot in the big dance over UCLA, but the Bruins have proven that they belong. After a big win over SMU in the first round, they handled UAB 92-75. They shot 60 percent from the floor and were able to out-rebound UAB 40-25 in one of the least exciting games of this past weekend. Looney and Parker were each able to get a double-double for the Bruins, who totally controlled the glass in this one, surrendering just 11 offensive rebounds. 

The Kentucky Wildcats and Wisconsin Badgers took care of business against the Cincinnati Bearcats and Oregon Ducks, respectively, as they leaned on wing-players such as Trey Lyles and Sam Dekker. Kentucky is just four games away from the perfect 40-0 season, but a relentless West Virginia Mountaineers team stands in their way. The Mountaineers persevered against Maryland in an back-and-forth game. The team leading the country in steals were able to get 15 in this game (compared to 4 for the Terrapins) and were able to out-run and out-gun their neighbors to the east. They will have to continue to play intense perimeter defense to prevent Kentucky's guards from penetrating and getting to the line. 

Many think Notre Dame has the best shot in their region of beating the Wildcats, but they got all they could handle from Butler. The game went into overtime with the score tied at 55 after Pat Connaughton blocked Butler's potential game-winner. In overtime, the very same guy hit a corner three-pointer to get the Irish going and, with 20 seconds remaining, Jerian Grant hit a driving layup to seal the victory for Notre Dame. 

While the Kansas Jayhawks and Virginia Cavaliers fell, the other two seeds easily handled their opponents. The Arizona Wildcats took down the Ohio State Buckeyes 73-58 despite a poor game from Stanley Johnson. Meanwhile in the South Region, the Gonzaga Bulldogs beat the Iowa Hawkeyes 87-68 thanks to shooting 10 of 16 from beyond the arc. Arizona will take on Xavier, while Gonzaga will face UCLA, who is the sleeper of this tournament, strange, right?

Then again, do things ever work out as planned in the first two rounds? That's why they call it March Madness. It will be exciting as these teams battle down to the Elite Eight starting on Thursday.