At this point, individuals who are in a March Madness bracket pool are just hoping they picked the correct national champion. As expected, no perfect brackets remain in the country, even with the majority of higher seeds making it to the Sweet 16.  

For those competing against others in pools, it is all about getting the most possible points with the remaining field. Let’s take a look at three Sweet 16 matchups that could do even more damage to busted brackets. 

Duke is by far the favorite to win the national championship this season. The Blue Devils have yet to be challenged in this tournament and many expect more of the same. Arizona could be the team to shock the world on Thursday. 

Arizona and Duke met earlier this season back in November. Duke came out on top with a 69-55 win. Although it was a 14-point loss and both teams are very different than they were then, it is worth noting that Arizona held that higher-powered offense to less than 70 points. 

Having met once this year already, Arizona has the luxury of watching game film to see where they want to attack Duke. It is also a bonus that the Wildcats have guard Caleb Love who is no stranger to the NCAA tournament and even no stranger to knocking off a highly rated Duke team in March.

Ole Miss and Arkansas are proving that all 14 SEC at-large bids were deserved. Although the Rebels finished sixth in the SEC with a conference record of 10-8, they have been dominant through their first two NCAA tournament games. 

Ole Miss knocked off North Carolina by coming out hot from the 3-point line and building a nearly 20-point lead in the first half that was too much for the Tar Heels to overcome. If that win wasn’t impressive enough, Chris Beard’s squad then took down No. 3 seed Iowa State by a score of 91-78, shooting 11-of-19 from behind the arc and only turning the basketball over eight times. 

Michigan State is a strong team and Tom Izzo should never be counted out in March. However, after seeing Michigan State have to play a close game with No. 10 seed New Mexico and witnessing Ole Miss ramp up, this game has the ingredients to cook up an upset. 

Purdue historically falls in the same category as Gonzaga (if you don’t know how to pronounce this, ask Houston’s head coach, Kelvin Sampson). Both of these schools are notorious for putting together a successful regular season, earning a high seed in the tournament and then facing an early exit. This Purdue team however feels a little different. 

Purdue is not going to blow anyone out of the water but they will adjust to the matchup they have in order to be successful. They have had the luxury of facing a 13 seed and then a 12 seed so they will really be tested by No. 1 Houston on Friday. The way Braden Smith takes care of the basketball and seems to always make the right play will help Purdue stay in this game and potentially even win it. 

The same questions surround Houston as usual. Is their 32-4 record as impressive as it sounds considering their schedule and conference? The Cougars squeaked by No. 8 seed Gonzaga last round 81-76 and at least on the surface, it is fair to expect Purdue to be even more of a challenge.