The Sweet 16 for the 2025 NCAA men's basketball tournament began on Thursday, and now have half of the Elite Eight set. Let's take a look at some of the biggest winners and losers from Thursday's game. 

That has been the common theme of this year's NCAA season and the tournament itself. The SEC just keeps winning, keeps dominating and keeps sending its teams deep into the tournament.

With Thursday's wins by No. 1 Florida (87-71 over No. 4 Maryland) and No. 2 Alabama (113-88 over No. 6 BYU) the SEC has already put two teams into the Elite Eight. That number will definitely increase by at least one on Friday when the winner of No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 3 Kentucky advances, while No. 1 Auburn and No. 6 Ole Miss will also have a chance.

We know nearly half of the Elite Eight will be from the SEC. As many as five of the eight teams could be from that one conference. 

The SEC — it's not just a football conference anymore. 

Defending the three-point shot was a huge issue for BYU all season as the Cougars ranked 285th in the country, allowing their opponents to make 35.1% of their shots from beyond the arch. 

They would have loved to have been at that level on Thursday.

The Cougars allowed Alabama to make 25 three-point shots, while also allowing the Crimson Tide to shoot 49%. Mark Sears alone was 10-for-16.

It does not matter what else your team does, you are not going to beat anybody when you allow a team to make that many three-point shots. 

The biggest X-factor for Duke coming into the tournament was always going to be the health of Flagg, their best player and the best player in the country.

If he is healthy, they can win it all. If not, things get a little murky for them.

Well, he looks healthy and proved it again on Thursday with 30 points, six rebounds, seven assists and a first-half buzzer-beater in Duke's 100-93 win over Arizona.

Not only did the Terrapins see their tournament dreams come to an end, but they also could be on the verge of losing their head coach, Kevin Willard, who is rumored to be taking the Villanova job. He did not exactly do much to quiet those rumors after the game.

That does not sound like somebody that is sticking around. 

This is obviously not why BYU lost, but referee Tony Padilla hitting Trevin Knell with a technical foul for the egregious act of ... looking at an Alabama player after making a three-point shot?

That is simply a referee making a big moment about them and nothing more.