9. Cincinnati

FoxSports.com: Ranking the Sweet 16 Teams

Cincinnati, one of four teams from the state of Ohio in the Sweet 16, got past Florida State in a physical, defensive showdown. The Bearcats haven't been this far in a tournament since 2001, and will face Ohio State in Boston. While Cincinnati can play with anyone, it will need an extra push to knock off the Buckeyes. - Reid Forgrave (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

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Ranking the Swee... Just 16 remain in the chase for the 2011-12 national championship. While North Carolina and Kentucky look solid, is there a sleeper pick to watch out for? Four of the 16 left are from the state of Ohio. - Reid Forgrave (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
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16. Ohio Ohio coach John Groce is no stranger to the Cinderella role – two years ago, his 14-seeded Bobcats upset Georgetown , the first time a 14-seed beat a three-seed by double digits. After dropping four-seed Michigan in the Round of 64, the Bobcats outlasted 12-seed South Florida to get to the Sweet 16, with guard Walter Offutt money from three-point range, dropping 4-of-4 long-range shots on the way to 21 points. They’ll need even bigger performances from Offutt as well as top scorer D.J. Cooper if they want to slay a giant when they face North Carolina in the Sweet 16. - Reid Forgrave (AP Photo/Donn Jones)
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15. Xavier This marks Xavier’s sixth NCAA tournament appearance in as many years, making the Sweet 16 in three of those (and the Elite Eight in one). Third-year coach Chris Mack will need top scorer Tu Holloway (17.3 points per game and 5 assists) and Mark Lyons (15.3 points per game) to come up big for the 10-seed to beat a talented although erratic Baylor team in the Sweet 16. - Reid Forgrave (AP Photo/Zach Gibson)
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14. North Caroli... You’ve seen the joy-filled YouTube video of this team’s reaction when they were selected as an 11-seed. Now you get to see if first-year Wolfpack head coach Mark Gottfried, in the school’s first tournament appearance in six years, can lead his balanced attack past a tough Kansas team in the Sweet 16. The Wolfpack had four players in double-digits in scoring in upsetting Georgetown in the round of 32, but their success will depend on the performance of 6-foot-8 sophomore C.J. Leslie, who averages 14.6 points and 9.3 rebounds. - Reid Forgrave (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
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13. Louisville Louisville struggled to end the regular season, dropping three of four, but has come on since then with a six-game winning streak, including capturing the Big East tournament. Coach Rick Pitino, who won a national championship with Kentucky in 1996, took Louisville to the Final Four in 2005. If there’s any chance of that happening, he’ll need to see more of the maturity shown in recent games by junior point guard Peyton Siva, who averages 5.5 assists per game in Louisville’s balanced attack. - Reid Forgrave (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
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12. Florida Florida hasn’t had a close game this tournament, beating Virginia by 26 then Norfolk State by 34, but expect the seven-seed to have its hands full with three-seeded Marquette. The Gators have something only one other team left in the tournament has, and that’s a coach with more than one national title under his belt. Billy Donovan will need a big game out of guards Bradley Beal and Kenny Boynton if they want to keep their run alive. - Reid Forgrave (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
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11. Indiana It might just be Indiana's time to return to the glory of the Bobby Knight years, with this being the fourth-seeded Hoosiers' first Sweet 16 since 2002. The Tom Crean-coached team, a decimated program when he took over four years ago, will need a huge game from 6-foot-11 freshman Cody Zeller, who averages 15.5 points and 6.4 rebounds, in order to get past top-seeded Kentucky in the Sweet 16. - Reid Forgrave (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
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10. Wisconsin Fourth-seeded Wisconsin finished one game out of the lead of the Big Ten, the deepest conference in the country, and faces an intriguing Sweet 16 draw against Syracuse. The pressure’s on point guard Jordan Taylor, averaging 14.7 points and 4.1 assists, and junior forward Ryan Evans, averaging 10.9 points and 6.8 rebounds, to get the Badgers any further in this tournament. - Reid Forgrave (AP Photo/Jake Schoellkopf)
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9. Cincinnati Cincinnati, one of four teams from the state of Ohio in the Sweet 16, got past Florida State in a physical, defensive showdown. The Bearcats haven't been this far in a tournament since 2001, and will face Ohio State in Boston. While Cincinnati can play with anyone, it will need an extra push to knock off the Buckeyes. - Reid Forgrave (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
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8. Ohio State Ohio State is seen as a bit of an underachiever despite finishing seventh in the nation and in a three-way tie for the Big Ten regular season title. The biggest talents are forward Jared Sullinger, averaging 17.6 points and 9.3 rebounds, and Deshaun Thomas, averaging 15.8 points and 5.2 rebounds. But the man who makes the offense run is sophomore point guard Aaron Craft with 4.6 assists per game. Craft added 17 points and 10 assists in the Buckeyes' victory over Gonzaga that helped them advance to the Sweet 16. - Reid Forgrave (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
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7. Marquette Senior forward Jae Crowder made the difference against Murray State in the Round of 32, with 13 rebounds and 17 points, just below his 17.6 season average. The Golden Eagles finished second in the Big East with a 27-7 record and finished ranked No. 11 in the nation, and Marquette's road to the Final Four looks a bit easier after two-seed Missouri was knocked out by 15-seed Norfolk State. - Reid Forgrave (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
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6. Baylor Third-seeded Baylor is hugely talented but unpredictable, as likely to blow Kansas out of the water (as it did in the Big 12 tournament) as it is to come out flat and nearly lose to 14th-seeded South Dakota State (as it did in the Round of 64). The Scott Drew-coached team relies heavily on the enigmatic 6-foot-11 sophomore forward Perry Jones III, who dropped 31 points on Kansas State in the first round of the Big 12 tournament – then dropped a stinker against South Dakota State, shooting 1 of 6 and only scoring two points. Watch out for sharpshooter Brady Heslip, who hit 9 of 12 three-pointers over Colorado to help the Bears advance to the Sweet 16. - Reid Forgrave (AP Photo/Matt York)
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5. Michigan Stat... Never underestimate a Tom Izzo-coached team. Senior forward Draymond Green averages 16.3 points per game and 10.4 rebounds for the one-seed. He had a triple-double in their first-round win and finished off Saint Louis to get to the Sweet 16 with 16 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. It was a tough victory, though, not secured until the final minutes – but that’s been the story of Michigan State all season. - Reid Forgrave (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
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4. Kansas Coach Bill Self will be the first to tell you this Kansas team is his least-deep Jayhawks’ squad. But strapping forward Thomas Robinson is among the best in the college game at hitting the boards, seven-footer Jeff Withey can be a shot-blocking machine, and when he’s on the streaky guard Tyshawn Taylor is as good as anyone. You could see this two-seed in the Final Four – or you could see them drop a stinker this round. - Reid Forgrave (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
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3. Syracuse Syracuse might just be the deepest, most balanced team in the country, but its a very different squad after Big East Defensive Player of the Year Fab Melo was declared ineligible on the eve of the tournament. Even without Melo, don’t underestimate the Jim Boeheim-coached Orange, led by two starting seniors in forward Kris Joseph (13.8 points per game) and point guard Scoop Jardine (8.4 points per game and 4.8 assists). Syracuse’s 2-3 zone spotlights one of the nation’s most tenacious defenses, which is third in the nation with 9.61 steals per game. - Reid Forgrave (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
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2. North Carolin... Injuries are the biggest concern for hugely talented North Carolina. Just as soon as 6-foot-11 forward John Henson successfully returned from his three-game hiatus with a sprained wrist, netting 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks against eight-seeded Creighton, point guard Kendall Marshall broke a bone in his right wrist in that same game. Marshall leads the team in assists, and even though North Carolina still boasts top scorer Harrison Barnes and big man Tyler Zeller – not to mention the experience of coach Roy Williams, who has been to seven Final Fours – losing Marshall could be crucial. Pay attention to his status in the coming days. - Reid Forgrave (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
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1. Kentucky Kentucky is the most blue-chip team in the country, with four players who could be first-round NBA picks, but coach John Calipari needs to shed the label of not being able to win the big game despite leading three programs to the Final Four. If there’s a team to do it, though, it’s this one, led by 6-foot-10 freshman forward Anthony Davis, who's averaging 14.3 points and 10 rebounds and is the projected top pick in this summer's NBA draft. Stop the four NBA sure-things and you’ll still have to deal with freshman guard Marquis Teague, who led the Wildcats over Iowa State with 24 points and seven assists. - Reid Forgrave (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
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