No appendix, no problem

The GIST: After last night’s second-round finale, the men’s Sweet 16 is officially set for Thursday’s tip-off — and despite a tumultuous first round (and the sport’s recent, sharp rise in parity), this year’s crop contains mostly familiar faces.

The top seeds: All of the No. 1 and 2 seeds — plus half the No. 3s and 4s — survived and thrived this weekend. No. 1s Purdue, UNC, and UConn sailed through with relative ease, while No. 3 Illinois and No. 4 Duke especially impressed with huge margins of victory in each opening round.

• But not all top teams breezed through: No. 3 Creighton needed two overtimes (OTs) to outlast No. 11 Oregon 86–73 on Saturday, and No. 1 Houston added an OT of their own before sealing a heart-pounding 100–95 dub over No. 9 Texas A&M last night.

The underdogs: As for unlikely heroes, No. 11 NC State’s momentum entered “runaway freight train” territory when they neutralized potential Cinderella No. 14 Oakland 79–73 on Saturday, and No. 6 Clemson claimed one of the two second-round upsets with yesterday’s 72–64 win over No. 3 Baylor.

• And despite a rough season that threatened their March Madness berth, No. 5 Gonzaga proved why they’re on a nine-season Sweet 16 streak: The Zags logged two 21-point smackdowns, including Saturday’s 89–68 dub over No. 4 Kansas. Is this blackjack or basketball?

The GIST: The first round of the women’s tourney went mostly as expected, but the second round served up some serious surprises yesterday as the first eight teams secured Sweet 16 berths. Let’s hoop to it.

Yesterday’s matchups: The aforementioned Duke rebounded from a 16-point first-half deficit to take down Ohio State, then No. 5 Colorado joined them at the upset party, topping No. 4 Kansas State 63–50 to send the Buffs to back-to-back Sweet 16s.

• Elsewhere, all went according to chalk plan for No. 1 seeds South Carolina and Texas, who are Sweet 16 bound after dominant second-round showings, while defending champs, No. 3 LSU, had to rally from a shaky first half to punch their Sweet 16 ticket and No. 2 Stanford needed OT to bounce gritty No. 7 Iowa State 87–81.

• And following a career-high night from junior Jada Walker, No. 5 Baylor topped No. 4 Virginia Tech in a 75–72 thriller, ending the Hokies’ once-promising season on a tear-filled note.

Today’s contests: The final eight Sweet 16 spots will be awarded today, with some of the top names in the women’s game taking the court from lunchtime to sunset. The matchups not to miss? Freshman Hannah Hidalgo’s No. 2 Notre Dame tips things off against No. 7 Ole Miss at 2 p.m. ET, followed by Paige Bueckers and No. 3 UConn vs. No. 6 Syracuse at 6 p.m. ET.

• Then it’s all about the No. 1 seeds. Caitlin Clark and top-seed Iowa face No. 8 West Virginia at 8 p.m. ET, before another likely star-studded audience watches freshman JuJu Watkins and No. 1 USC take the floor against No. 8 Kansas at 10 p.m. ET. Hooping never stops.