Villanova loss, ACC flameout reshape NCAA Sweet 16

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — The Atlantic Coast Conference’s strong regular season only stood to set up a first-weekend flameout in the NCAA Tournament.

The league had a record nine bids, but North Carolina is the only one alive in the Sweet 16. And the South Region’s No. 1 seed was fortunate to survive a secondround game against Arkansas to get there.

Still, top seeds Gonzaga, Kansas and UNC headline a regional round featuring 12 of the top 16 seeds, two more than last season.

The rest of the top conferences fared much better than the ACC. The Pac-12 is 81 and the Southeastern Conference is 7-2 so far, joining the Big 12 (8-3) and Big Ten (8-4) with three Sweet 16 teams each.

Here’s a look at the updated Final Four paths for the top remaining teams:

WEST This is the only other region to have its No. 1 and No. 2 seeds both make the Sweet 16.

Top-seeded Gonzaga (34-1) faces fourthseeded West Virginia (28-8) on Thursday in San Jose, California; No. 2 seed Arizona (32-4) meets 11-seed Xavier (23-13) — the lowest-seeded team still in the field after its rout of 3-seed Florida State.

If seeds hold, that would set up a rematch of a December game won by the Bulldogs 69-62. But Arizona didn’t have Allonzo Trier, who was suspended for the first 19 games for performance-enhancing drugs.

The matchup would still offer a Final Four breakthrough chance for Gonzaga’s Mark Few or Arizona’s Sean Miller, two coaches yet to get there despite a combined five Elite Eight appearances.

EAST Welcome to the lone topsy-turvy bracket after losses by No. 1 overall seed Villanova and No. 2 seed Duke.

Now third-seeded Baylor (27-7) is the highest remaining seed entering a matchup with seventh-seeded South Carolina (24-10), which is in the Sweet 16 for the first time in the current tournament format after hanging 65 second-half points on the preseason No. 1-ranked Blue Devils in Sunday’s 88-81 upset .

The other half of Friday’s bracket in New York features fourth-seeded Florida (26-8) against No. 8 seed Wisconsin (27-9), which upset the reigning champion Wildcats on Saturday. The Badgers are in the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in seven years behind Bronson Koenig and Nigel Hayes — two holdovers from their 2015 run.