A guide to the Sweet 16: Let the craziness begin

The opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament was not madness. It was straight bonkers.

A No. 16 seed knocked off a No. 1 for the first time in 136 tries. Two No. 1s failed to get through to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2004 and the fourth time overall.

Defending national champion North Carolina, gone. Loyola-Chicago and its super scout nun, Sister Jean, in.

And that was just the beginning. The regional round is up next. Whatever’s crazier than bonkers, that’s what we can probably expect.

Here’s what to look for: that well and have confident freshman Zach Norvell Jr. on their side.

West Virginia. Getting through Press Virginia and Jevon Carter will take mettle.

Texas A&M. The Aggies’ up-and-down season is trending the right direction at the right time.

Kentucky. The youngest team in basketball is long, athletic and, as usually is the case with Coach Cal’s teams, playing its best basketball late in the season.

Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005 and may not be done.

Clemson. Shoot like they have so far, it’s going to be tough to stop these highscoring Tigers.

Purdue. The Boilermakers found a way to beat Butler without Isaac Haas. Taking down Texas A&M might be a little more difficult if he can’t find a brace the NCAA is OK with.

Chicago-Loyola. The Ramblers wrecked brackets across the country and are rambling into the Sweet 16 with a 98-year-old nun on their side, so don’t count them out.

Nevada. Coach Eric Musselman has done a superb job his third season in Reno and could spoil the Ramblers’ run.

Syracuse. Those complaints about the Orange getting into the field of 68 dissipated quickly with wins over TCU and Michigan State.

Kansas State. The Wildcats crashed Maryland-Baltimore County’s dance party and have two NCAA Tournament wins, despite playing without All-Big 12 forward Dean Wade (foot). He’s expected to return.

Florida State. Taking down No. 1 Xavier can’t be taken lightly and neither can the Seminoles. The player known as “Snacks” has been feasting on NCAA Tournament opponents.

Keenan Evans, Texas Tech. He makes the Red Raiders go.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Villanova’s Jalen Brunson drives on Radford’s Ed Polite Jr. during an NCAA men’s tournament first-round game in Pittsburgh. Villanova takes on West Virginia in a regional semifinal on Friday.