SportsLine expert Thomas Casale has locked in his Sweet 16 bracket predictions for March Madness 2026
By Ross Kelly Mar 26, 2026 at 11:43 am ET • 2 min read 
Imagn Images The 2026 NCAA Tournament rolls into the Sweet 16 this week, with Thursday featuring a pair of Big Ten squads facing off against teams from Texas. Purdue vs. Texas tips off at 7:10 p.m. ET, with Illinois vs. Houston beginning at 10:05 p.m. ET. The 11-seed Longhorns are the closest thing to a Cinderella left standing in the 2026 Sweet 16 bracket, while the Cougars get the luxury of playing just two miles from their campus. Both Longhorn State programs are hoping to end lengthy March Madness droughts, and that requires them advancing this weekend.
No college basketball program has more NCAA Tournament appearances (40) without a national title than Texas, while no program has more Final Four appearances (7) without a title than Houston. Should the Horns and Coogs being on the wrong side of history affect your Sweet 16 predictions? Before locking in any NCAA Tournament picks or filling out your second-chance March Madness bracket 2026, be sure to see the 2026 Sweet 16 picks from proven expert Thomas Casale.
Casale, a veteran college basketball expert with decades of experience, joined SportsLine in early 2024 and went on an 89-53 roll on his college basketball picks. More recently, he's 34-25 on his CBB picks entering the Sweet 16.
Now, with the 2026 NCAA bracket updated heading into the Sweet 16, Casale is predicting matchups for the Sweet 16 and the remainder of the NCAA Tournament. You can only see them over at SportsLine.
Top 2026 March Madness Sweet 16 picks
One of the Sweet 16 picks that Casale likes is No. 1 Michigan easily handling No. 4 Alabama on Friday at 7:35 p.m. ET in Chicago. Both squads have top 10 scoring offenses, but Michigan is miles ahead of Bama on the defensive end. The Wolverines' elite interior defense funnels opponents to the perimeter as Michigan ranks third in blocks and sixth in 2P percentage allowed. While Bama is clearly comfortable shooting from outside, as it leads the nation in 3P attempts, that volume doesn't necessarily come with great efficiency as the Tide are 62nd in 3P percentage.
Alabama also struggles to generate turnovers, ranking 340th out of 365 DI teams in forcing just 9.6 turnovers. That means extra possessions for the opponent, and you can't allow Michigan to have more chances on the offensive end. It ranks fourth in the country in FG percentage, fifth in 2P percentage and is sixth in offensive rating. Add in that the Crimson Tide are missing their second-leading scorer in Aden Holloway, and Bama won't be able to keep up with the Wolverines on the scoreboard. You can see the rest of Casale's 2026 NCAA bracket picks here.
How to make 2026 NCAA bracket predictions
Casale has also made his picks for the rest of the NCAA Tournament, including who advances to the Final Four and cuts down the nets. He is backing a major upset as he has a No. 1 seed failing to win its region and advance to the Final Four, so you'll want to see which upset he's predicting before locking in any 2026 NCAA bracket picks.
Who is Casale backing in the Sweet 16, and No. 1 seed fails to survive this weekend? Visit SportsLine now to see which teams you can back with confidence, all from the expert who went 89-53 (+2968) on college basketball picks.
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