There are just 16 teams left standing in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, so sticking with the theme of the Sweet 16, below I've handed out 16 grades -- mostly for teams still in the hunt, plus a select few who were clipped early -- to get you up to speed on all the good and not so good that's headlined March Madness through two rounds of action.
The good has been overwhelming, which made my job as teacher in this exercise quite easy. Purdue, Duke, UConn? You get stickers. Congrats on being a teacher's pet. After two dominant wins in the first two rounds, you earned the only three A+ grades from yours truly.
The bad, though, was ... well, it was bad. Sorry, Kentucky, but the highest-seeded team to get bounced in Round 1 is not an accolade worth celebrating. There were some terrible performances in this NCAA Tournament, and some even worse than the Wildcats' showing, but no one deserved an F more than John Calipari's team given the lofty expectations and subsequent face plant to a No. 14 seed Oakland team.
Let's get to the report card after the opening weekend of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
College basketball grades: Opening weekend report card
| Team | Grade | Analysis | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | UConn | A+ | The team that won the 2023 NCAA Tournament sure looks like it's the best team in the 2024 NCAA Tournament by a sizable margin. Neither Stetson nor Northwestern made the Huskies break a sweat. They're playing their best basketball right now. |
 | Duke | A+ | Duke destroyed the Dukes of James Madison on Sunday after making quick work of Vermont in the first round. The guard trio of Jeremy Roach, Jared McCain and Tyrese Proctor looks like the best in the field. |
 | Purdue | A+ | Considering the pressure Purdue faced in the first weekend after a first-round loss last year to a No. 16 seed, Purdue has answered -- no, rung and absolutely destroyed -- the bell. Both wins over Grambling and Utah State were beatdowns featuring Zach Edey and his improved supporting cast. |
 | Arizona | A | One year after getting swiped by a No. 15 seed in the first round, Arizona is once again a No. 2 seed and this time out for blood. 'Zona won twice by double figures vs. Long Beach State and Dayton, and it looks like the most potent offense in the field right now. |
 | North Carolina | A | A second-round matchup against Michigan State and Tom Izzo looked quite daunting, on paper. In practice, UNC dominated after a sluggish start. The Tar Heels are playing with a ton of confidence in a West Region bracket that's theirs for the taking. |
 | Gonzaga | A | Gonzaga secured a spot in the Sweet 16 for a ninth consecutive tournament under Mark Few with two blowout wins, first over a trendy McNeese team and then over a banged-up Kansas team. The Zags have the size and the momentum to be a disruptor -- and perhaps more -- in the Midwest Region with No. 1 seed Purdue on deck. |
 | Iowa State | A | What Iowa State did to a really good Wazzu team in the second round was eye-opening. This team won big with offense in the first round, then went back to its roots with a gritty defensive showing vs. the Cougars. Tough, physical and better-than-you-think shot making scattered about this roster. Dangerous Cyclones team. |
 | Houston | A | Emanuel Sharp has come on strong for the Cougars during the NCAA Tournament to give teams another headache to deal with on top of Jamal Shead and LJ Cryer. Even with some injuries, Houston looks like the biggest pain-in-the-rear team to face because of its relentless and physicality -- both of which were on full display in a thrilling overtime win over Texas A&M in Round 2. |
 | Marquette | B+ | With Tyler Kolek returning from a six-game absence, Marquette has looked as cohesive and explosive as it has all season, evidenced by a comeback win vs. Western Kentucky and a shootout win Sunday vs. Colorado. Kolek and Kam Jones are both playing with immense confidence. |
 | Tennessee | B+ | Tennessee scored 83 in a first-round blowout, then flexed its top-five defense in the second round to escape a pesky Texas team. Dalton Knecht has been stellar for the Volunteers, and this offense looks nearly as lethal as the defense when it is firing on all cylinders. |
 | Clemson | B | If you faded Clemson after losing in the ACC Tournament by 21 to Boston College (guilty!), then you're kicking yourself right now. Brad Brownell's Tigers beat New Mexico and Baylor as underdogs by 21 and eight points, respectively. |
 | Illinois | B | Gotta grade Illinois on a curve here because, truth is, No. 14 seed Morehead State and No. 11 seed Duquesne did not provide much resistance. The Illini will have to earn it the hard way to reach the Final Four, though, with Iowa State and potentially UConn looming. |
 | Alabama | B- | Charleston nearly scored 100 on the Tide in the first round and Alabama played just OK to survive Grand Canyon in Round 2. To advance, you must first survive, which Alabama has done, It's just been a bit clunky. |
 | NC State | B- | How about the Wolfpack?! After five wins in five days to take the ACC Tournament, they've drilled Texas Tech then survived an OT thriller vs. Cinderella-hopeful Oakland, punching their first Sweet 16 ticket since 2015. |
 | Kansas | D | KU's 21-point loss to Gonzaga was its second-largest all-time in its NCAA Tournament history. And it doesn't get much credit for escaping Samford, either. If not for a bad foul call late that went the Jayhawks' favor, they very well could have, and maybe should have, been heading home after Round 1. |
 | Kentucky | F | Kentucky has been known under John Calipari for the one-and-done, but of late it's not the one-and-done you might think. The Wildcats lost their first-round game as a 3-seed to 14-seed Oakland, which comes two years after it lost as a 2-seed to 15-seed Saint Peter's. Not good. Not good at all. |
