March Madness bracket predictions redo: Revised Final Four picks ahead of Sweet 16

OK, soFlorida's loss to Iowahad a lot of us crumbling upour brackets.

The defending champions were a popular pick to repeat. But the No. 1 seeded Gators werehit with a second-round Hawkeyes dagger, leading many looking for a mulligan on theFinal Four predictions.

Sweet 16 predictions:Experts pick who will advance in March Madness bracket

How'd we do? Grading our brackets:Revisiting our March Madness predictions

So let's give this another try. Here are USA TODAY Sports staff's updated Final Four picks.

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Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Nebraska's Berke Buyuktuncel celebrates with fans following a second-round game in the NCAA men's basketball tournament between Nebraska Cornhuskers and Vanderbilt Commodores at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on March 21, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Arkansas Razorbacks cheerleaders in the second half against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2026 in Portland, Ore.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> A Texas Christian University Horned Frogs cheerleader practices before the game during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 19, 2026 in Greenville, SC.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

See best of March Madness 2026, from mascots and fans to celebrities

Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournamentat Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.

Final Four predictions: Who will win Sweet 16, Elite 8?

• East: Duke

• Midwest: Michigan

• South: Illinois

• West: Arizona

Blake Toppmeyer

• East: Michigan State

• Midwest: Michigan

• South: Houston

• West: Arizona

Paul Myerberg

• East: St. John's

• Midwest: Michigan

• South: Houston

• West: Arizona

Craig Meyer

• East: UConn

• Midwest: Michigan

• South: Houston

• West: Arkansas

John Leuzzi

• East: Duke

• Midwest: Michigan

• South: Houston

• West: Arizona

Ehsan Kassim

• East: Duke

• Midwest: Alabama

• South: Illinois

• West: Arkansas

How sweet it is. Sixteen teams remain in the March Madness 2026 tournament. Here are some top players and matchups to watch.
No. 11 Texas vs. No. 2 Purdue Texas: Matas Vokietaitis

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 11 Texas vs. No. 2
Purdue Purdue: Braden Smith

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 4 Nebraska
Iowa: Bennett Stirtz

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 4 Nebraska
Nebraska: Pryce Sandfort

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 1 Arizona
Arkansas: Darius Acuff Jr.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 1 Arizona
Arizona: Brayden Burries

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 2 Houston
Illinois: Keaton Wagler

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 2 Houston
Houston: Emanuel Sharp

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 5 St. John's vs. No. 1 Duke
St. John's: Zuby Ejiofor

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 5 St. John's vs. No. 1 Duke
Duke: Cameron Boozer

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 1 Michigan
Alabama: Labaron Philon Jr.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 1 Michigan
Michigan: Yaxel Lendeborg

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 3 Michgan State vs. No. 2 UConn
Michigan State: Jeremy Fears Jr. (1)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 3 Michgan State vs. No. 2 UConn
UConn: Alex Karaban

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 2 Iowa State
Tennessee: Ja'Kobi Gillespie (0)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 2 Iowa State
Iowa State: Milan Momcilovic

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Men's Sweet 16 players to watch during March Madness

How sweet it is. Sixteen teams remain in theMarch Madness 2026tournament. Here are some top players and matchups to watch.No. 11 Texas vs. No. 2 PurdueTexas: Matas Vokietaitis

Who is favorite to win March Madness? NCAA championship odds heading into Sweet 16

Here's a look at theupdated championship oddsfor the 16 teams remaining.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Final Four picks: Rethinking our March Madness predictions ahead of Sweet 16

byAlpha World

in

March 24, 2026

March Madness bracket predictions redo: Revised Final Four picks ahead of Sweet 16

OK, soFlorida's loss to Iowahad a lot of us crumbling upour brackets. The defending champions were a popul...

Read More

Stories of survival emerge from deadly New York airport collision as officials investigate its cause

NEW YORK (AP) — Moments after an Air Canada jetcollided at high speed with a fire truckat New York's LaGuardia Airport, killing the pilots and hurling a flight attendant from the aircraft, the passengers took their escape into their own hands.

APTOPIX LaGuardia Crash

With the smell of fuel in the air and debris dangling from the obliterated cockpit, passengers tore open emergency exit doors, jumped off the plane's wings and then turned around to catch others coming up behind them, some bleeding or with head wounds.

"Strangely enough, I wasn't scared or panicked. On the contrary, I think most of us were pretty aware of what happened," said passenger Clément Lelièvre. "So we all went outside; we got other people out."

About 40 passengers and crew members on the regional jet from Montreal, and two people from the fire truck, were taken to hospitals. Some suffered serious injuries, but by Monday morning, most had been released, and others walked away without needing treatment.

As investigators continued delving Tuesday into what caused thecatastrophic wreck, stories of survival also emerged — including that of the flight attendant, found injured but alive outside the aircraft.

Lelièvre credited the pilots' "incredible reflexes" with saving lives. The pilots braked extremely hard just as the plane touched down, he said.

The collision late Sunday came after the fire truck was given permission to check on another plane that had aborted its takeoff after reporting an odor on board and started crossing the tarmac. An air traffic controller can be heard on airport communications frantically telling the fire truck to stop.

Roughly 20 minutes later, the controller appears to blame himself. "We were dealing with an emergency earlier," the controller said. "I messed up."

A key for investigators will be examining coordination of the airport's air traffic and ground traffic at the time of the crash, said Mary Schiavo, a former Department of Transportation Inspector General.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said LaGuardia is "well-staffed" but faces a shortage of controllers.

The runway where the crash happened is likely to be closed for "days" during the investigation, Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation, said at a news conference Monday. Investigators need to sift through a lot of debris, she said.

Authorities recovered the plane's cockpit and flight data recorders by cutting a hole in the aircraft's roof and then drove them to the NTSB lab in Washington for analysis, Homendy said.

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It was too early in the investigation to answer many questions about the accident, but more information was expected to be released Tuesday, she said.

The crash shut down LaGuardia — the New York region's third busiest hub — during what was already amessy time at U.S. airportsbecause of a partial government shutdown.

Flights resumed Monday afternoon on one runway and with lengthy delays. The shutdown caused some disruptions at other airports, too, especially for Delta, which has a major presence at LaGuardia.

There were 72 passengers and four crew members aboard the Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada, according to the airline. The flight originated at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. Canada has also sent a team of investigators.

The pilot and copilot who died in the first fatal crash at LaGuardia in 34 years were both based out of Canada, said Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.

Jeannette Gagnier, the great aunt of one of the pilots, identified him as Antoine Forest, and said he always wanted to be a pilot.

Air traffic controllers are not impacted by the partial government shutdown that has causedlong delays at airport security checkpointsin recent days. They have been affected by past shutdowns.

The FAA has been chronically short on air traffic controllers for years.

LaGuardia is one of 35 major U.S. airports with an advanced surface surveillance system designed to help keep track of planes and vehicles crossing the airport.

An alarm heard in the background of the air traffic control audio was likely from the system and would have alerted the tower to the potential collision, Former FAA air traffic control chief Mike McCormick said.

FAA statisticsshow there were 1,636 runway incursions last year.

Associated Press reporters Michael R. Sisak, Anthony Izaguirre and Mae Anderson in New York; Rob Gillies in Toronto; Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

byAlpha World

in

March 24, 2026

Stories of survival emerge from deadly New York airport collision as officials investigate its cause

NEW YORK (AP) — Moments after an Air Canada jetcollided at high speed with a fire truckat New York's LaGuardia Airpor...

Read More