The first weekend of the tournament is in the books, and 52 teams have been eliminated. The Sweet 16 begins Thursday night. Before looking ahead, let’s briefly look back and see how we got here.

If you’re looking for this year’s Cinderella, don’t bother. A pair of No. 12 seeds, a No. 11, and No. 10s pulled upsets of varying levels. It’s commonplace for at least one double-digit seed to make the Sweet 16, but this year we don’t get some plucky upstart from a mid-major. Drake and McNeese pulled off good upsets, but couldn’t win that second game. No, the only double-digit seed we get this year is Arkansas, one of 14 teams from the SEC coached by championship-winning hall of famer John Calipari. Calipari hasn’t been a “Cinderella” since he coached UMass in the mid-90s.

Don’t look for conference diversity this year, either. Only four conferences are represented. The usually powerful ACC just has one: Duke. The powerhouse SEC has a record seven teams and the Big 12 and Big Ten have four apiece. The Big East and Mountain West are finished, as is second weekend regular Gonzaga. Two-time defending champion Connecticut nearly got past Florida, and Maryland eked past Colorado State on a buzzer-beater (the only such finish so far!), but that’s it for close games.

I’m happy to say that my Elite Eight and Final Four are intact, but that can change in a hurry. Should I change my forecast of Houston cutting the nets? Let’s take a look.

SOUTH: Auburn vs. Michigan, Michigan State vs. Mississippi. Since I had Ole Miss losing in the first round, I’m admittedly a little surprised to see them here. But everybody else in the South is where I thought they’d be. Auburn and Michigan State both had the kind of decisive wins that No. 1 and No. 2 seeds ought to have in the first weekend, and the Wolverines won against two quality opponents as well. I’m not changing my picks: Auburn beats Michigan State to advance.

WEST: Florida vs. Maryland, Texas Tech vs. Arkansas. Again, I just had one party crasher in this region and that’s “Cinderella” Arkansas replacing Kansas — I didn’t think St. John’s would get this far. Maryland and Florida were both sorely tested in the second round and I think they’ll test each other this week. Texas Tech profiles as a top 10 team in KenPom’s power rankings, and Arkansas … doesn’t (they’re in the mid-30s), so I’m taking Tech to win. And I still think they’ll outlast Florida in the Elite Eight too-the Big 12 is a gauntlet so they know what it takes.

MIDWEST: Houston vs. Purdue, Tennessee vs. Kentucky. This has been the chalk bracket, No. 1 vs. No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3. Purdue has beaten two double-digit seeds and I doubt they hang with Houston. Tennessee has lost twice to Kentucky already, and Kentucky had a good first weekend under new coach Mark Pope. In the NFL we say it’s tough to beat a team three times, so I’m sticking with my prediction that Tennessee will win this game, but still lose a tight defensive battle with Houston on Sunday.

EAST: Duke vs. Arizona, Alabama vs. BYU. I missed five of the Sweet 16 teams, and four of them, including BYU, I predicted to lose in the FIRST round, so I was way off on them. BYU is one of few teams that can keep up with Alabama’s high-scoring offense. And about Duke, who I have losing to Arizona … they have looked downright scary. This region is where my bracket may well get broken. An all blue-and-white Elite Eight (Duke vs. BYU) should not surprise anyone. But I’m stubborn. Guard Mark Sears took over when Alabama was struggling this weekend and I think he’ll do it again, twice. Alabama breaks through.

FINAL FOUR: So while it’s very possible that Duke plows through the remaining field, I’m sticking to my original picks. Auburn’s playing well and should still beat Texas Tech. Houston was pushed to the limit by an excellent Gonzaga team and won’t back down from Alabama’s offensive onslaught. And if Houston finishes the job against a powerful Auburn team, it should go down as one of the toughest roads to a title in recent tournament history. I think they do it.