Michigan’s bid for a second straight trip to the Final Four is entering the second weekend of the NCAA tournament as the second-seeded Wolverines cruised through to the Sweet 16. The road gets a little tougher at the Midwest regional on Friday, when Michigan faces Tennessee in Indianapolis. The 11th-seeded Volunteers were perhaps the most impressive team of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament, rolling over Massachusetts and Mercer by a combined 39 points.

Iowa State is in the Sweet 16 for the first time in 14 years, but will have to overcome the loss of one of its top players to reach the Elite Eight. The third-seed Cyclones face Connecticut in the East regional semifinals Friday in New York City without forward Georges Niang, who averaged 20.4 points in his previous five games before breaking his foot in Iowa State’s second-round victory over North Carolina Central. The seventh-seeded Huskies have made the most of their return to the postseason.

In a matchup with seemingly endless storylines, Louisville and Kentucky face off Friday in Indianapolis with a berth in the Elite Eight of the Midwest Regional on the line. For starters, the Cardinals and Wildcats have won the last two national championships and also are playing for the second time this season after Kentucky handed Louisville a 73-66 loss Dec. 28. Of course, that was nearly three months ago and now both teams are playing some of their best basketball.

Despite drawing a No. 4 seed in the East region, Michigan State was considered by many the NCAA tournament favorite while top-seeded Virginia had the misfortune of winding up in the same part of the bracket. The Spartans, who face the Cavaliers in Sweet 16 action Friday in New York City, are 6-1 since getting all of their players back in a season filled with key injuries. The Big Ten tournament champions have carried over their recent success to the Big Dance, defeating Delaware and Harvard.