March Madness 2016: Elite Eight coverage, scores and highlights

The day’s games didn’t disappoint, for the most part. No. 1 Virginia threatened to bore its way to another dominant win, but No. 10 Syracuse staged a stunning comeback to knock off the Cavaliers, continuing a truly astonishing run through the tournament. In the late game, No. 1 North Carolina and No. 6 Notre Dame put on a good show with lots of buckets and fast-paced play, and while the Irish had a good performance, talent ultimately won out and the Tar Heels pulled away late.

With the Elite Eight in the books and the Final Four now set, let’s take a quick look back at Sunday’s action.

After two weeks of chaos and breathtaking finish, we’re down to the last four teams in the NCAA Tournament. Now we get nearly a full week to breathe before the Final Four tips off on Saturday, which means you also have time to download our new printable bracket here.

The Elite Eight concluded with a pair of entertaining games, although the first game didn’t start that way. No. 1 Virginia took a big early lead over No. 10 Syracuse, kept that lead for most of the game and it looked like a snoozer finish. That was, until the Orange slapped on a full-court press and pushed the tempo, and the Cavaliers completely forgot how to play basketball. Syracuse ended the game on a 25-6 run to pull off the shocking comeback. The Orange are the first No.10 seed to reach the Final Four.

Way to make it weird, Roy.

March Madness: How big of a Cinderella story is Syracuse?

Best NCAA Tournament Player: Was it Carmelo Anthony or Christian Laettner?

Be sure to subscribe to SB Nation’s YouTube channel for highlight videos, features, analysis and more

Who needs two shoes to play basketball? Not Syracuse’s Tyler Lydon.

Virginia’s in control of the game, up 35-21 at halftime. But Lydon is now in the company of NBA champions Mike Miller and Andre Iguodala. He’s absolutely a shoo-in for “One Shining Moment.”

Virginia’s Darius Thompson hit a ridiculous difficult shot to add to a growing Virginia lead:

And the bench could only shrug:

That foul meant a turnover, giving Villanova the ball at a critical juncture. They hit two free throws, and although Kansas tried to battle back, the Wildcats hung on for a 64-59 win and are headed to the Final Four.

Would 100 percent of refs make this call? Of course not, and it would be fine if this went uncalled.

Kansas and Oklahoma played two of the more memorable games of the 2015-16 regular season, with the Jayhawks prevailing in both instances.

First, there was the 109-106 triple overtime thriller in Lawrence, which is widely regarded as one of the best college basketball games in recent memory. Revenge escaped Oklahoma a month later when they were dealt a 76-72 loss by Kansas on their home floor in another highly competitive game.

Before the Sweet Sixteen, Hield even got a photo with the legendary Mamba. Wait, no, I mixed that up. Before the Sweet Sixteen, Bryant even got a photo with the legendary Buddy. (via Instagram)

Oklahoma is headed to the Final Four for the first time since 2002 and Buddy Hield is the man responsible for it. The back-to-back Big 12 Player of the Year rained down jumper after jumper on Oregon, easily dropping the No. 1 seed in an Elite Eight route.

Hield finished with 37 points on 13-of-20 shooting with eight three-pointers. Hold up, let’s rewind that: 37 points on 20 shots, yes, that’s right. For the tournament, Hield now has 19 threes in this tournament, putting him in striking distance of Glen Rice’s record (27). Hield is also the first player to score at least 100 points while hitting 19 threes before the Final Four since Stephen Curry in 2008, which will only further fuel comparisons between the two ridiculous shooters. College basketball has seen many great scorers, but almost never do they advance this far. Buddy has.

Have you been waiting for all the lower seeds to clear out of the 2016 NCAA Tournament, so the teams considered the best in college basketball could clash? Well, you’re an odd person who probably doesn’t really appreciate the drama of the early rounds of March Madness like you should -- but you’re getting your wish on Saturday.

Only No. 1 and No. 2 seeds remain in the Elite Eight in the South and West Regions, with No. 1 overall seed Kansas set to take on white-hot No. 2 Villanova in the South Region final and No. 1 Oregon meeting No. 2 Oklahoma in Anaheim for the right to represent the West Region in the Final Four.

You may be missing the chaos of the 2016 NCAA Tournament’s first and second rounds after a relatively sensible Sweet 16 took place over Thursday and Friday. That makes sense: nothing was actually going to top an upset-riddled first weekend.

But that doesn’t mean Saturday’s Elite Eight games aren’t must-watch affairs.

For Oregon, a Final Four trip would be the program’s first since winning the first NCAA Tournament in 1939. For Oklahoma, in its first Elite Eight since Blake Griffin’s heyday in 2009, a first Final Four since 2002 is on the line.

Here are the time, TV listing, and online streaming link for Oregon vs. Oklahoma.

The No. 1 overall seed of the 2016 NCAA Tournament and the hottest team in March Madness will meet on Saturday night to decide which one will move on to the Final Four. It doesn’t get much better than No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 2 Villanova in the South Regional Final, in other words.

But while Kansas has beaten its foes by a healthy 16 points per game, Villanova has been immolating its competition. The Wildcats torched No. 3 Miami, 92-69, in the Sweet Sixteen, adding a third win by at least 19 points to its NCAA Tournament resume alongside demolitions of No. 15 UNC Asheville and No. 7 Iowa. Jay Wright’s squad has been lava-hot from distance, making at least 10 threes in all three NCAA Tournament games and going an absurd 33-for-62 on its treys since March Madness began.