And then there were 16. After an insane first weekend of games, the NCAA Tournament will return on Thursday with the start of the Sweet Sixteen. There are few underdog teams left, but we should have some excellent basketball featuring some of the nation's best teams.
March Madness 2016: Schedule for Sweet 16
There aren’t many underdogs left in this year’s tournament, but we’re in for some excellent matchups in the Sweet Sixteen.
Thursday’s slate of games features No. 2 Villanova — which had little trouble in its first two games — taking on No. 3 Miami, which ended Wichita State’s tournament run in the second round. We’ll also see what No. 3 Texas A&M does for an encore after an epic double-overtime win over No. 11 Northern Iowa. They’ll face No. 2 Oklahoma.
No. 1 Kansas faces its first real challenge against No. 5 Maryland. The Jayhawks steamrolled No. 9 Connecticut, while the Terrapins snuffed out a Cinderella in No. 13 Hawai’i. The final game of the day sees No. 4 Duke facing No. 1 Oregon. The Ducks had a lot of trouble with No. 8 Saint Joseph’s, but they eventually put away the game in the final minute.
On Friday, we’ll see No. 1 Virginia against No. 4 Iowa State. The Cavaliers got a good fight from No. 9 Butler, but ultimately pulled away for the 77-69 win. The Cyclones are here after routing No. 12 Little Rock. The other early game sees No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 7 Wisconsin coming off incredible games. The Irish needed a last-second tip-in to beat No. 14 Stephen F. Austin, while the Badgers drained a buzzer-beater three to stun No. 2 Xavier.
The final two double-digit seeds in the field face each other later on Friday when No. 10 Syracuse takes on No. 11 Gonzaga. Both teams were on the tournament bubble, but they’re proving that they belong here. The Orange beat fellow underdog No. 15 Middle Tennessee, while the Bulldogs dismantled No. 3 Utah in one of the second round’s more surprising results.
Here’s the complete schedule. Every game will be streamed online at March Madness Live.
Sweet Sixteen schedule (all times Eastern)
Thursday, March 24
No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 3 Miami (7:10 p.m., CBS)
No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Texas A&M (7:37 p.m., TBS)
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 5 Maryland (9:40 p.m., CBS)
No. 4 Duke vs. No. 1 Oregon (10:07 p.m., TBS)
Friday, March 25
No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 4 Iowa State (7:10 p.m., CBS)
No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 7 Wisconsin (7:27 p.m., TBS)
No. 10 Syracuse vs. No. 11 Gonzaga (9:40 p.m., CBS)
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 5 Indiana (9:57 p.m., TBS)
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Buzzer Beater: Wisconsin stuns Xavier on final shot to win
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