The 2018 NCAA men’s basketball tournament concluded its first round on Friday, which means the field has been whittled down to 32 teams. At the end of the weekend, the Sweet 16 will be set. If you’re bracket’s already busted, be not alone, for probably half the country’s is as well.
NCAA tournament 2018: Schedule, start times announced for Sunday’s Round 2 games
We’ll know the Sweet 16 after close of business Sunday.
Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Speaking of bracket busters, Loyola upended a vulnerable Miami club on Thursday afternoon with a dramatic buzzer-beater to push the Ramblers into the tournament’s round of 32. That spectacle should qualify as 2018’s first big upset, at least for anyone who doesn’t already know that Loyola has built a sneakily strong dark horse outfit that could run deep into this year’s Big Dance.
Thursday’s opening round action also momentarily felt like it could have delivered the first upset of a No. 1 seed by a 16 in the history of the tournament. Ivy League champs Penn came hot out of the gate against No. 1 Kansas and built up a 21-11 lead with eight minutes remaining in the first half. Sadly, the Quakers’ impossible attempt proved to be just that, as they fell hard in over the game’s final 28 minutes to lose, 76-60. Alas.
No. 10 Rhode Island narrowly took down No. 7 Oklahoma in overtime, 83-78, after the Sooners and NBA lock Trae Young took the Rams down to the wire in spectacular fashion. That was likely Young’s final game as an amateur athlete, and he played admirably with a cohort of teammates that just couldn’t offer enough production in support.
Sunday will feature No. 13 Marshall, who got 27 points from Jon Elmore in an upset win over No. 4 Wichita State on Friday.
We will also see UMBC, the first No. 16 seed in NCAA Tournament history to advance to the second round. They battle Kansas State.
Saturday saw the field cut from 32 to 24 teams, and all that stands between us and the Sweet 16 is Sunday’s slate of eight games. CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV will televise all of Sunday’s action, with online streaming available through NCAA March Madness Live.
Sunday NCAA Tournament schedule
All times ET
No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 10 Butler, 12:10 p.m. (CBS)
No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 11 Syracuse, 2:40 p.m. (CBS)
No. 2 North Carolina vs. No. 7 Texas A&M, 5:15 p.m. (CBS)
No. 2 Cincinnati vs. No. 7 Nevada, 6:10 p.m. (TNT)
No. 4 Auburn vs. No. 5 Clemson, 7:10 p.m. (TBS)
No. 9 Kansas State vs. No. 16 UMBC, 7:45 p.m. (truTV)
No. 1 Xavier vs. No. 9 Florida State, 8:40 p.m. (TNT)
No. 5 West Virginia vs. No. 13 Marshall, 9:40 p.m. (TBS)
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