The final day of men’s NCAA tournament Sweet 16 games took place on Friday night, delivering a more than adequate amount of drama to an already wacky year of March Madness.
Saint Peter’s became the first No. 15 seed in tournament history to advance to the Elite Eight with an upset victory over No. 3 Purdue. The Peacocks historic run continued on in remarkable fashion but they were far from the only team in action on Friday.
Kansas was the sole No. 1 seed to advance with a narrow win over No. 4 Providence. No. 8 UNC pulled off another upset over No. 4 UCLA. Finally, No. 10 Miami (Fla.) became the second double-digit seed to fight its way into the Elite Eight with a 14-point victory over No. 11 Iowa State.
With the Sweet 16 results now in, the Elite Eight field remaining is one of the more unique in tournament history. The action will kick off on Saturday night with a pair of intriguing matchups.
After making it through to the Elite Eight without much of a sweat, No. 2 Villanova will face its toughest test yet against No. 5 Houston. The Cougars are red-hot and have the chance to make a second straight Final Four under coach Kelvin Sampson.
Later in the evening, Coach K’s storybook farewell tour will continue as No. 2 Duke takes on No. 4 Arkansas. The Razorbacks just knocked off the No. 1 overall seed in Gonzaga and will now need to take down a talented Blue Devils team to advance to the national semifinals.
On Sunday, Kansas will try to keep the dream of a No. 1 seed winning the national championship alive. The Jayhawks will take on No. 10 Miami (Fla.), which has moved through its portion of the bracket with relative ease.
Finally, No. 15 Saint Peter’s will be back in action once again after winning over the hearts and minds of sports fans around the country over the last two weeks. The Peacocks will square off against the No. 8 UNC Tar Heels, who have played some of their best basketball of the year in the tournament.
Here is the complete schedule for the next two days of Elite Eight games:
Saturday, March 26
6:09 p.m. (ET) — No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 5 Houston (TBS)
8:49 p.m. (ET) — No. 2 Duke vs. No. 4 Arkansas (TBS)
Sunday, March 27
2:20 p.m. (ET) — No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 10 Miami (Fla.) (CBS)
5:05 p.m. (ET) — No. 8 UNC vs. No. 15 Saint Peter’s (CBS)
The winners of the Elite Eight will advance to the Final Four, scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 2.
