FROM 68 participating schools, the 2016 U.S. National Collegiate Athletic association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament that is better known to hoops fans as “March Madness” is down to the Sweet 16.
The reigning NCAA titlist Duke University Blue Devils (25-10), the No. 4 seeds in the West Regional who are seeking their sixth NCAA championship, beat University of North Carolina-Wilmington and Yale University to advance to the regional semifinals against the regional top-seeded and nationally fifth-ranked University of Oregon Ducks (30-6).
The other West semifinal matchup features second-seeded University of Oklahoma (27-7) versus third-seeded University of Texas A & M (28-8). Including the Oregon Ducks, all of the four regional top seeds made it to the Sweet 16. A year ago, only three regional top seeds qualified for the final 16.
Nationally No. 1-ranked and regional top seed University of Kansas Jayhawks (32-4) will face fifth-seeded University of Maryland (27-8) and second-seeded Villanova (31-5) will tangle with third-seeded Miami of Florida (27-7) in the single-elimination semifinals of the South Regional.
The University of North Carolina Tar Heels (30-6), who were rated third in the Associated Press’ final national polls and seeded first in the East regional, will take on fifth-seeded Indiana University (27-7, the Hoosiers reached the Sweet 16 for the third time in five seasons after knocking off four-seed and 2015 Final Four participant University of Kentucky (27-9), 73-67) and six-seed Notre Dame (23-11) will meet seven-seed and 2015 losing finalist Wisconsin (22-12) in the East semis.
In the Midwest Regional, the nationally fourth-ranked and regional top-seeded University of Virginia Cavaliers (28-7) will take on four-seed Iowa State (23-11) and 10th-seeded Syracuse (21-13) will lock heads with 11th-seeded Gonzaga University (28-7).
The regional semifinal games will be held on March 25-26 (Manila time) while the regional finals (or so-called Elite Eight) will be staged on March 27-28 (MT). The Final Four or national semifinals, featuring the South champion against the West titlist and the East champion versus the Midwest titlist, will be held at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on April 3 (MT).
The 78th NCAA title contest will be played two days later, also at the same venue. The biggest off-chart result so far in the NCAA tournament has been the Big Ten Conference tournament champion Michigan State Spartans’ 90-81 loss to regional No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee in a Midwest first-round action. It marked only the eight time in NCAA Division I history that a No. 2 seed had lost to a No. 15 seed in the tournament.
Seeded No. 2 in the Midwest, the Spartans were ranked second overall in the AP national rankings and owned a nine-game winning streak before being ambushed by the Blue Raiders in the first round – their first loss to a non-Big Ten opponent this season – to become the first No. 2 seed to be beaten by a No. 15 seed since Florida Gulf Coast upset Georgetown in 2013.