The Sweet Sixteen round concluded on March 27. This round had many close games that came down to the last minute. Throughout this round there was strong defense and big comebacks. These games were intense to watch, and the next three rounds are sure to keep audiences on the edge of their seats.

South Region:

The University of Illinois (Illinois) defeated the University of Houston 65-55. The first half was a dog fight between the teams. Illinois would score, then Houston would respond with a basket of their own. At halftime, Illinois was only beating Houston by three points, putting pressure on Illinois to finish out strong. Illinois led the whole game, but Houston never stepped down. They kept responding and cutting Illinois’ lead to one point and even tying at some points in the game. However, Illinois got a lot of offensive rebounds and played a tough defense, allowing Illinois to maintain the lead. It became too big of a deficit for Houston to come back and win. Illinois plays the University of Iowa in the Elite Eight. 

Iowa beat the University of Nebraska 77-71. Iowa coming into this game was favored to lose, but with a strong defense second half Iowa overcame a 10-point deficit. At halftime, Nebraska led Iowa 46-43. However, Iowa’s second half run was too much for Nebraska in the last minute. This is Iowa’s first time in the Elite Eight since 1987 and they will play the Illinois in the next round. 

Midwest Region:

The underdog, the University of Tennessee, beat the University of Iowa State 76-62. Iowa State’s best player, Joshua Jefferson, was out due to a high ankle sprain in his left foot he sustained in the first round of the tournament. Missing Jefferson at forward definitely had an impact on Iowa State during the game. Iowa State was able to keep the game close in the first half, trailing only 34-33 against Tennessee. Tennessee was able to take advantage of Iowa State’s missing player, pulling down 43 rebounds to Iowa State’s 22 rebounds. Tennessee also scored 42 points in the paint. Tennessee moves on to the Elite Eight where they play the University of Michigan. 

West Region:

Purdue University defeated the University of Texas 74-72, on a last second tip-in shot. Throughout the game there were 16 different lead changes. At halftime, Purdue was leading Texas 39-35. With 12 seconds left in the game, the teams were tied at 72 points. Purdue’s Braden Smith drove to the basket for a contested layup. He missed, but Smith’s teammate, Trey Kaufman-Renn, was able to tip the ball into the basket with less than one second remaining on the clock. Purdue moves on to the Elite Eight where they play the University of Arizona. 

East Region:

The University of Connecticut (UCONN) defeated Michigan State University (Michigan St.) 67-63. With this win, it gives UCONN their 14th trip to the Elite Eight. At halftime UCONN led Michigan St. 35-27. However, in the second half Michigan St. started rallying back, putting pressure on UCONN. Late in the second half, Michigan St. was able to cut UCONN’s lead to only one point. However, UCONN was able to persevere and take the win. UCONN plays the Duke University (Duke) in the Elite Eight. 

Duke beat St. John’s University in a close game. St. John’s led for most of the game, with their biggest lead being 10 points. With less than four minutes remaining in the game, Duke took the lead and did not give it back to St. John’s. Caleb Foster made an unexpected return for Duke in the second half of the game, after being out for a broken foot. Foster made a huge impact for Duke, scoring 11 points in just 19 minutes. Duke won the game 80-75, and goes on to play UCONN in the Elite Eight. 

The other two games were big wins by the favorite teams, including Michigan defeating the University of Alabama 90-77 and Arizona beating the University of Arkansas 109-88. 

The Elite Eight starts on March 28 and, with only a little over a week of the tournament remaining and only eight teams left, every school has proven capable to take the final win.