Updated 2018 NCAA Tournament bracket after Sweet 16
The Sweet 16 has come and gone and teams are one step closer to the Final Four. Here are the teams moving on to the Elite Eight.
The NCAA Tournament continues to keep fans on the edge of their seats and has lived up to the hype as the most electrifying postseason event in major sports. With all the excitement from the first two rounds, the Sweet 16 had a tough act to follow — and the Basketball Gods did not disappoint.
Leaning on faith and an undeniable appetite for the dramatic, as well as some help from a woman by the name of Sister Jean, the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers came away with another win. Led by Clayton Custer and Marques Townes, head coach Porter Moser and Rambler nation have embraced the underdog status and look to prove to college basketball that they are the real deal. Winning all three games by a total of four points, the Ramblers overcame a back-and-forth with Nevada powered by big men twins Caleb and Cody Martin to advance to the Elite Eight. Head coach Eric Musselman’s bunch came up short, but not for a lack of effort till the final whistle.
Also out of the South Region, the Kansas State Wildcats were able to pounce on the other Wildcats from Kentucky to end a Final Four run that looked to be Kentucky’s to lose. Kansas State had other plans, and on the backs of Xavier Sneed (22 points) and Barry Brown (13 points), the Wildcats in purple were able to hold off Kentucky and leave “Big Blue Nation” looking ahead to next season.
Head coach Bruce Weber and company now have the task of taking down the unlikeliest of challengers in Loyola-Chicago and Sister Jean in the Elite Eigh,t where they’ll need more magic and maybe some of Loyola’s good fortune to take down America’s darling.
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In the West Region, Florida State was able to finish off a hungry Gonzaga, who was looking for a second consecutive trip to the Elite Eight. Often criticized for his lack of postseason success, head coach Leonard Hamilton has now rattled back-to-back upsets against No.1 Xavier and No. 4 Gonzaga, who played in the National Championship a year ago. The Seminoles’ length has continued to be a problem for teams, and 6-foot-6 Guard Terance Mann is leading the Noles into the Elite Eight against a talented Michigan Wolverines basketball team.
The Wolverines have one of their better squads in recent years, led by swingman Mo Wagner. John Beilein’s bunch won the Big 10 Tournament and are having the type of year reminiscent of when they played in the NCAA Championship game vs. Louisville in 2013. Guards Charles Matthews and Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman were the leading scorers against a hot Texas A&M team that upset North Carolina with 18 and 24 points, respectively, with Abdur-Rahkman going 4-of-7 from three-point range.
On the other side of the bracket in the East Region, the overall No. 1 seed Villanova Wildcats left no doubts as to why they are at the top of the mountain. After having a rough first half and allowing West Virginia to control the pace with aggressive defense, the Wildcats woke up in the second half, doing what they do best: score. Jay Wright’s team was led by guard Jalen Brunson, who led all scorers with 27 points, helping to wear down the Mountaineers’ pressure in the second half on the way to another win for the Wildcats. Both teams struggled from the floor, but it was Villanova’s defense and not West Virginia’s that got the stops needed to pull away late.
Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks have now made three straight Elite Eight appearances, and with Devontae Graham and Udoka Azubuike continuing to pace the Jayhawks, they just might earn another trip to the Final Four. Graham came up big, snagging an offensive rebound late that was the icing on the cake and adding 16 points, but it was guard Malik Newman who finished with 17 to lead the Jayhawks offense.
Kansas came out firing in the first half and caught a less talented Clemson Tigers team on its heels, jumping out to a significant 13-point lead at the half and never looking back. In the second half, Clemson found a rhythm behind senior guard Gabe Devoe, who led all scorers with 31 points, but unfortunately for the Tigers, that effort came a little too late.
The last games of the night pitted Texas Tech vs. Purdue and the main event featuring Syracuse vs. Duke. With Purdue shorthanded and without Isaac Haas, Texas Tech was able to find success offensively, getting to the rim at ease. Keeping the game close, Tech relied early on guard Justin Gray when Keenan Evans struggled. In the second half, Evans would get it going, playing in the moment and finishing the game with 16 points. Gray finished with 12 points, shooting 6-for-8 from the field, and Texas Tech punched their first ticket to the Elite Eight in program history. The Red Raiders will face Villanova on Sunday.
In the end, the Duke Blue Devils did it again, returning to the Elite Eight with a four-point victory over the Syracuse Orange. Friends Jim Boeheim and Mike Krzyzewski found themselves in a familiar battle for the right to play Kansas for a chance to head to San Antonio.
The Blue Devils outdueled Syracuse, matching the 2-3 matchup zone with their own zone defense to disrupt the Orange. The Blue Devils were led by their big man Marvin Bagley III (22 points), who had help from Wendell Carter, Grayson Allen and Gary Trent Jr., all combining for 65 of the Blue Devils’ 69 points on the night.
Sweet 16 Summary:
West Region
No. 3 Michigan 99, No. 7 Texas A&M 72
No. 9 Florida St. 75, No. 4 Gonzaga 60
South Region
No. 9 Kansas State 61, No. 3 Kentucky 58
No. 11 Loyola-Chicago 69, No. 7 Nevada 68
East Region
No. 1 Villanova 90, No. 5 West Virginia 78
No. 3 Texas Tech 78, Purdue 65
Midwest Region
No. 1 Kansas 80, No. 5 Clemson 76
No. 2 Duke 69, No. 11 Syracuse 65
See the updated bracket here.
Next: More. Sister Jean. Please.
The Elite Eight kicks off on Saturday, March 24 at 6:07 p.m. ET, with No.11 Loyola-Chicago vs. No. 9 Kansas State for a shot in the Final Four followed by No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 9 Florida State and the remaining games on Sunday, March 25. Check back to FanSided’s March Madness hub for updates, analysis, and highlights as the tournament comes to a close.