March Madness bracket update: Duke escapes Texas Tech, Arizona upset by Houston

Duke survives Texas Tech, while top-seeded Arizona falls to Houston in the latest night of March Madness.

While four teams like the Duke Blue Devils and the Houston Cougars move on to the Elite Eight in March Madness, another four teams are going home such as the Arizona Wildcats and the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

The first half of the Sweet 16 played out on Thursday night in San Antonio and in San Francisco. Though two higher seeds advanced to the Elite Eight, two of the remaining No. 1 seeds saw their spectacular seasons come to an end. The South and West Regional Finals are all set to be played out on Saturday. Find out what teams are still playing and who is going home after Thursday night.

Here is the latest March Madness bracket update after the first four Sweet 16 games have been played.

March Madness bracket update, March 25: Duke, Houston keep on dancing

No. 4 Arkansas outlasted top-seeded Gonzaga in their Sweet 16 game. The Hogs got 21 points from J.D. Notae in their 74-68 upset victory over the Zags. Drew Timme may have had a game-high 25 points, but the Bulldogs and his mustache are going back to Spokane empty-handed. Mark Few remains the very best head coach who has yet to win a national championship to date.

As shocking as it was to see Arkansas beat Gonzaga, No. 5 Houston is one step closer to returning to the Final Four, as the Cougars handled the top-seeded Wildcats easily in their Sweet 16 matchup. Many people thought Arizona could win it all, but Kelvin Sampson has transformed U of H’s program into an absolute buzzsaw in The American. The Cougars beat the Wildcats, 72-60.

The magical run for the No. 11 Michigan Wolverines ended in San Antonio, as they fell to the No. 2 Villanova, 63-55. Michigan got into the NCAA Tournament by the skin of its teeth. Though the Wolverines’ run to the Sweet 16 was an impressive one, Villanova is the program with a chance of cutting down the nets in Texas on Saturday. The Wildcats are Elite Eight bound under Jay Wright.

And in the final game of the Sweet 16 slate on Thursday night, No. 2 Duke held on to beat No. 3 Texas Tech to the tune of 78-73. Paolo Banchero had a game-high 22 points to keep the Coach K era alive at least for a little bit longer. As for Texas Tech, the Red Raiders put up a valiant fight, but did not have enough to end Mike Krzyzewski’s coaching career in San Francisco on Thursday night.

While there is a ton to be decided in the East and Midwest Regions on Friday, the South Regional Final will be between No. 5 Houston and No. 2 Villanova on Saturday night. Tipoff from the AT&T Center in San Antonio will be at 6:09 p.m. ET, 5:09 p.m. ET on March 26. No. 4 Arkansas will take on No. 2 Duke at Chase Center in San Francisco at 8:49 p.m. ET, 5:49 p.m. ET to decide the West.

Only 12 teams are still alive to win the 2022 NCAA Tournament entering the Friday night slate.

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