See the 2016 NCAA Tournament bracket and schedule here.
The NCAA Tournament has finally arrived with a 68-team field headlined by bracket's heaviest favorite in recent memory, No. 1 overall seed Kentucky. The Wildcats head into the tournament at 34-0 after running through the regular season unblemished and capturing the title of the SEC Tournament with one blowout victory after another. Can anyone take out the John Calipari's team? It's the question everyone has been wondering all season long.
While Kentucky headlines the Midwest region, the part of the bracket directly below it might be the toughest in the tournament. The Big Ten champion Wisconsin Badgers are the No. 1 seed in the West after finishing the year at 31-3. Wisconsin is led by Wooden Award favorite Frank Kaminsky, a sweet-shooting senior center who changes the complexion of the floor whenever he's in the game. An Elite Eight rematch with No. 2 Arizona potentially awaits the Badgers down the line. Last season, Wisconsin edged Arizona in the same round by one-point in overtime.
The favorite on the right side of the bracket will be Duke. The Blue Devils have a trio of impressive freshmen in the starting lineup, but everything runs through center Jahlil Okafor. The NCAA Tournament will be the final games of Okafor's college basketball career before he enters the NBA draft as a presumptive top two pick. Guards Tyus Jones and Quinn Cook will try to provide perimeter defense and outside shooting to compliment Okafor's dominant interior game.
Virginia, Gonzaga, Villanova and Iowa State will be among the other favorites on the right half of the bracket. With a host of potential underdogs in play and new stars ready to be born, the 2015 NCAA Tournament promises to be one of the best sporting events of the year.
The format
The NCAA Tournament is a 68-team, single-elimination tournament that's split into four regions. The first round consists of the First Four, four play-in games whose winners move on to the main field of 64. The Final Four will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The Sweet 16 teams
Midwest Region
1. Kentucky Wildcats3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish5. West Virginia Mountaineers7. Wichita State Shockers
West Region
1. Wisconsin Badgers2. Arizona Wildcats4. North Carolina Tar Heels
6. Xavier Musketeers
East Region
3. Oklahoma Sooners 4. Louisville Cardinals7. Michigan State Spartans 8. N.C. State Wolfpack
South Region
1. Duke Blue Devils2. Gonzaga Bulldogs5. Utah Utes11. UCLA Bruins
Bracket
Or, download a PDF of our printable bracket here.
Schedule and results (all times Eastern)
Tuesday, March 17 (First Round)
No. 16 Hampton 74, No. 16 Manhattan 64
No. 11 Ole Miss 94, No. 11 BYU 90 (Game reactions from our Ole Miss blog and BYU blog)
Wednesday, March 18 (First Round)
No. 16 Robert Morris 81, No. 16 North Florida 77 (Game reaction from Mid-Major Madness)
No. 11 Dayton 56, No. 11 Boise State 55 (Game reactions from our Boise State blog and Mid-Major Madness)
Thursday, March 19 (Second Round)
No. 3 Notre Dame 69, No. 14 Northeastern 65 (Game reaction from our Notre Dame blog)
No. 14 UAB 60, No. 3 Iowa State 59 (Game reaction from our Iowa State blog)
No. 14 Georgia State 57, No. 3 Baylor 56 (Game reaction from our Baylor blog)
No. 2 Arizona 93, No. 15 Texas Southern 72 (Game reaction from our Arizona blog)
No. 6 Butler 56, No. 11 Texas 48 (Game reaction from our Texas blog)
No. 6 SMU 59 vs. No. 11 UCLA 60 (Game reaction from our UCLA blog)
No. 6 Xavier 76 vs. No. 11 Ole Miss 57 (Game reaction from our Xavier blog)
No. 7 VCU 72, vs. No. 10 Ohio State 75 (Game reaction from our Ohio State blog)
No. 1 Villanova 93, vs. No. 16 Lafayette 52 (Game reaction from our Villanova blog)
No. 8 Cincinnati 66, vs. No. 9 Purdue 65 (Game reactions from our Cincinnati blog and Purdue blog)
No. 4 North Carolina 67, vs. No. 13 Harvard 65 (Game reaction from our North Carolina blog)
No. 5 Utah 57, vs. No. 12 Stephen F. Austin 50
No. 8 N.C. State 66, vs. No. 9 LSU 65 (Game reactions from our N.C. State blog and LSU blog)
No. 1 Kentucky 79, vs. No. 16 Hampton 56 (Game reaction from our Kentucky blog)
No. 5 Arkansas 56, vs. No. 12 Wofford 53 (Game reaction from our Arkansas blog)
No. 4 Georgetown 84, vs. No. 13 Eastern Washington 74 (Game reaction from our Georgetown blog)
Friday, March 20 (Second Round)
No. 2 Kansas 75, No. 15 New Mexico State 56 (Game reaction from our Kansas blog)
No. 7 Michigan State 70, No. 10 Georgia 63 (Game reaction from our Michigan State blog)
No. 5 Northern Iowa 71, No. 12 Wyoming 54 (Game reaction from our Mid-Major blog)
No. 5 West Virginia 68, No. 12 Buffalo 62 (Game reaction from out West Virginia blog)
No. 7 Wichita State 81, No. 10 Indiana 76 (Game reaction from our Indiana blog)
No. 2 Virginia 79, No. 15 Belmont 67 (Game reaction from our Virginia blog)
No. 4 Louisville 57, vs. No. 13 UC Irvine 55 (Game reaction from our Louisville blog)
No. 4 Maryland 65, vs. No. 13 Valparaiso 62 (Game reaction from our Maryland blog)
No. 8 Oregon 79, vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State 73 (Game reaction from our Oregon blog)
No. 1 Duke 85, vs. No. 16 Robert Morris 56 (Game reaction from our Duke blog)
No. 7 Iowa 83, vs. No. 10 Davidson 52 (Game reaction from our Iowa blog)
No. 3 Oklahoma 69, No. 14 Albany 60 (Game reaction from our Oklahoma blog)
No. 1 Wisconsin 86, No. 16 Coastal Carolina 72 (Game reaction from our Wisconsin blog)
No. 8 San Diego State 76, No. 9 St. John's 64
No. 2 Gonzaga 86, No. 15 North Dakota State 76 (Game reaction from our Gonzaga blog)
No. 11 Dayton 66, No. 6 Providence 53
Saturday, March 21 (Third Round)
No. 11 UCLA 92, No. 14 UAB 75 (Game reaction from our UCLA blog)
No. 1 Kentucky 64, No. 8 Cincinnati 51 (Game reaction from our Kentucky blog)
No. 2 Arizona 73, No. 10 Ohio State 58 (Game reaction from our Arizona blog)
No. 6 Xavier 75, No. 14 Georgia State 67 (Game reaction from our Xavier blog)
No. 8 N.C. State 71, No. 1 Villanova 68 (Game reactions from our NC State blog and our Villanova blog)
No. 5 Utah 75, No. 4 Georgetown 64 (Game reaction from our Utah blog)
No. 4 North Carolina 87, No. 5 Arkansas 78 (Game reaction from our UNC blog)
No. 3 Notre Dame 67, No. 6 Butler 64 (OT) (Game reaction from out Notre Dame blog)
Sunday, March 22 (Third Round)
No. 7 Michigan State 60, No. 2 Virginia 54 (Game reaction from our Michigan State and Virginia blogs)
No. 1 Duke 68, No. 8 San Diego State 49 (Game reaction from our Duke blog)
No. 7 Wichita State 78, No. 2 Kansas 65 (Game reaction from our mid major blog)
No. 3 Oklahoma 72, No. 11 Dayton 66 (Game reaction from our Oklahoma blog)
No. 2 Gonzaga 87, No. 7 Iowa 68 (Game reaction from our Gonzaga blog)
No. 1 Wisconsin 72, No. 8 Oregon 65 (Game reaction from our Wisconsin blog)
No. 5 West Virginia 69, No. 4 Maryland 59 (Game reaction from our West Virginia blog)
No. 4 Louisville 66, No. 5 Northern Iowa 53 (Game reaction from our Louisville blog)
Thursday, March 26 (Sweet 16)
No. 1 Kentucky 78, No. 5 West Virginia 39 (Game reaction from our Kentucky blog)
No. 3 Notre Dame 81, No. 7 Wichita State 70 (Game reaction from our Notre Dame blog)
No. 3 Arizona 68, No. 6 Xavier 60 (Game reaction from our Arizona blog)
No. 1 Wisconsin 79, No. 4 North Carolina 72 (Game reaction from our Wisconsin blog)
Friday, March 27 (Sweet 16)
No. 2 Gonzaga 74, No. 11 UCLA 62 (Game reaction from our Gonzaga blog)
No. 4 Louisville 75, No. 8 NC State 65 (Game reaction from our NC State blog)
No. 1 Duke 62, No. 5 Utah 57 (Game reaction from our Duke blog)
No. 7 Michigan State 62, No. 3 Oklahoma 58 (Game reaction from our Michigan State blog)
Saturday, March 28 (Elite Eight)
No. 1 Wisconsin 85, No. 2 Arizona 78 (Game reaction from our Wisconsin blog)
No. 1 Kentucky 68, No. 3 Notre Dame 66 (Game reaction from our Kentucky blog)
Sunday, March 29 (Elite Eight)
No. 7 Michigan State 76, No. 4 Louisville 70 (Game reaction from our Michigan State blog)
No. 1 Duke 66, No. 2 Gonzaga 52 (Game reaction from our Duke blog)
Saturday, April 4 (Final Four)
Duke 81, Michigan State 61 (recap)
Wisconsin 71, Kentucky 64 (recap)
Monday, April 6 (National Championship Game)
Duke 68, Wisconsin 63