Big Ten Dominates First Night of Sweet 16

It’s the Big Ten’s world, and everyone else is living it when it comes to men’s college basketball on the first night of the Sweet 16.

Iowa, Illinois, and Purdue all advanced on March 26. Arizona was the lone team from another conference to win. Only two other teams from different conferences played in those four games.

Second-seeded Purdue (30–8) edged No. 11 seed Texas (21–15) in the West Region 79–77 on a last-second tip-in by Trey Kaufman-Renn. Braden Smith missed a shot for Purdue with 0.7 seconds remaining, and Kaufman-Renn tipped in the ball just in time.

“I was standing under the rim, I was like ‘Please get in there, please get in there,’ and it did,” Smith told reporters afterward. “Trey tipped it perfectly, and I was like ‘Thank God, thank God that went in.’”

Purdue knocked out the last remaining double-digit seed in the process, and the Boilermakers will play for a Final Four appearance on March 21. Texas made it through the First Four and pulled upsets along the way to reach the Sweet 16.

“It feels really good to be a part of what we did, that’s the one thing I would say,” Longhorns head coach Sean Miller told reporters afterward.

Ninth-seeded Iowa (24–12) is now the lowest-seeded team left in the tournament. The Hawkeyes nearly didn’t make it, trailing almost the entire game against No. 4 seed Nebraska (28–7) in the South Region.

Iowa found a late surge and knocked out the Cornhuskers 77–71 after trailing by double-digits for parts of the game. Bennett Stirtz led the way for the Hawkeyes with 20 points as the team reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987.

“Cinderella, whatever they want to call us,” Iowa coach Ben McCollum said afterward regarding the low seed. “We’re in the Elite Eight, that’s what they need to call us.”

Third-seeded Illinois (27–8) played the role of David slaying Goliath by beating No. 2 seed Houston 65–55 in the South Region.

A Final Four team last year, Houston (30–7) looked poised to make another run with defending national champion Florida already knocked out by Iowa. Instead, the Illini locked down the Cougars to reach the Elite Eight for a second time in three years.

“I think it’s a mental focus,” Illini head coach Brad Underwood said afterward. “We’ve been very good at times defensively. It’s just sustaining it … we’ve got very capable defenders, we’ve got size and length, and we just got to make shots difficult.”

Illinois will take on Iowa next, marking the second all-Big Ten matchup for the Hawkeyes. The last time the two teams met, Illinois defeated Iowa 106–94 on March 13.

In the only game of the night without a Big Ten team, No. 1 seed Arizona (35–2) stomped No. 4 seed Arkansas (28–9) in the West Region, 109–88. Brayden Burries led the way for the Wildcats with 23 points, and Koa Peat added 21.

“I thought our guys were great offensively today,” Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd told reporters afterward. “The great thing about basketball and the tough thing about basketball is, unfortunately, that doesn’t automatically translate to Saturday. We’ve got to find a way to kind of recreate that rhythm we had tonight.”

Arizona will face Purdue on Saturday, and three of the four teams playing that day will hail from the Big Ten. It’s possible another two Big Ten squads could join the Elite Eight party on Friday when Michigan takes on Alabama, and Michigan State takes on UConn. The other matchups are Iowa State against Tennessee and St. John’s against Duke.

If Michigan and Michigan State win on Friday, the Big Ten will have a chance to sweep all four spots for the Final Four on Saturday and Sunday. That would be the culmination of the Big Ten’s dominance throughout this tournament, with nine teams overall and a record six that made it to the Sweet 16.