2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

The 2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2015–16 season. The 78th edition of the Tournament began on March 15, 2016, and concluded with the championship game on April 4 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.^[1]

2016 NCAA Division I
men's basketball tournament

Season	2015–16
Teams	68
Finals site	NRG Stadium Houston, Texas
Champions	Villanova Wildcats (2nd title, 3rd title game, 5th Final Four)
Runner-up	North Carolina Tar Heels (10th title game, 19th Final Four)
Semifinalists	Oklahoma Sooners (5th Final Four) Syracuse Orange (6th Final Four)
Winning coach	Jay Wright (1st title)
MOP	Ryan Arcidiacono (Villanova)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments «2015 2017»

Upsets were the story of the first round of the Tournament;^[2] No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee upset No. 2 seed Michigan State in the biggest upset, just the eighth ever win for a No. 15 seed over a No. 2.^[3] At least one team seeded #9 through #15 won a first-round game for the third time ever and the first time since 2013.

In the Final Four, Villanova defeated Oklahoma, while North Carolina defeated Syracuse (the "Cinderella team" of the tournament). Villanova then defeated North Carolina to win the championship on a three-point buzzer beater by Kris Jenkins.^[4] Pundits called the game one of the best in tournament history, going on to say this was one of the most competitive finals ever.^[5][6]

Schedule and venues

 

 

Dayton

 

Providence

 

Des Moines

 

Raleigh

 

Denver

 

Brooklyn

 

St. Louis

 

Oklahoma City

 

Spokane

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2016 First Four (orange) and First and Second rounds March 17 and 19 (green) March 18 and 20 (blue)

 

 

Chicago

 

Anaheim

 

Philadelphia

 

Louisville

 

Houston

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2016 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

Previously, the round of 64 was known as the second round since the 2011 edition, but it was reverted to the moniker first round for this coming tournament. The first four was previously named the first round.

First four

• March 15 and 16
  • University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)

First and second rounds

• March 17 and 19
  • Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island (Host: Providence College)
  • Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa, (Host: Iowa State University)
  • PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina, (Host: North Carolina State University)
  • Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado, (Host: Mountain West Conference)
• March 18 and 20
  • Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, (Host: Atlantic 10 Conference)
  • Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri, (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)
  • Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, (Host: Big 12 Conference)
  • Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, Washington, (Host: University of Idaho)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

• March 24 and 26
  • South Regional, KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky, (Host: University of Louisville)
  • West Regional, Honda Center, Anaheim, California, (Host: Big West Conference)
• March 25 and 27
  • East Regional, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, (Host: La Salle University)
  • Midwest Regional, United Center, Chicago, (Host: Big Ten Conference)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

• April 2 and 4
  • NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas (Hosts: Rice University, Texas Southern University, University of Houston)

Qualifying and selection procedure

Further information: 2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament qualifying teams

Out of 336 eligible Division I teams, 68 participate in the tournament. Of the total, 15 Division I teams were ineligible due to failing to meet APR requirements, self-imposed postseason bans, or reclassification from a lower division.^[1]

Of the 32 automatic bids, 31 were given to programs that won their conference tournaments. For the final time, the Ivy League awarded its NCAA Tournament bid to the team with the best regular-season record and did not hold a tournament (unless playoffs games were needed to resolve tied champions). The Ivy League will hold a postseason tournament for the first time after the 2016–17 Ivy League season.^[7] The remaining 36 bids were granted on an "at-large" basis, which were extended by the NCAA Selection Committee to the teams it deems to be the best 36 teams that did not receive automatic bids.

Eight teams—the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams—played in the First Four (the successor to what had been popularly known as "play-in games" through the 2010 tournament). The winners of these games advanced to the first round (round of 64). The Selection Committee also seeded the entire field from 1 to 68.^[8]

Automatic qualifiers

The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2016 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's automatic bid:^[9]

Conference	Team	Appearance	Last bid
ACC	North Carolina	47th	2015
America East	Stony Brook	1st	Never
Atlantic 10	Saint Joseph's	21st	2014
American	UConn	33rd	2014
Atlantic Sun	Florida Gulf Coast	2nd	2013
Big 12	Kansas	45th	2015
Big East	Seton Hall	10th	2006
Big Sky	Weber State	16th	2014
Big South	UNC Asheville	4th	2012
Big Ten	Michigan State	30th	2015
Big West	Hawaii	5th	2002
CAA	UNC Wilmington	5th	2006
C-USA	Middle Tennessee	8th	2013
Horizon	Green Bay	5th	1996
Ivy League	Yale	4th	1962
MAAC	Iona	11th	2013
MAC	Buffalo	2nd	2015
MEAC	Hampton	6th	2015
Missouri Valley	Northern Iowa	8th	2015
Mountain West	Fresno State	6th	2001
NEC	Fairleigh Dickinson	5th	2005
Ohio Valley	Austin Peay	6th	2008
Pac-12	Oregon	14th	2015
Patriot	Holy Cross	13th	2007
SEC	Kentucky	56th	2015
Southern	Chattanooga	11th	2009
Southland	Stephen F. Austin	4th	2015
SWAC	Southern	9th	2013
Summit League	South Dakota State	3rd	2013
Sun Belt	Little Rock	5th	2011
WCC	Gonzaga	19th	2015
WAC	Cal State Bakersfield	1st	Never

Tournament seeds

South Regional – KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky

Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Overall rank
1	Kansas	Big 12	30–4	Auto	1
2	Villanova	Big East	29–5	At-large	7
3	Miami	ACC	25–7	At-large	10
4	California	Pac-12	23–10	At-large	14
5	Maryland	Big Ten	25–8	At-large	19
6	Arizona	Pac-12	25–8	At-large	23
7	Iowa	Big Ten	21–10	At-large	27
8	Colorado	Pac-12	22–11	At-large	30
9	UConn	American	24–10	Auto	36
10	Temple	American	21–11	At-large	38
11*	Vanderbilt	SEC	19–13	At-large	41
	Wichita State	Missouri Valley	24–8	At-large	43
12	South Dakota State	Summit League	26–7	Auto	50
13	Hawaii	Big West	27–5	Auto	52
14	Buffalo	MAC	20–14	Auto	56
15	UNC Asheville	Big South	22–11	Auto	61
16	Austin Peay	Ohio Valley	18–17	Auto	63

West Regional – Honda Center, Anaheim, California

Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Overall rank
1	Oregon	Pac-12	28–6	Auto	4
2	Oklahoma	Big 12	25–7	At-large	6
3	Texas A&M	SEC	26–8	At-large	12
4	Duke	ACC	23–10	At-large	13
5	Baylor	Big 12	22–11	At-large	20
6	Texas	Big 12	20–12	At-large	21
7	Oregon State	Pac-12	19–12	At-large	28
8	Saint Joseph's	Atlantic 10	27–7	Auto	32
9	Cincinnati	American	22–10	At-large	35
10	VCU	Atlantic 10	24–10	At-large	40
11	Northern Iowa	Missouri Valley	22–12	Auto	46
12	Yale	Ivy League	22–6	Auto	49
13	UNC Wilmington	CAA	25–7	Auto	51
14	Green Bay	Horizon	23–12	Auto	55
15	Cal State Bakersfield	WAC	24–8	Auto	60
16*	Holy Cross	Patriot	14–19	Auto	68
	Southern	SWAC	22–12	Auto	67

East Regional – Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia

Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Overall rank
1	North Carolina	ACC	28–6	Auto	2
2	Xavier	Big East	27–5	At-large	8
3	West Virginia	Big 12	26–8	At-large	9
4	Kentucky	SEC	26–8	Auto	15
5	Indiana	Big Ten	25–7	At-large	17
6	Notre Dame	ACC	21–11	At-large	22
7	Wisconsin	Big Ten	20–12	At-large	25
8	USC	Pac-12	21–12	At-large	31
9	Providence	Big East	23–10	At-large	33
10	Pittsburgh	ACC	21–11	At-large	37
11*	Michigan	Big Ten	22–12	At-large	42
	Tulsa	American	20–11	At-large	45
12	Chattanooga	Southern	29–5	Auto	47
13	Stony Brook	America East	26–6	Auto	53
14	Stephen F. Austin	Southland	27–5	Auto	58
15	Weber State	Big Sky	26–8	Auto	62
16*	Florida Gulf Coast	Atlantic Sun	20–13	Auto	65
	Fairleigh Dickinson	NEC	18–14	Auto	66

 

Keenan Evans of Texas Tech, at the tournament

Midwest Regional – United Center, Chicago

Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Overall rank
1	Virginia	ACC	26–7	At-large	3
2	Michigan State	Big Ten	29–5	Auto	5
3	Utah	Pac-12	26–8	At-large	11
4	Iowa State	Big 12	21–11	At-large	16
5	Purdue	Big Ten	26–8	At-large	18
6	Seton Hall	Big East	25–8	Auto	24
7	Dayton	Atlantic 10	25–7	At-large	26
8	Texas Tech	Big 12	19–12	At-large	29
9	Butler	Big East	21–10	At-large	34
10	Syracuse	ACC	19–13	At-large	39
11	Gonzaga	WCC	26–7	Auto	44
12	Little Rock	Sun Belt	29–4	Auto	48
13	Iona	MAAC	22–10	Auto	54
14	Fresno State	Mountain West	25–9	Auto	57
15	Middle Tennessee	C-USA	24–9	Auto	59
16	Hampton	MEAC	21–10	Auto	64

*See First Four

Bracket

All times are listed as Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)
* – Denotes overtime period

First Four – Dayton, Ohio

The First Four games involved eight teams: the four overall lowest-ranked teams, and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams.

	March 15 – South Region
	11	Vanderbilt	50
	11	Wichita State	70

	March 15 – East Region
	16	Florida Gulf Coast	96
	16	Fairleigh Dickinson	65

	March 16 – East Region
	11	Michigan	67
	11	Tulsa	62

	March 16 – West Region
	16	Holy Cross	59
	16	Southern	55

South Regional – Louisville, Kentucky

	First round Round of 64 March 17–18					Second Round Round of 32 March 19–20					Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 24					Regional Final Elite 8 March 26
	1	Kansas	105
	16	Austin Peay	79
						1	Kansas	73
	Des Moines – Thu/Sat
						9	UConn	61
	8	Colorado	67
	9	UConn	74
											1	Kansas	79
											5	Maryland	63
	5	Maryland	79
	12	South Dakota State	74
						5	Maryland	73
	Spokane – Fri/Sun
						13	Hawaii	60
	4	California	66
	13	Hawaii	77
																1	Kansas	59
																2	Villanova	64
	6	Arizona	55
	11	Wichita State	65
						11	Wichita State	57
	Providence – Thu/Sat
						3	Miami (FL)	65
	3	Miami (FL)	79
	14	Buffalo	72
											3	Miami (FL)	69
											2	Villanova	92
	7	Iowa	72*
	10	Temple	70
						7	Iowa	68
	Brooklyn – Fri/Sun
						2	Villanova	87
	2	Villanova	86
	15	UNC Asheville	56

South Regional Final

CBS

Saturday, March 26 8:49 pm EDT

Box Score

#2 Villanova Wildcats 64, #1 Kansas Jayhawks 59
Scoring by half: 32–25, 32–34
Pts: R. Arcidiacono, J. Hart, K. Jenkins – 13 Rebs: D. Ochefu – 8 Asts: K. Jenkins – 3		Pts: D. Graham – 17 Rebs: L. Lucas – 12 Asts: F. Mason III – 4

KFC Yum! Center – Louisville, KY Attendance: 19,422 Referees: Jeff Clark, Terry Wymer, Chris Rastatter

South Regional all tournament team

• Kris Jenkins (Jr, Villanova) – South Regional most outstanding player^[10]
• Ryan Arcidiacono (Sr, Villanova)^[10]
• Josh Hart (Jr, Villanova)^[10]
• Daniel Ochefu (Sr, Villanova)^[10]
• Devonte' Graham (So, Kansas)^[10]

West Regional – Anaheim, California

	First round Round of 64 March 17–18					Second Round Round of 32 March 19–20					Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 24					Regional Final Elite 8 March 26
	1	Oregon	91
	16	Holy Cross	52
						1	Oregon	69
	Spokane – Fri/Sun
						8	Saint Joseph's	64
	8	Saint Joseph's	78
	9	Cincinnati	76
											1	Oregon	82
											4	Duke	68
	5	Baylor	75
	12	Yale	79
						12	Yale	64
	Providence – Thu/Sat
						4	Duke	71
	4	Duke	93
	13	UNC Wilmington	85
																1	Oregon	68
																2	Oklahoma	80
	6	Texas	72
	11	Northern Iowa	75
						11	Northern Iowa	88
	Oklahoma City – Fri/Sun
						3	Texas A&M	92**
	3	Texas A&M	92
	14	Green Bay	65
											3	Texas A&M	63
											2	Oklahoma	77
	7	Oregon State	67
	10	VCU	75
						10	VCU	81
	Oklahoma City – Fri/Sun
						2	Oklahoma	85
	2	Oklahoma	82
	15	Cal State Bakersfield	68

West Regional Final

CBS

Saturday, March 26 3:09 pm PDT

Box Score

#2 Oklahoma Sooners 80, #1 Oregon Ducks 68
Scoring by half: 48–30, 32–38
Pts: B. Hield – 37 Rebs: C. James – 10 Asts: I. Cousins – 7		Pts: E. Cook – 24 Rebs: J. Bell – 12 Asts: D. Brooks, E. Cook – 4

Honda Center – Anaheim, CA Attendance: 16,232 Referees: Tony Padilla, Mike Eades, Ray Natili

West Regional all tournament team

• Buddy Hield (Sr, Oklahoma) – West Regional most outstanding player^[11]
• Isaiah Cousins (Sr, Oklahoma)^[11]
• Jordan Woodard (Jr, Oklahoma)^[11]
• Elgin Cook (Sr, Oregon)^[11]
• Brandon Ingram (Fr, Duke)^[11]

East Regional – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

	First round Round of 64 March 17–18					Second Round Round of 32 March 19–20					Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 25					Regional Final Elite 8 March 27
	1	North Carolina	83
	16	Florida Gulf Coast	67
						1	North Carolina	85
	Raleigh – Thu/Sat
						9	Providence	66
	8	USC	69
	9	Providence	70
											1	North Carolina	101
											5	Indiana	86
	5	Indiana	99
	12	Chattanooga	74
						5	Indiana	73
	Des Moines – Thu/Sat
						4	Kentucky	67
	4	Kentucky	85
	13	Stony Brook	57
																1	North Carolina	88
																6	Notre Dame	74
	6	Notre Dame	70
	11	Michigan	63
						6	Notre Dame	76
	Brooklyn – Fri/Sun
						14	Stephen F. Austin	75
	3	West Virginia	56
	14	Stephen F. Austin	70
											6	Notre Dame	61
											7	Wisconsin	56
	7	Wisconsin	47
	10	Pittsburgh	43
						7	Wisconsin	66
	St. Louis – Fri/Sun
						2	Xavier	63
	2	Xavier	71
	15	Weber State	53

East Regional Final

TBS

Sunday, March 27 8:49 pm EDT

Box Score

#6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 74, #1 North Carolina Tar Heels 88
Scoring by half: 38–43, 36–45
Pts: D. Jackson – 26 Rebs: B. Colson – 5 Asts: D. Jackson – 4		Pts: B. Johnson – 25 Rebs: B. Johnson – 12 Asts: J. Berry II – 8

Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA Attendance: 20,743 Referees: Tom Eades, Ed Corbett, Michael Stephens

East Regional all tournament team

• Brice Johnson (Sr, North Carolina) – East Regional most outstanding player^[12]
• Marcus Paige (Sr, North Carolina)^[13]
• V. J. Beachem (Jr, Notre Dame)^[13]
• Demetrius Jackson (Jr, Notre Dame)^[13]
• Yogi Ferrell (Sr, Indiana)^[13]

Midwest Regional – Chicago, Illinois

	First round Round of 64 March 17–18					Second Round Round of 32 March 19–20					Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 25					Regional Final Elite 8 March 27
	1	Virginia	81
	16	Hampton	45
						1	Virginia	77
	Raleigh – Thu/Sat
						9	Butler	69
	8	Texas Tech	61
	9	Butler	71
											1	Virginia	84
											4	Iowa State	71
	5	Purdue	83
	12	Little Rock	85**
						12	Little Rock	61
	Denver – Thu/Sat
						4	Iowa State	78
	4	Iowa State	94
	13	Iona	81
																1	Virginia	62
																10	Syracuse	68
	6	Seton Hall	52
	11	Gonzaga	68
						11	Gonzaga	82
	Denver – Thu/Sat
						3	Utah	59
	3	Utah	80
	14	Fresno State	69
											11	Gonzaga	60
											10	Syracuse	63
	7	Dayton	51
	10	Syracuse	70
						10	Syracuse	75
	St. Louis – Fri/Sun
						15	Middle Tennessee	50
	2	Michigan State	81
	15	Middle Tennessee	90

Midwest Regional Final

TBS

Sunday, March 27 5:09 pm CDT

Box Score

#10 Syracuse Orange 68, #1 Virginia Cavaliers 62
Scoring by half: 21–35, 47–27
Pts: M. Richardson – 23 Rebs: T. Roberson – 8 Asts: M. Gbinije – 6		Pts: L. Perrantes – 18 Rebs: M. Brogdon – 7 Asts: M. Brogdon – 7

United Center – Chicago, IL Attendance: 20,155 Referees: Mike Roberts, John Higgens, John Gaffney

Midwest Regional all tournament team

 

London Perrantes

• Malachi Richardson (Fr, Syracuse) – Midwest Regional most outstanding player^[14]
• Michael Gbinije (Sr, Syracuse)^[14]
• London Perrantes (Jr, Virginia)^[14]
• Georges Niang (Sr, Iowa State)^[14]
• Domantas Sabonis (So, Gonzaga)^[14]

Final Four

During the Final Four round, regardless of the seeds of the participating teams, the champion of the top overall top seed's region (Kansas's South Region) plays against the champion of the fourth-ranked top seed's region (Oregon's West Region), and the champion of the second overall top seed's region (North Carolina's East Region) plays against the champion of the third-ranked top seed's region (Virginia's Midwest Region).

NRG Stadium – Houston, Texas

	National semifinals April 2					National Championship Game April 4
	S2	Villanova	95
	W2	Oklahoma	51
						S2	Villanova	77
						E1	North Carolina	74
	E1	North Carolina	83
	MW10	Syracuse	66

Final Four

TBS

Saturday, April 2 5:09 pm CDT

Box Score

#2 Villanova Wildcats 95, #2 Oklahoma Sooners 51
Scoring by half: 42–28, 53–23
Pts: J. Hart – 23 Rebs: K. Jenkins, J. Hart – 8 Asts: J. Hart – 4		Pts: J. Woodard – 12 Rebs: B. Hield – 7 Asts: B. Hield, J. Woodard – 2

NRG Stadium – Houston, TX Attendance: 75,505 Referees: Tom Eades, Tony Padilla, Mark Whitehead

TBS

Saturday, April 2 7:49 pm CDT

Box Score

#10 Syracuse Orange 66, #1 North Carolina Tar Heels 83
Scoring by half: 28–39, 38–44
Pts: T. Cooney – 22 Rebs: T. Roberson – 9 Asts: M. Gbinije – 2		Pts: B. Johnson, J. Jackson – 16 Rebs: B. Johnson – 9 Asts: J. Berry II – 10

NRG Stadium – Houston, TX Attendance: 75,505 Referees: Jeff Clark, Roger Ayers, Mike Eades

The Villanova–Oklahoma result was not only the most one-sided in the tournament so far, but also in the history of the men's Final Four. The Wildcats shot 71.4% for the game, surpassed in Final Four games only by the Wildcats' 78.6% performance in the 1985 final against Georgetown. The 44-point margin was also greater than the combined margin of defeat in Oklahoma's seven previous losses in 2015–16. In addition, the 2016 semifinals were the first since 2008 to both be decided by double-digit margins, and the combined 61-point margin broke a men's Final Four record set in 1949.^[15]

National Championship

Main article: 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game

TBS

Monday, April 4 8:19 pm CDT

Box Score

#2 Villanova Wildcats 77, #1 North Carolina Tar Heels 74
Scoring by half: 34–39, 43–35
Pts: P. Booth – 20 Rebs: J. Hart – 8 Asts: R. Arcidiacono, D. Ochefu – 2		Pts: M. Paige – 21 Rebs: B. Johnson – 8 Asts: M. Paige – 6

NRG Stadium – Houston, TX Attendance: 74,340 Referees: Michael Stephens, John Higgins, Terry Wymer

The Wildcats' Championship run was the 2nd most dominant in NCAA Tournament history, with a total point differential of +124 (see Kentucky 1996, +129) (breaking the 2009 record set by the North Carolina Tar Heels of +121^[16]).

Final Four all-tournament team

• Ryan Arcidiacono (Sr, Villanova) – Final Four Most Outstanding Player^[17]
• Josh Hart (Jr, Villanova)^[17]
• Phil Booth (So, Villanova)^[17]
• Joel Berry II (So, North Carolina)^[17]
• Brice Johnson (Sr, North Carolina)^[17]

Tournament notes

America East Conference champion Stony Brook and WAC champion Cal State Bakersfield made their first NCAA Tournament appearances in school history.^[18][19]

Yale made its first NCAA appearance since 1962 as winners of the Ivy League, which, for the final time, did not stage a conference tournament. Of those that do hold a tournament, Horizon League champion Green Bay made its first appearance since 1996 and Oregon State made its first appearance since 1990.

Yale also earned its first Tournament win in school history with a 79–75 win over Baylor. Hawaii likewise earned its first NCAA Tournament win by defeating California 77–66. Arkansas-Little Rock won its first Tournament game in 30 years and Middle Tennessee won its first Tournament game in 27 years.

In the Midwest Region, No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee upset No. 2 seed Michigan State for just the eighth ever win for a No. 15 seed over a No. 2.^[3] More than one-third of ESPN Tournament Challenge brackets predicted Michigan State to make the Final Four.^[20]

In the East Region, No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin upset No. 3 seed West Virginia, marking the fourth straight tournament in which a No. 14 seed upset a No. 3 seed.^[21]

By winning the Midwest Regional final, Syracuse became the first No. 10 seed in history to advance to the Final Four. However, four lower seeds, all No. 11, have advanced to that stage (in 1986, 2006, 2011, and 2021).^[22]

Kansas extended its streak of consecutive tournament appearances to 27 in a row, making every NCAA Tournament dating back to 1990.^[23] This tied the record for most consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances held by North Carolina (1975–2001).^[24]

This Tournament marked the first championship for Villanova in 31 years. It was also the first championship by a school without a Division I FBS football team since Connecticut in 1999. Villanova fields a Division I FCS football team, as did UConn before 2002.

Upsets

Per the NCAA, "Upsets are defined as when the winner of the game was seeded five or more places lower than the team it defeated." The 2016 tournament saw a total of 11 upsets; 8 of them were in the first round, 2 of them were in the second round, none in the Sweet Sixteen, and one in the Elite Eight.

Round	South	West	East	Midwest
First round	No. 13 Hawaii defeated No. 4 California, 77–66 No. 11 Wichita State defeated No. 6 Arizona, 65–55	No. 12 Yale defeated No. 5 Baylor, 79–75 No. 11 Northern Iowa defeated No. 6 Texas, 75–72	No. 14 Stephen F. Austin defeated No. 3 West Virginia, 70–56	No. 15 Middle Tennessee defeated No. 2 Michigan State, 90–81 No. 12 Little Rock defeated No. 5 Purdue, 85–83 (2OT) No. 11 Gonzaga defeated No. 6 Seton Hall, 68–52
Second Round	None	None	No. 7 Wisconsin defeated No. 2 Xavier, 66–63	No. 11 Gonzaga defeated No. 3 Utah, 82–59
Sweet 16	None	None	None	None
Elite 8	None	None	None	No. 10 Syracuse defeated No. 1 Virginia, 68–62

Record by conference

Conference	Bids^[25]	Record	Win %	R64	R32	S16	E8	F4	CG	NC
Big East	5	9–4	.692	5	4	1	1	1	1	1
ACC	7	19–7	.731	7	6	6	4	2	1	–
Big 12	7	9–7	.563	7	3	3	2	1	–	–
Pac-12	7	4–7	.364	7	2	1	1	–	–	–
Big Ten	7	8–7	.533	7	4	3	–	–	–	–
SEC	3	3–3	.500	2	2	1	–	–	–	–
WCC	1	2–1	.667	1	1	1	–	–	–	–
Atlantic 10	3	2–3	.400	3	2	–	–	–	–	–
Missouri Valley	2	2–2	.500	2	2	–	–	–	–	–
American	4	1–4	.200	3	1	–	–	–	–	–
Big West	1	1–1	.500	1	1	–	–	–	–	–
C-USA	1	1–1	.500	1	1	–	–	–	–	–
Ivy League	1	1–1	.500	1	1	–	–	–	–	–
Southland	1	1–1	.500	1	1	–	–	–	–	–
Sun Belt	1	1–1	.500	1	1	–	–	–	–	–
Atlantic Sun	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
Patriot	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–	–

• The R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the round of 64 (first round), round of 32 (second round), Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game, and national champion, respectively.
• The "Record" column includes wins in the First Four for the Big Ten, Missouri Valley, Atlantic Sun, and Patriot conferences and losses in the First Four for the SEC and American conferences.
• The NEC and SWAC each had one representative, both eliminated in the First Four with a record of 0–1.
• The America East, Big Sky, Big South, CAA, Horizon, MAAC, MAC, MEAC, Mountain West, Ohio Valley, Southern, Summit, and WAC conferences each had one representative, eliminated in the first round with a record of 0–1.

Media coverage

Television

CBS Sports and Turner Sports held joint U.S. television broadcast rights to the Tournament under the NCAA March Madness brand. Beginning in 2016, rights to the Final Four and championship game began to alternate between Turner and CBS, with Turner networks broadcasting the 2016 Final Four and championship; a conventional telecast aired on TBS, accompanied by "Team Stream" broadcasts on TNT and TruTV which featured commentary and coverage focused on each participating team. Turner employed this multi-channel presentation of the semifinals in 2014 and 2015, but this was the first time it was used for the final.^[26] It marked the first time in tournament history that the national championship game aired on cable channels, and ended CBS' streak of broadcasting 34 consecutive National Championship games.^[27][28] However, Turner allowed the tournament's closing theme, One Shining Moment, to be played for the 30th year in a row. To date, the song is still played in this manner, no matter which network airs the National Championship game.

For 2016, the selection show on CBS was expanded into a two-hour broadcast—a move which proved unpopular with viewers due to the decreased speed at which the participating teams were unveiled. These issues were exacerbated by a leak of the full bracket shortly into the broadcast, which spread on Twitter. Although ratings for the selection show had steadily decreased over the past four years, the 3.7 overnight rating for the broadcast was the lowest in 20 years.^[29][30] CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus admitted that the extended special was a failure, stating that "we haven't had any specific discussions but I think we all agree it would serve all of us well including the fan to release the brackets in a little more timely manner".^[31]

Studio hosts

• Greg Gumbel (New York City and Houston) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
• Ernie Johnson Jr. (New York City, Atlanta, and Houston) – First round, second round, Regional Semi-Finals, Final Four and National Championship Game
• Matt Winer (Atlanta) – First Four, First Round and Second Round

Studio analysts

• Charles Barkley (New York City and Houston) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
• Swin Cash (Atlanta) – First Four
• Seth Davis (Atlanta and Houston) – First Four, first round, second round, Regional Semi-Finals, Final Four and National Championship Game
• Johnny Dawkins (New York City) – Second Round
• Doug Gottlieb (New York City) – Regionals
• Ron Hunter (Atlanta) – First round
• Clark Kellogg (New York City and Houston) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
• Reggie Miller (Houston) – Final Four and National Championship Game
• Kenny Smith (New York City and Houston) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
• Steve Smith (Houston) – Final Four and National Championship Game
• Kevin Stallings (Atlanta) – Second Round
• Wally Szczerbiak (Atlanta) – First Four, first round, second round and Regional Semi-Finals
• Buzz Williams (Atlanta) – Regional Semi-Finals

Commentary teams

• Jim Nantz/Bill Raftery/Grant Hill/Tracy Wolfson/Craig Sager – First and Second Rounds at Des Moines, Iowa; South Regional at Louisville, Kentucky; Final Four and National Championship at Houston
  • Sager joined Nantz, Raftery, Hill, and Wolfson for the Championship Game to interview Michael Jordan
• Brian Anderson/Steve Smith/Dana Jacobson – First and Second Rounds at St. Louis, Missouri; East Regional at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Verne Lundquist/Jim Spanarkel/Allie LaForce – First and Second Rounds at Brooklyn, New York; West Regional at Anaheim, California
• Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Dan Bonner/Lewis Johnson – First and Second Rounds at Raleigh, North Carolina; Midwest Regional at Chicago
• Ian Eagle/Chris Webber/Len Elmore/Evan Washburn – First and Second Rounds at Providence, Rhode Island
• Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb/Rosalyn Gold-Onwude – First and Second Rounds at Spokane, Washington
• Andrew Catalon/Steve Lappas/Jamie Erdahl – First Four at Dayton, Ohio (Tuesday); First and Second Rounds at Denver, Colorado
• Carter Blackburn/Mike Gminski/Jaime Maggio – First Four at Dayton, Ohio (Wednesday); First and Second Rounds at Oklahoma City.

Team Stream broadcasts

Final Four

• Chad McKee/Eduardo Nájera/Jessica Coody – Oklahoma Team Stream on TNT
• Scott Graham/Brian Finneran/Kacie McDonnell – Villanova Team Stream on truTV
• Wes Durham/Brendan Haywood/Dwayne Ballen – North Carolina Team Stream on TNT
• Tom Werme/Roosevelt Bouie/Donovan McNabb – Syracuse Team Stream on truTV

National Championship Game

• Wes Durham/Brendan Haywood/Dwayne Ballen – North Carolina Team Stream on TNT
• Scott Graham/Brian Finneran/Kacie McDonnell – Villanova Team Stream on truTV

Radio

Westwood One had exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.^[32]

First Four Craig Way and Kevin Grevey – at Dayton, Ohio First and Second rounds Scott Graham and Donny Marshall – Providence, Rhode Island Brandon Gaudin and Mike Montgomery – Des Moines, Iowa John Sadak and Eric Montross/John Thompson – Raleigh, North Carolina (Montross – Thursday afternoon; Thompson – Thursday night & Saturday) Kevin Kugler and Jim Jackson – Denver, Colorado Chris Carrino and Kelly Tripucka – Brooklyn, New York City, New York Wayne Larrivee and Will Perdue – St. Louis, Missouri Tom McCarthy and P. J. Carlesimo – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Kevin Calabro and Dan Dickau – Spokane, Washington

Regionals Tom McCarthy and John Thompson – East Regional at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Gary Cohen and Jim Jackson – Midwest Regional at Chicago, Illinois Ian Eagle and P. J. Carlesimo – South Regional at Louisville, Kentucky Kevin Kugler and Donny Marshall – West Regional at Anaheim, California Final Four Kevin Kugler, John Thompson, Clark Kellogg, and Jim Gray – Houston, Texas

Local radio

Seed	School	Station	Play–by–play	Color analyst	Studio host
South Region
2	Villanova	WTEL–AM 610 and Villanova IMG Sports Network	Ryan Fannon	Whitey Rigsby	Joe Weil
East Region
1	North Carolina	WCHL–AM 1360 and Tar Heel Sports Network	Jones Angell	Eric Montross

Internet

The games were streamed on the NCAA March Madness Live website and app, with streams for Turner games also available on the Bleacher Report website and Team Stream app, and CBS games available on the CBS Sports website and app.^[33] Games on TBS were available on Watch TBS app. Games on TNT were made available on Watch TNT app. Games on TruTV were available on Watch TruTV app. Westwood One's radio broadcasts, including a "National Mix" channel consisting of whip-around coverage during the first and second rounds, was available on its website and on the TuneIn app.

The games were also viewable on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Xbox One video game consoles via the PlayStation Vue (PS3/PS4; all games), Sling TV (XB1; TBS, TNT, TruTV games) and TuneIn (Vita/XB1; all games) apps.

See also

• 2016 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 2016 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
• 2016 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 2016 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 2016 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
• 2016 National Invitation Tournament
• 2016 Women's National Invitation Tournament
• 2016 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 2016 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 2016 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 2016 NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 2016 College Basketball Invitational
• 2016 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament
• 2016 Vegas 16 Tournament

Notes

1.^ The 15 teams that were ineligible, and the reasons for ineligibility:

Academic Progress Rate^[34]

Alcorn State

Central Arkansas

Florida A&M

Stetson

Other NCAA infractions

SMU^[35]

Self-imposed bans

Louisville^[36]

Missouri^[37]

Cal State Northridge^[38]

Pacific^[39]

Southern Miss^[40]

Reclassification^[41]

Abilene Christian

Grand Canyon

Incarnate Word

UMass Lowell

Northern Kentucky

References

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3. Mike Rutherford (March 18, 2016). "Middle Tennessee State's win over Michigan State is the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history". SBNation. Vox Media. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
4. "Villanova's national championship, Kris Jenkins' heroics product of instant title classic". go.com.
5. "Villanova beating UNC was the greatest NCAA championship game ever, period". sportingnews.com. April 5, 2016.
6. "Villanova-UNC was the best NCAA championship game ever". usatoday.com. April 5, 2016.
7. (Press release). Ivy League. March 10, 2016. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
8. "Men's Basketball Selections 101 – Selections". NCAA – The Official Site of the NCAA. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
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10. . Philadelphia. March 27, 2016. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
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12. "Brice Johnson makes UNC NCAA tournament history". newsobserver. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
13. . Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
14. "Jim Boeheim's halftime fury adds chapter to his legend". New York Post. March 28, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
15. Forde, Pat (April 3, 2016). "Why the 2016 NCAA Final Four could be the worst ever". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
16. "2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament". Database Sports.
17. "Ryan Arcidiacono named Most Outstanding Player of 2016 NCAA Final Four". Syracuse.com. April 4, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
18. Molly Geary (February 10, 2016). "Jameel Warney leads Stony Brook toward first NCAA tournament". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
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27. . National Collegiate Athletic Association. May 7, 2013. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
28. "CBS Sports and Turner Sports Announce 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Commentator Team". NCAA. March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
29. "Ratings for CBS's NCAA tournament selection show were almost as bad as show itself". The Washington Post. March 14, 2016.
30. "NCAA says it's investigating the bracket leak that saved us from the two-hour Selection Sunday show". Los Angeles Times. March 14, 2016.
31. "CBS and Turner Sports lock down NCAA tournament through 2032". The Washington Post. April 12, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
32. . NCAA. January 13, 2011. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
33. "NCAA® March Madness® Live™ to Provide Access to the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Across More Platforms Than Ever Before". NCAA. March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
34. Brutlag Hosick, Michelle (May 27, 2015). "Raising the bar". NCAA. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
35. James, Emily (September 29, 2015). "SMU commits men's basketball and golf violations". NCAA. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
36. Pemberton, Kim (February 5, 2016). "University Makes Major Announcement on Friday". Louisville Athletics. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
37. Missouri Athletics (January 13, 2016). "Missouri basketball announces details of NCAA review, self-imposed penalties". NCAA. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
38. "CSUN Men's Basketball Self-Imposes 2016 Post-Season Basketball Ban". CSUN Athletics. January 7, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
39. . Pacific Athletics. December 17, 2015. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
40. Norlander, Matt (November 8, 2015). "Southern Miss self-imposes postseason ban for 2nd straight year". CBSSports.com. CBS Interactive.
41. (PDF). NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 22, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2016.