2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Highlights: Sweet 16 Action

The Sweet 16 gets underway Thursday night, featuring a gauntlet of heavyweights, including six Big Ten teams, one shy of an NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament record.

The evening starts in San Jose, with No. 2 seed Purdue taking on the closest thing this tournament has to a Cinderella, No. 11 seed Texas. Then we head to Houston for a South Region matchup between Big Ten foes: No. 4 seed Nebraska and No. 9 seed Iowa. 

To cap off the action on the West Coast, No. 1 seed Arizona plays No. 4 seed Arkansas. And the final game of the night is in Houston, where the No. 2-seeded Houston Cougars play No. 3 Illinois. Four teams will prolong their dance into the Elite Eight, while four others will go home. 

Here are the top moments and highlights from Thursday's Sweet 16 games!