Tickets are starting to be punched to the Sweet 16. Here’s what to know from today’s March Madness

By Kyle Feldscher, CNN

(CNN) — The chaos of the opening round of the men’s NCAA tournament is behind us and spots in the Sweet 16 are starting to be booked.

The women’s NCAA tournament is still rolling strong in the opening round after a slate of games that went heavily in favor of the top seeds on Friday, and the nation’s top team is taking the court as UConn looks to repeat as champions.

Michigan State heads to another Sweet 16 under Tom Izzo

It was maybe a little closer than Tom Izzo would have liked, but Michigan State is on to the Sweet 16 after holding off Louisville behind an epic performance by point guard Jeremy Fears Jr.

Fears broke a school record by dishing out 16 assists as his Spartans defeated Louisville 77-69, heading to Izzo’s 17th Sweet 16 appearance.

A key sequence in the game helped the Spartans put away a pesky Cardinals team – the latest ACC team to go out of the tournament in the opening weekend. With a little more than seven minutes to go in the game, MSU’s Carson Cooper was fouled hard by Louisville’s Vandelis Zougris.

The referees upgraded that to a Flagrant 1 foul and Cooper hit both of the free throws. When MSU got the ball as play restarted, Jaxon Kohler hit an open 3-pointer to give the Spartans a five-point possession that provided a cushion that they would never give up.

Izzo, Fears and the rest of the Spartans move on to the Sweet 16 in Washington, D.C.

Michigan looks like the title contender it is

The Michigan Wolverines came into this tournament as one of the favorites to take home the title in Indianapolis, and – after 20 shaky minutes against Howard in the opening game – have looked every bit the part.

The Wolverines cruised against an efficient Saint Louis team on Saturday, easing into the Sweet 16 by a score of 95-72. Once again, the Wolverines had a bit of a slow start as the Billikens kept it close through the first 15 minutes, but when Michigan got going, it was quickly game over.

Yaxel Lendeborg led the Wolverines with 25 points, as he has all year.

The Wolverines move on to await the winner of Texas Tech-Alabama, which is taking place on Sunday.

Cinderella looks to hold off midnight a bit longer

VCU and High Point are the tournament’s lone true Cinderellas after the first two days after the mid-major teams pulled off the traditional 12-seed over a 5-seed upset on Thursday.

They both have their work cut out for them if they want to extend their season for another week.

VCU comes up against 3-seed Illinois, fresh off a 25-8 season and a second-place finish in the Big Ten (tied with Nebraska and Michigan State at 15-5). The Illini are, as per usual, huge – they’ve got two seven-footers and a slew of other big forwards that could dominate the smaller Rams.

High Point will play in Saturday’s final game against John Calipari’s Arkansas, which cruised over Hawaii on Thursday. Calipari is a Hall of Fame coach who is all too used to this stage and will be relishing another opportunity to take the Razorbacks to the Sweet 16. His team isn’t sneaking up on anyone this year as they did in 2025 when they were a 10-seed.

The Panthers meanwhile, are coming off their school’s first NCAA tournament victory and their coach is looking to make a statement. After beating Wisconsin on Thursday, Flynn Clayman made a passionate case for the strength of mid-majors in his postgame interview. Expect him to bring that same fire to Saturday’s showdown.

Southern Cal’s OT win sets up rare USC vs. USC matchup

Clemson was THIS close to a dramatic buzzer beater to set up a Palmetto State showdown against top-seeded South Carolina as Mia Moore’s last-gasp heave found the bottom of the net and the Tigers team rushed the court in elation.

But replay showed that the game clock had hit zero a fraction of a second before she let go of the ball, and the game headed to overtime tied at 61.

From there, No. 9 seed Southern Cal took control and won the game 71-67. Senior guard Kara Dunn led the way with 22 points for the Trojans, who advance to face No. 1 seed South Carolina with a trip to the Sweet 16 and bragging rights as the “real USC” on the line.

UConn starts repeat title bid strong

In the women’s bracket, it’s all about the Huskies.

Undefeated UConn started their tournament quest to repeat as champions with a blowout victory over the University of Texas-San Antonio, winning 90-52 on Saturday.

Led by top scorer Sarah Strong’s 18 points and Blanca Quiñonez’s 15 off the bench, the Huskies proved they are a juggernaut and it’s a real possibility that they might not face a real test until the Final Four in Phoenix early next month.

Huskies star Azzi Fudd added seven points in the win in front of their home fans in Storrs, Connecticut, and will face the winner of Iowa State and Syracuse on Monday in the second round.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 1 seeded South Carolina had no trouble whatsoever getting past Southern University, easily winning 103-34 with the winner of the University of Southern California awaiting next.

Men’s schedule

• Michigan 95, Saint Louis 72
• Michigan State 77, Louisville 69
• No. 1 Duke vs. No. 9 TCU at 5:15 p.m. ET on CBS
• No. 2 Houston vs. No 10 Texas A&M at 6:10 p.m. ET on TNT
• No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 11 Texas at 7:10 p.m. ET on truTV/TBS
• No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 11 VCU at 7:50 p.m. ET on CBS
• No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 5 Vanderbilt at 8:45 p.m. ET on TNT
• No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 12 High Point at 9:45 p.m. on truTV/TBS

Women’s schedule

• Ohio State 75, Howard 54
• Louisville 72, Vermont 52
• South Carolina 103, Southern 34
• Virginia 82, Georgia 73
• Notre Dame 79, Fairfield 60
• Kentucky 71, James Madison 56
• Alabama 68, Rhode Island 55
• UConn 90, UTSA 52
• USC 71, Clemson 67
• No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 15 Fairleigh Dickinson at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN
• No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 13 Miami (Ohio) at 5 p.m. ET on ESPNU
• No. 8 Iowa State vs. No. 9 Syracuse at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2
• No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 15 High Point at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNEWS
• No. 8 Oklahoma State vs. No. 9 Princeton at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2
• No. 7 Illinois vs. No. 10 Colorado at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2
• No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 16 California Baptist University at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.