Michigan eases into the Sweet 16 as the second round gets under way. Here’s what to know from today’s March Madness action

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 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.

Lone Star underdogs

It’s not often that Texas and Texas A&M are going to be mentioned in the same breath as being similar. In fact, the heated rivals would probably rather be kept as separate as possible at all times.

But on Saturday, they’re both double-digit seeds who are looking to make up for lackluster seasons with some tournament magic.

It’s not really fair to qualify the Longhorns and Aggies as Cinderellas, but no one really expected them to be Sweet 16 teams before tipoff of their games. Texas made it through the First Four on Tuesday and had to face BYU and AJ Dybantsa, while A&M was going up against mid-major powerhouse Saint Mary’s.

The Longhorns had to sweat, eventually grinding the game out in the final minutes after the Cougars couldn’t quite get it together in crunchtime, and the Aggies simply rolled in their opening game.

A&M has a tall task in front of them in the form of Kelvin Sampson’s Houston, a defensive powerhouse looking for redemption after falling to Florida in the national title game a year ago. The 2-seed Cougars barely broke a sweat against Idaho, winning by 31 in their opening game.

Texas, meanwhile, will have Gonzaga and that could be an opportunity. The Zags escaped against Kennesaw State on Thursday, watching their double-digit lead disappear in the final minutes before toughing it out in the final minutes. It’ll be Texas’ third game since Tuesday, but First Four teams have a tendency to ride the good vibes all the way into the tournament’s second weekend.

UConn looks to repeat

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

Undefeated UConn starts their tournament quest to repeat as champions with a showdown against the University of Texas-San Antonio and should roll. They might roll all the way to the desert, as they appear to be in a class of their own in this year’s field.

Led by top scorer Sarah Strong and star guard Azzi Fudd, the Huskies are a juggernaut and it’s very possible that they might not face a real test until the Final Four in Phoenix early next month.

Playing at home in Storrs, expect the Huskies to put this one out of reach early and get themselves ready for what’s over the horizon.

Men’s schedule

• Michigan 95, Saint Louis 72
• No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 6 Louisville at 2:45 p.m. ET on CBS
• 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
• No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 16 Southern at 1 p.m. ET on ABC
• No. 7 Georgia vs. No. 10 Virginia at 1:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2
• No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Fairfield at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN
• No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 12 James Madison at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU
• No. 6 Alabama vs. No. 11 Rhode Island at 2:30 p.m. on ESPNEWS
• No. 1 UConn vs. No. 16 UTSA at 3 p.m. ET on ABC
• No. 8 Clemson vs No. 9 USC at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2
• 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

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