Chronological Schedule

Historical matchup information is courtesy of College Basketball Reference’s Matchup Finder.

West 7. Oregon Ducks (20-6, 14-4 Pac-12 At-Large) vs.
2. Iowa Hawkeyes (22-8, 14-6 Big Ten At-Large)

12:10 p.m. on CBS (March Madness Live game link) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Brian Anderson and Jim Jackson with Allie LaForce reporting)

With a win over the Ducks, who are making their 2021 NCAA Tournament debut due to their first-round game against VCU being ruled a no-contest due to CoVID issues, the Hawkeyes will advance to their first Sweet Sixteen since 1999. Oregon, meanwhile, reached the second weekend in 2016, 2017, and 2019, with the first two trips resulting in an Elite Eight appearance and the 2017 one putting the Ducks in the Final Four.

In the pair’s last meeting, Iowa took down Oregon by a 77-69 score in the semifinals of 2018’s 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden. In their lone postseason matchup, the Ducks won a home game in the 2012 NIT second round by a 108-97 count.

West 8. Oklahoma Sooners (16-10, 9-8 Big 12 At-Large) vs.
1. Gonzaga Bulldogs (27-0, 15-0 WCC Automatic)

2:45 p.m. on CBS (March Madness Live game link) at Hinkle Fieldhouse (Carter Blackburn and Debbie Antonelli with Lauren Shehadi reporting)

The Bulldogs can claim a sixth straight trip to the regional round with a victory this afternoon, while the Sooners last made it in 2016, when Buddy Hield and OU outdid the 2015 squad by making it to the Final Four. These two teams have only met three times all-time with Gonzaga winning the last meeting in the semifinals of the 2012 Old Spice Classic at Walt Disney World.

East 14. Abilene Christian Wildcats (24-4, 13-2 Southland Automatic) vs. 11. UCLA Bruins (19-9, 13-6 Pac-12 At-Large)

5:15 p.m. on TBS (March Madness Live game link) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Brian Anderson and Jim Jackson with Allie LaForce reporting)

As you probably guessed, the Wildcats and Bruins have never met. Of course, the two teams have tournament histories that are vastly different, as UCLA has more Sweet Sixteen appearances than you can count on your fingers and toes, while Abilene Christian just claimed its first-ever NCAA win.

West 13. Ohio Bobcats (17-7, 9-5 MAC Automatic) vs.
5. Creighton Bluejays (21-8, 14-6 Big East At-Large)

6:10 p.m. on TNT (March Madness Live game link) at Hinkle Fieldhouse (Ian Eagle and Grant Hill with Jamie Erdahl reporting)

The only previous meeting between the Bobcats and Bluejays was in 1962, so for all intents and purposes, you can just ignore it. While Creighton does have a round of 16 appearance, its 1974 trip was like Oral Roberts’s in that it required just one win to get to Tulsa. Ohio, on the other hand, can make its second Sweet Sixteen as a 13 seed—the Bobcats defeated fourth-seeded Michigan and 12th-seeded USF in 2012.

East 8. LSU Tigers (19-9, 11-6 SEC At-Large) vs,
1. Michigan Wolverines (21-4, 14-3 Big Ten At-Large)

7:10 p.m. on CBS (March Madness Live game link) at Lucas Oil Stadium’s Unity Court (Andrew Catalon and Steve Lappas with AJ Ross reporting)

In the 2017 Maui Invitational, the Tigers edged the Wolverines in the quarterfinals, 77-75. LSU proceeded to lose in both semifinal and third-place game to finish fourth, while Michigan won its final two games to finish fifth in Lahaina. That LSU team ended up in the NIT, while John Beilein’s Wolverines lost the national title game to Villanova. The 2018 NCAAs featured the second of three consecutive regional trips for the Michigan team that’s now coached by Juwan Howard. LSU joined Michigan as one of the 16 teams to reach 2019’s second weekend, where both squads were eliminated at the first hurdle.

East 5. Colorado Buffaloes (23-8, 14-6 Pac-12 At-Large) vs.
4. Florida State Seminoles (17-6, 11-4 ACC At-Large)

7:45 p.m. on TBS (March Madness Live game link) at Indiana Farmers Coliseum (Brad Nessler and Steve Lavin with Evan Washburn reporting)

The Seminoles can clinch a third straight trip to the Sweet Sixteen with a win over the Buffaloes—who last reached the round of 16 in 1969. While Colorado and Florida State have met a few times in football, they’ve never crossed paths on the hardwood before tonight.

East 10. Maryland Terrapins (17-13, 9-11 Big Ten At-Large) vs.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (25-6, 16-2 SEC Automatic)

8:45 p.m. on TNT (March Madness Live game link) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Brian Anderson and Jim Jackson with Allie LaForce reporting)

In their lone postseason meeting, the Terps won in Tuscaloosa, 58-57, to advance to the 2013 NIT final four in Mark Turgeon’s second season. In his first, the Crimson Tide blasted Maryland by 20 in the quarterfinals of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off—an event Anthony Grant’s team won. Nate Oats will look to take Bama where Mark Gottfried last took them, as the Tide’s last Sweet Sixteen came in 2004. The Terrapins’ lone regional appearance under Turgeon came in 2016.

West 6. USC Trojans (23-7, 15-5 Pac-12 At-Large) vs.
3. Kansas Jayhawks (21-8, 12-6 Big 12 At-Large)

9:40 p.m. on CBS (March Madness Live game link) at Hinkle Fieldhouse (Ian Eagle and Grant Hill with Jamie Erdahl reporting)

The Jayhawks have won seven in a row over the Trojans, with all of those games occurring in Decembers ranging from 1980 to 2011. A 2019 second-round loss snapped a three-year second-weekend streak for Kansas. USC would love to have even a fraction of KU’s tournament history to bolster its own. The Trojans have reached the round of 16 just four times, with the last coming in 2007.