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Chronological Schedule
Sunday, March 28, 2021
| Tip Time (ET) | Site | Region | Matchup | Channel with March Madness Live Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tip Time (ET) | Site | Region | Matchup | Channel with March Madness Live Link |
| 2:10 p.m. | Hinkle | West | 5. Creighton vs. 1. Gonzaga | CBS |
| 5:00 p.m. | BL Fieldhouse | East | 4. Florida State vs. 1. Michigan | CBS |
| 7:15 p.m. | Hinkle | East | 11. UCLA vs. 2. Alabama | TBS |
| 9:45 p.m. | BL Fieldhouse | West | 7. Oregon vs. 6. USC | TBS |
Historical matchup information is courtesy of College Basketball Reference’s Matchup Finder. Note that this data only goes back to the 1949-50 season.
West 5. Creighton Bluejays (22-8, 14-6 Big East At-Large) vs.
1. Gonzaga Bulldogs (28-0, 15-0 WCC Automatic)
2:10 p.m. on CBS (March Madness Live game link) at Hinkle Fieldhouse (Ian Eagle and Jim Spankarel with Jamie Erdahl reporting)
While the Bulldogs have now reached the Elite Eight four times, including in three of the last five NCAA Tournaments, the Bluejays have only one such trip in their history. Of course, that came in 1941—when every tournament team was an Elite Eight team. Gonzaga and Creighton have a relatively recent series in their respective histories, with the Bulldogs winning by 17 in Spokane on December 1, 2017, and then by a 103-92 score in Omaha exactly one year later.
East 4. Florida State Seminoles (18-6, 11-4 ACC At-Large) vs.
1. Michigan Wolverines (22-4, 14-3 Big Ten At-Large)
5 p.m. on CBS (March Madness Live game link) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, and Bill Raftery with Tracy Wolfson reporting)
In their last meeting, Wolverines edged the Seminoles, 58-54, in the 2018 West regional final in L.A. en route to a title game loss to Villanova. The two teams could have faced each other at the same stage in 2019, as both were again in the West regional, this time down the 5 in Anaheim. But with the Wolverines falling to Texas Tech and Gonzaga toppling the Seminoles, that didn’t happen.
East 11. UCLA Bruins (20-9, 13-6 Pac-12 At-Large) vs.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (26-6, 16-2 SEC Automatic)
7:15 p.m. on TBS (March Madness Live game link) at Hinkle Fieldhouse (Ian Eagle and Jim Spankarel with Jamie Erdahl reporting)
The Crimson Tide have only reached the Elite Eight once in their history, when eventual champion UConn took them out in the 2004 West final. And while the Bruins have an illustrious NCAA history, it’s been 13 years since their last regional final. Ben Howland’s 2008 team ended up reaching a third consecutive Final Four. While UCLA’s 2006 run to the national title game featured a 62-59 second-round win over Alabama, the Tide won the last game in the series, a 56-50 decision in Tuscaloosa on December 28, 2014. However, the Bruins won the prior meeting exactly one year earlier at Pauley.
West 7. Oregon Ducks (21-6, 14-4 Pac-12 At-Large) vs.
6. USC Trojans (24-7, 15-5 Pac-12 At-Large)
9:45 p.m. on TBS (March Madness Live game link) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, and Bill Raftery with Tracy Wolfson reporting)
With these two teams being longtime conference rivals, there’s plenty of history between them. The Trojans have dominated of late, winning five of the last seven, including this season’s lone meeting. That came by a 72-58 score at the Galen Center on February 22nd. However, before the 2017-18 season, the Ducks had a 14-game winning streak in the series, dating back to the 2009-10 campaign. With a win tonight, Oregon will reach its third Elite Eight in the last five tournaments (2016, 2017). As for the Trojans, their last regional final came under Henry Bibby in 2001.