March Madness 2021 Bracket: What Teams Are In The Sweet 16 So Far?

The Sweet 16 field is usually set on the Monday after the first weekend of March Madness, but that isn’t the case with this year’s new schedule. While the second half of the round of 32 plays out Monday, eight teams can relax and know that they’re one step closer to winning their side of the 2021 NCAA bracket.

Following an unprecedented number of major upsets, several Cinderella candidates have made it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. No. 15 Oral Roberts, No. 12 Oregon State, No. 11 Syracuse and No. 8 Loyola Chicago are all in the Sweet 16. They are joined by No. 1 Baylor, No. 2 Houston, No. 3 Arkansas and No. 5 Villanova.

Oral Roberts is just the second No. 15 seed in history to survive the first weekend of March Madness. Max Abmas, the nation’s leading scorer, put up 55 total points while playing every minute in wins over No. 2 Ohio State and No. 7 Florida.

Arkansas will play Oral Roberts in the South Region semifinal. The Razorbacks defeated No. 6 Texas Tech in a nailbiter Sunday.

It’s a guarantee that either Oregon State or Loyola Chicago will reach the Elite Eight. The two teams are set to face off Saturday afternoon at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Loyola Chicago knocked off the first No. 1 seed of the tournament by beating No. 1 Illinois 71-58 in a game that it led the entire way. The Ramblers made history just three years ago by reaching the Final Four as a No. 11 seed. Oregon State last made it past the first round 39 years ago.

One of those two teams will take on either Syracuse or Houston in the Midwest Region final. Buddy Boeheim, son of Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim, was one of the weekend’s stars with 55 combined points in upset victories over No. 6 San Diego State and No. 3 West Virginia. Houston narrowly avoided being knocked off by No. 10 Rutgers, mounting a nine-point comeback in the final five minutes of their contest Sunday.

Baylor won both of its games handily. The Bears will take on Villanova, who is coming off a 23-point victory.

The Sweet 16 starts Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis.