The NCAA Tournament TV schedule for the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds this weekend includes some marquee matchups, beginning with four games Thursday night to mark an early start for Weekend Number Two of March Madness, followed by four more games on Saturday to finalize the Elite Eight. Here, courtesy of CBS Sports , are the tipoff times and matchups for the Sweet Sixteen round. All times posted are Eastern Time.
Thursday Night Games (March 23)
No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 7 Michigan, 7:09 p.m. ET (CBS)
The Michigan Wolverines, which began the month of March with a plane crash (fortunately, no one was seriously hurt), come into the Sweet Sixteen following major upsets of Number 3 Oregon and Number 2 Louisville. Meanwhile, The Ducks, meanwhile, come in off an easy first-round win against Iona, followed by a 75-72 nail-biter over Number 11 Rhode Island.
No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 4 West Virginia, 7:39 p.m. ET (TBS)
The Number 1 seeded Bulldogs come into this round following a close second-round game that saw their opponents, Number 8 Northwestern, score 53 points in the second half. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, they were able to stem the Wildcats’ surge and held on to win 79-73. West Virginia, meanwhile, dispatched Bucknell in the first round, 86-80, then defeated Number 5 Notre Dame 83-71.
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 4 Purdue, 9:39 p.m. ET (CBS)
The Number 1 seed Jayhawks enter the Sweet Sixteen round coming off two easy wins, first beating UC Davis, 100-62, and then the No. 9 Michigan State Spartans, 90-70.
Through 1st two rounds of NCAA Tourney, OVER is 10-0 in games involving BIG 12 teams. W. Virginia vs Gonzaga (149.5) Purdue vs Kansas (157) pic.twitter.com/i4gOagkgPQ
— Covers (@Covers) March 23, 2017
No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 11 Xavier, 10:09 p.m. ET (TBS)
The Wildcats easily dispatched Number 15 North Dakota in the first round, 100-82, followed by a much closer game, but still a win, knocking out St. Mary’s Gaels 69-60 in the second round. Number 11 Xavier, playing the role of spoilers, took down two higher-seeded teams – Number 6 Maryland and Number 3 Florida State – in the first two rounds.
Florida State’s Xavier Rathan-Mayes declares for NBA draft https://t.co/8EWmho7Bqu pic.twitter.com/KoR2TM7o6i
— theScore NBA (@theScoreNBA) March 23, 2017
Friday Night Games (March 24)
No. 4 Butler vs. No. 1 North Carolina 7:09 p.m. ET (CBS)
The Butler Bulldogs enter the Sweet Sixteen after an easy 76-64 win over Winthrop in the first round, then went on to dispatch Middle Tennessee in the second round, 74-65. The Number One seed Tarheels, meanwhile, made short work of Texas Southern in the first round, easily winning 103-64, in one of the highest-scoring NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament games ever. In Round 2, the Tarheels held off Number 8 Arkansas, 72-65.
No. 7 South Carolina vs. No. 3 Baylor 7:20 p.m. ET (TBS)
The Gamecocks of South Carolina beat Number 10 Marquette in the first round, 93-73, then went on to defeat Number 2 Duke in a nail-biter, 88-80. Baylor’s Bears, meanwhile, held off Number 14 New Mexico State, 91-73, in the first round, followed by a second-round win over Number 11 USC in a squeaker, 82-78.
No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 2 Kentucky Approximately 9:39 p.m. ET (CBS)
In what could be one of the biggest matchups of the weekend, the UCLA Bruins take on the Kentucky Wildcats. In the first round, the Bruins made short work of the Kent State Golden Eagles, winning 97-80, then followed up that win with a 79-67 win over Cincinnati. The Wildcats, meanwhile, have had two near-upsets in the first two rounds. Last Friday, they held off their in-state opponents, Number 15 Northern Kentucky, to win 79-70. Then on Sunday, they were almost burned by Number 10 Wichita State but managed to hold off the Shockers, 65-62.
No. 8 Wisconsin vs. No. 4 Florida Approximately 9:59 p.m. ET (TBS)
In this final game of the Sweet Sixteen Round, the Badgers take on the Gators. The Badgers ousted Number 9 Virginia Tech, 84-74, in the first round, followed by a major second-round upset win over Number 1 Villanova, 65-62. The Gators, meanwhile, made easy work of Tennessee State in the first round, winning 80-65. This was followed by a close Round 2 game against in-state opponents Florida Gulf Coast University, which the Gators won 86-80.
If you are unable to catch any of this weekend’s NCAA Tournament games on TV, you can watch all of the action live on NCAA.com .
[Featured Image by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images]