Elite 8 2023: Updated Bracket and Full Schedule for Men's NCAA Tournament
The 2023 men's NCAA Tournament field is down to a dozen championship hopefuls.
The Sweet 16 tipped off Thursday night, and would you believe more madness ensued?
Ninth-seeded Florida Atlantic, which entered this dance with zero NCAA Tournament wins in program history, knocked off fourth-seeded Tennessee. Third-seeded Kansas State held off seventh-seeded Michigan State in overtime thanks to Markquis Nowell's 20 points and tournament-record 19 assists. Third-seeded Gonzaga edged second-seeded UCLA on Julian Strawther's late logo three.
Oh, and fourth-seeded UConn rolled over eighth-seeded Arkansas, because not all matchups need madness.
By the end of Friday, this field will be further sliced down to eight. After laying out the remaining tournament schedule, we'll spotlight the two games already locked in for the Elite Eight.
Watch March Madness Live to stream every tournament game through the Final Four.
Tournament Schedule
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Sweet 16 | Friday, March 24
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 5 San Diego State, 6:30 p.m. ET on TBS
No. 1 Houston vs. No. 5 Miami, 7:15 p.m. ET on CBS
No. 6 Creighton vs. No. 15 Princeton, 9 p.m. ET on TBS
No. 2 Texas vs. No. 3 Xavier, 9:45 p.m. ET on CBS
Elite 8 | Saturday, March 25
No. 9 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 3 Kansas State, 6:09 p.m. ET on TBS
No. 4 UConn vs. No. 3 Gonzaga, 8:49 p.m. ET on TBS
Elite 8 | Sunday, March 26
TBD vs. TBD, 2 p.m. ET on CBS
TBD vs. TBD, 4:55 p.m. ET on CBS
Final Four | Sunday, April 1
TBD vs. TBD, 6 p.m. ET on CBS
TBD vs. TBD, 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS
National Championship | Monday, April 3
TBD vs. TBD, 9 p.m. ET on CBS
No. 9 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 3 Kansas State
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This deep into the tournament, you can throw seeds out the window. In fact, KenPom actually slots FAU higher (17th in the nation) than Kansas State (21st).
Both teams have two-way balance. Both have massively exceeded expectations this season. Kansas State draws and converts a lot of free throws. FAU takes and makes a lot of threes.
This matchup essentially boils down to star power versus depth.
Kansas State has the game's two most dynamic players in Nowell and Keyontae Johnson, both of whom average better than 17 points per game. Florida Atlantic boasts the deeper rotation with six players averaging at least seven points per game to Kansas State's four. Johnell Davis (13.9 points per game) and Alijah Martin (13) are the top scoring threats, but the Owls have had eight different leading scorers this season.
No. 4 UConn vs. No. 3 Gonzaga
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According to KenPom, this contest features two of the top six teams in the country, as UConn ranks third overall and Gonzaga sits sixth. It also has two of the nation's top three attacks, with the Bulldogs pacing everyone in efficiency and the Huskies ranking third. UConn has a much higher-ranked defense (13rd to 73rd), but with offenses of this caliber, maybe that won't matter.
Both teams follow the lead of their big men. Gonzaga's Drew Timme is about as productive as it gets. His nightly contributions include 21.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists. UConn's Adama Sanogo is plenty productive in his own right, tallying 17.3 points on 61 percent shooting and 7.5 rebounds.
The Bulldogs are loaded with three-point shooters around Timme. Four different players have made better than 40 three-pointers and shot better than 36 percent from range, with Strawther alone converting 80 triples at a 42.1 percent clip. The Huskies have their own quartet clearing those same marks, led by Jordan Hawkins, who has 98 three-balls and a 37.7 percent splash rate.
UConn is seeking its first Final Four appearance since its championship run in 2014. Gonzaga advanced beyond this round just two seasons back, when it lost to Baylor in the title game
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