March Madness 2015: Complete Sweet 16 Schedule, Updated Bracket and More

The long and treacherous three days without 2015 NCAA tournament action are almost over, with play resuming Thursday starting with the Sweet 16 round.

All of the teams still left standing have overcome serious tests on the opening weekend, with few being able to breeze their way through the first two games. That has made the 16 teams left battle-tested as they enter an intriguing regional semifinal round.

These teams took very different routes in order to get here, but one constant remains with all of them—two more wins, and they'll be invading Indianapolis for the Final Four.

Here's a complete look at the Sweet 16 round.

Bracket

Sweet 16 Schedule

Time (ET)	Matchup	TV	Location
Thursday, March 26
7:15 p.m.	No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 7 Wichita State	CBS	Cleveland
7:47 p.m.	No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 4 North Carolina	TBS	Los Angeles
9:45 p.m.	No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 5 West Virginia	CBS	Cleveland
10:17 p.m.	No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 6 Xavier	TBS	Los Angeles
Friday, March 27
7:15 p.m.	No. 2 Gonzaga vs. No. 11 UCLA	CBS	Houston
7:37 p.m.	No. 4 Louisvillevs. No. 8 N.C. State	TBS	Syracuse
9:45 p.m.	No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 Utah	CBS	Houston
10:07 p.m.	No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Michigan State	TBS	Syracuse

Matchup to Watch: No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 Utah

Getting here was a foregone conclusion for one team and a dogfight for the other, but No. 1 Duke and No. 5 Utah are gearing up for a Sweet 16 meeting Friday that could make for one of the weekend's best games.

Unlike last season, when a third-seeded Blue Devils team lost in the second round to Mercer, Duke tore through its competition in the first weekend this year. After dismantling No. 16 Robert Morris by 29 points, the Dukies put on a dominant all-around performance against a dangerous No. 8 seed in San Diego State to win by 19.

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Utah was hardly expected to survive through its first game, much less advance to the Sweet 16. Losers of four of their final seven to finish the season, the Utes withstood a tough test from No. 12 Stephen F. Austin before posting one of their best performances of the season in a 75-64 win over No. 4 Georgetown.

Practices come a bit easier this time of year when teams have earned their right to keep playing, and Utah has been preparing accordingly for a tough test, per Utah's official Twitter:

If the Utes are going to continue having success in March Madness and pull off the upset, however, it will have to come through senior guard Delon Wright. The Utes' leading scorer with 14.7 points per game, Wright has the slashing ability to give Duke trouble in the half court.

Although Wright shot just 4-of-14 combined in Utah's opening two tournament wins, he could spell doom for the Blue Devils if he has a big outing Friday, per Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports:

That's actually one of the biggest areas Duke has worked on in the week leading up to action in Houston, as Laura Keeley of The News & Observer reported:

It's somewhat surprising with athletic guards Tyus Jones and Quinn Cook manning the backcourt, but the Blue Devils' ability to handle opposing guards off the bounce has been a seismic problem in Durham all season. That has been Duke's Achilles' heel heading into tournament play, and it will have to be careful not to have it exposed this weekend.

One player who could help in that regard, however, has been playing his best basketball of late.

Overshadowed by fellow freshmen Jones and Jahlil Okafor, swingman Justise Winslow's defensive ability and rebounding have been immense for Duke—especially in tournament play. He is averaging 11.5 rebounds per game in the Big Dance and figures to be the game-changer to take Duke to the next level, as per CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein:

Defending Wright may prove too difficult for undersized guards like Jones or Cook, but Winslow's athleticism and size will match up against him quite well. The freshman should be able to keep the star senior from going off—or at least limit his impact.

That's where Okafor comes in. Coming off two 20-point performances to start the tournament, no team has proved able to size up Okafor—even in the regular season—in the post, and Utah will have a hard time becoming the first to do so.

The more and more you look into this matchup, the more it becomes apparent why the Blue Devils are five-point favorites, according to Odds Shark.