NCAA Tournament 2015: Friday's Sweet 16 Scores, Updated Bracket and Schedule

The 2015 NCAA tournament field shrank even more on Friday during the last four games of the Sweet 16. Several Cinderellas are still alive, but college basketball's true elite are beginning to distinguish themselves.

Two surprising underdogs in UCLA and NC State were hoping to keep their March Madness runs going to start off, while Duke sought to keep its roll going through the South Region. Seventh-seeded Michigan State remained as a threat entering its showdown with Oklahoma.

Check out how each game played out, what the updated bracket looks like and how the schedule unfolds entering the regional finals. 

Matchup	Result
No. 2 Gonzaga vs. No. 11 UCLA (South)	74-62, Gonzaga
No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 8 NC State (East)	75-65, Louisville
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 Utah (South)	63-57, Duke
No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Michigan State (East)	62-58, Michigan State

Louisville 75, NC State 65

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

A tight first half saw the Wolfpack pull ahead with a narrow 33-31 advantage, but coach Rick Pitino's Cardinals put the clamps down even more on defense in the final 20 minutes to win handily.

Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated pointed to the run Louisville made when it appeared as though NC State was destined to pull off the upset:

The Wolfpack stayed within striking distance even after their opponents surged ahead. They just couldn't hit enough shots down the stretch to continue an unlikely NCAA tournament run.

Louisville Athletics pointed out how steady Pitino's program has been over the years amid March Madness:

Montrezl Harrell was a catalyst for the Cardinals, notching 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Louisville guard Terry Rozier stuffed the stat sheet in his own right, pouring in 17, crashing the glass with 14 boards and adding four dimes to boot.

The big surprise was Anton Gill, who provided a key spark off the bench for the victors with seven points. Gill had averaged just 2.4 points per contest all season.

Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde and Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead provided further context:

Wolfpack star guard Trevor Lacey led NC State with 18 points, not quite able to will his side to the next phase of the Big Dance.

Either Michigan State or Oklahoma lies ahead for the Cardinals after this latest big-time victory.

Witnessing a coaching matchup between Pitino and Spartans boss Tom Izzo would be quite a treat for college basketball fans. The Sooners are a formidable squad too, though, with Lon Kruger at the helm of yet another team's deep tournament run.

For a team that has trouble scoring, Louisville managed to find enough balance to score 75 points in advancing to the Elite Eight. If it can overcome depth issues and maintain a stout defense, there's no reason this bunch can't go to the Final Four.

Gonzaga 74, UCLA 62

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Entering Friday's game, Gonzaga had averaged 86.5 points per contest in two previous NCAA tournament games. Although the Zags didn't light up the scoreboard in quite the same way, they're still moving onto the Elite Eight for the first time under coach Mark Few.

UCLA was ice-cold from long range, failing to connect on any of its three-pointers until it was too late.

The Bulldogs' offensive balance and versatility was the difference, as CBS Sports' Seth Davis suggested in his analysis:

Gonzaga center Przemek Karnowski was a devastating force down low, putting up 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting to go with nine rebounds and two highlight-reel assists, one of which is below courtesy of NCAA March Madness:

Karnowski and reserve forward Domantas Sabonis, who had 12 points and eight boards of his own, fed off each other in the paint.

Interior passing helped the Bulldogs to a bundle of easy baskets, while the Bruins couldn't buy a shot from the perimeter. That helped Few's squad pull away in the second half and punch a ticket to the Elite Eight.

Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports noted how Gonzaga was able to overcome its own travails from three-point range to still win comfortably:

ESPN's Mike Greenberg believes in the Zags' ability to challenge Kentucky:

But first, the winner of Duke vs. Utah awaits for Gonzaga in the South Regional final.

If the Utes pull off an upset, they have the type of defense to give the Bulldogs trouble. However, the Blue Devils have the superior talent and a starting five that's as good as any in the nation.

Most would want to see the mid-major powerhouse in Gonzaga try to battle the powerhouse Duke program. Seeing Karnowski go up against the likes of Jahlil Okafor and to see those two high-octane offenses engage in a shootout would likely cause such a matchup to be the most exciting Elite Eight contest.

Duke 63, Utah 57

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The Duke Blue Devils didn't have a great game offensively, but it didn't matter as they held the Utah Utes to 35-percent shooting from the floor in a 63-57 victory, sending Duke into the Elite Eight for the 20th time in school history.

Justise Winslow was brilliant in the win. The freshman forward had 21 points and 10 rebounds, making him the third Blue Devils freshman to go for 20 and 10 in a tournament game, per ESPN Stats & Info:

His performance begged the question: What does a star player have to do to get people to actually spell his name right?

Duke's win was perhaps a bit surprising in that Jahlil Okafor was almost a complete non-factor. Although he grabbed seven boards, he only scored six points on six field goals. Down the stretch, Mike Krzyzewski also took Okafor out of the game because he's such a liability on free throws.

Some Utes fans will likely cry injustice after Delon Wright picked up his third foul early in the first half. The call was a bit dubious and meant Utah would be without its best player for roughly five minutes before halftime:

However, Wright's foul trouble had only a marginal impact on the final result. More important was the fact he went 4-of-13 from the field for 10 points. Duke did a good job of taking him out of the game.

The Blue Devils will play Gonzaga in the Elite Eight, which should feature a great head-to-head matchup between Winslow and Kyle Wiltjer. Wiltjer's by far the Zags' best player, and their tournament fate will rest heavily on his shoulders. If Winslow can negate Wiltjer's impact, then Duke will find itself sitting pretty.

Michigan State 62, Oklahoma 58

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

Death. Taxes. Tom Izzo taking Michigan State deep in the NCAA tournament.

There aren't many guarantees in this world, but it's almost always a sure thing that the Spartans will play above expectations in March. Still, with the talent at Izzo's disposal, it's beyond impressive that this year's Michigan State team is headed to the Elite Eight.

It got that far after beating Oklahoma 62-58 Friday night.

Travis Trice was great during the final stretch, at one point scoring seven straight for the Spartans to help them maintain a five-point edge, 58-53, with 1:19 to go:

The senior guard finished as the game's leading scorer with 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting. He three rebounds and two assists.

Branden Dawson's six points and 11 rebounds were also big in the win. He, Trice and Denzel Valentine helped seal Michigan State's passage to the Elite Eight, per Sean Merriman of BTN.com:

The Sooners struggled to get much scoring outside of TaShawn Taylor and Buddy Hield. The former had 16 points, while the latter led the way with 21. Hield also connected with three of Oklahoma's four made field goals.

Ultimately, shooting 36.4 percent from the floor proved too detrimental for the Sooners.

Now, college basketball fans will get to see Izzo vs. Pitino in the Elite Eight. The two are coaching legends and continually turn very good teams into great teams come March. Watching the chess match between the two will be a joy to behold.