NCAA Scores 2016: Tournament Results Tracker for Sunday's 3rd-Round Bracket

The 2016 NCAA tournament has plenty of national championship favorites still alive, but Sunday's action will conclude the round of 32 and features a considerable amount of underdogs on the slate.

Among the eight contests on the schedule, six double-digit seeds are playing. There is even a matchup between two: 10th-seeded Syracuse and No. 15 Middle Tennessee State, which pulled off the upset of the tourney so far in shocking No. 2 Michigan State.

March Madness is in full swing with such a high amount of Cinderellas factoring into the Big Dance. Read on to find out how Sunday's NCAA tournament games played out and for an overview of the updated bracket.

Region	Team	Result/Approx. Start Time (ET)	Team
South	No. 7 Iowa	68-87	No. 2 Villanova
East	No. 14 Stephen F. Austin	75-76	No. 6 Notre Dame
West	No. 10 VCU	81-85	No. 2 Oklahoma
Midwest	No. 15 Middle Tennesee	50-75	No. 10 Syracuse
South	No. 13 Hawaii	7:10 p.m.	No. 5 Maryland
West	No. 11 Northern Iowa	7:40 p.m.	No. 3 Texas A&M
East	No. 7 Wisconsin	8:40 p.m.	No. 2 Xavier
West	No. 8 Saint Joseph's	9:40 p.m.	No. 1 Oregon

Villanova 87, Iowa 68

For those ready to write off Villanova based on its losses in the round of 32 in the previous two years, the Wildcats had a resounding answer on Sunday.

A 54-point first half and stifling defense boosted head coach Jay Wright's squad to a blowout triumph in which Villanova's lead swelled as high as 31.

CSNPhilly.com's Reuben Frank highlighted how well the Wildcats were executing at both ends of the floor at their apex:

A steal-and-score sequence catalyzed by Kris Jenkins—which featured a fortuitous bounce off the rim on a layup and a ball-handling blunder from Iowa—encapsulated how the day went for each side:

Jenkins had 15 points and a team-high six assists, and he was among four Wildcats in double figures, led by junior guard Josh Hart's 19 points.

The South region is getting interesting in light of how well Villanova is playing at the moment. Kansas is the top overall seed in the tournament and has answered the bell after losing in the round of the 32 in each of the past two years.

Based on the way the teams are trending, it's quite possible the Jayhawks and Wildcats will meet up in the Elite Eight in what may be the best regional final of the tournament. But first, Villanova has to get past a tough opponent in Miami in the Sweet 16.

Notre Dame 76, Stephen F. Austin 75

A far more compelling clash occurred in the second contest of the day as the clock struck midnight on Stephen F. Austin's Cinderella run.

The Fighting Irish held the lead by the slimmest of margins at 42-41 after a fast-paced opening half. They built a lead as big as 72-65, but ultimately couldn't fend off the relentless Lumberjacks from making it a thriller down the stretch

Thomas Walkup starred for Stephen F. Austin with 21 points, five rebounds and five dimes, one of which came at a critical time when Demetrious Floyd poured in a clutch three-pointer:

But Notre Dame upstaged the Lumberjacks in the end, as reserve freshman Rex Pflueger tipped home the winning shot with 1.4 seconds remaining.

Fox Sports' Tim Brando brought up a great point about how the favorites were able to control Stephen F. Austin down low, as Zach Auguste had a monster game with 16 points and 15 rebounds:

Last year's Irish squad was two points away from the Final Four, losing 68-66 to Kentucky in the Elite Eight. Now coach Mike Brey's bunch has a great chance to return to at least that phase of the NCAA tournament.

The winner of Sunday evening's matchup between second-seeded Xavier and No. 7 Wisconsin will meet Notre Dame in the East regional semifinals.

Oklahoma 85, VCU 81

Sooners star Buddy Hield scored 21 of his team's final 26 points to help Oklahoma avoid an upset against the attack-minded Rams, whose tenacity is still evident in the post-Shaka Smart era.

Hield had 36 points in total on 11-of-20 shooting, including six three-pointers made in 14 attempts from beyond the arc. ESPN Stats & Info highlighted how epic Hield's monster closing half was:

VCU guards Melvin Johnson and JeQuan Lewis paced the Rams with 23 and 22 points, respectively, as they scored 50 in the second half to almost completely climb out of a 44-31 deficit at the break.

The Rams' comeback charge wasn't quite enough. ESPN's Dick Vitale tied VCU's upset bid to that of Stephen F. Austin's:

Oklahoma moves on to battle the winner of Texas A&M and Northern Iowa in the regional semifinals. 

With a leader like Hield to lean on, one has to fancy the Sooners' chance of advancing regardless of their impending opponent.

An inconsistent Duke squad is likely to face controversial Oregon in the West Region's other Sweet 16 matchup. The lack of formidable foes for the remainder of regional play thus gives Oklahoma a solid shot at reaching the Final Four.

Syracuse 75, Middle Tennessee State 50

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Once the Blue Raiders took an early second-half lead at 33-31, they appeared capable of beating a Syracuse squad that had, after all, lost five of six leading up to the NCAA tournament.

Then the Orange simply manhandled Middle Tennessee the rest of the way. Senior forward Michael Gbinije had 23 points, and Tyler Lydon had six blocks, 14 points and seven boards to help Syracuse turn the game into a blowout.

Middle Tennessee hit some tough, contested jumpers and were able to get out in transition for the first half or so when more shots were falling. Once it came down to half-court execution, though, the Blue Raiders were no match.

Considering MTSU scored 90 points in a shocking upset over Michigan State in the round of 64, the Orange's stifling defensive performance appears all the more impressive.

CBS Sports' Doug Gottlieb refused to give the victors much credit based on their dubious tourney resume:

Syracuse's suffocating 2-3 zone gave the Blue Raiders fits and may well be the exact formula necessary to knock off Gonzaga in the Sweet 16, though. The Bulldogs boast a skilled frontcourt of Kyle Wiltjer and Domantas Sabots, but the Orange shut down MTSU's Reggie Upshaw, who scored 21 points against the Spartans.

What threatened to be a lost season bound for the NIT has suddenly transformed into something special for Syracuse amid its improbable March Madness run.

Check out Bleacher Report's live-updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.