NCAA Bracket 2016: Full Weekend Tournament Schedule and Predictions

Miami and Villanova kick off the Sweet 16 Thursday, beginning a weekend of drama sure to trump the path so far.

It's been a fun ride, but dominant teams such as Kansas and Oregon will command the spotlight. Another, North Carolina, sits in quite the precarious position against Indiana. Then there's the underdogs such as 11th-seeded Gonzaga, 10th-seeded Syracuse and seventh-seeded Wisconsin, all teams ready to make some noise.

Sprinkle in star players, and folks stare one of the sporting world's best weekends in the face. Let's take a look at the bracket and weekend schedule before the first tip.

Sweet 16 Schedule and Predictions 

Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV	Pick ATS
March 24	No. 2 Villanova (-4.5) vs. No. 3 Miami (Fla.)	7:10 p.m.	CBS	Villanova
March 24	No. 2 Oklahoma (-2) vs. No. 3 Texas A&M	7:37 p.m.	TBS	Texas A&M
March 24	No. 1 Kansas (-7) vs. No. 5 Maryland	9:40 p.m.	CBS	Kansas
March 24	No. 1 Oregon (-2.5) vs. No. 4 Duke	10:07 p.m.	TBS	Oregon
March 25	No. 1 Virginia (-4.5) vs. No. 4 Iowa State	7:10 p.m.	CBS	Virginia
March 25	No. 6 Notre Dame (-7) vs. No. 7 Wisconsin	7:37 p.m.	TBS	Wisconsin
March 25	No. 10 Syracuse vs. No. 11 Gonzaga (-5)	9:40 p.m.	CBS	Gonzaga
March 25	No. 1 North Carolina (-6.5) vs. No. 5 Indiana	10:07 p.m.	TBS	Indiana

Full, continuously updated schedule available at NCAA.com.

Weekend Predictions

Domantas Sabonis Runs Wild

Domantas Sabonis didn't enter the tournament a household name, but at this pace, the Lithuania native will leave it as one.

Sabonis, 6'11" and 240 pounds, averages a double-double at 17.5 points and 11.7 rebounds. For his efforts, Gonzaga has slotted 46th in ESPN's RPI rankings and cruised over the first two rounds, beating No. 6 Seton Hall, 68-52, and No. 3 Utah, 82-59.

Gonzaga does plenty right with the big man as the centerpiece, helping the team to rank in the top 23 in both offensive and defensive efficiency at KenPom.com. Over those two tournament games, Sabonis posted 40 points and 26 rebounds.

Most impressive, though, was Sabonis embarrassing Utah's Jakob Poeltl, holding the big man to all of five points in the wild upset. Considering Poeltl comes off the board No. 7 in Derek Bodner's latest mock draft at USA Today, it was quite the statement performance.

The performances have earned Sabonis plenty of praise, including a note by Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard.

"I thought he was really impressive," Willard said, according to ESPN.com's Myron Medcalf. "What I was more impressed from his scoring was I was more impressed with his rebounding. I thought he battled. He was much more physical than he looked on film."

The next feat for Sabonis? Taking down a Syracuse team ranked just 52nd in offensive efficiency. A potential meeting with No. 1 Virginia after won't be easy, but with the way Sabonis keeps playing, Gonzaga continuing to roll shouldn't come as a shock.

Experienced Wisconsin Advances 

These Wisconsin Badgers know a thing or two about rolling through the Big Dance, Frank Kaminsky or not.

Wisconsin cruised to an 11-6 mark against the RPI top 100 to finish 41st in RPI, riding an adjusted defensive efficiency rating of 12th.

Thank the experience. Bronson Koenig, who averages 13.3 points per game and shoots 40 percent from deep, has more bracket experience under his belt than most players left standing. Ditto for Nigel Hayes, who averages 15.9 points and 3.0 assists.

The strong defense has put on a clinic so far, having held 10th-seeded Pittsburgh to 43 points in a win. A buzzer-beating shot from deep lifted the team over second-seeded Xavier, 66-63, adding to the program's reliability in the bracket, as ESPN Stats & Info illustrated: 

On paper, a Sweet 16 encounter with Notre Dame looks tricky considering the Fighting Irish rank seventh in adjusted offensive efficiency. But the explosive offense doesn't boast as much experience as Wisconsin, nor has it looked very explosive, totaling 70 and 76 points in wins against a No. 11 and No. 14 seeds, respectively, the latter by just a single point.

Wisconsin, through elite defense and clutch play by way of experience, won't have a problem moving past Notre Dame. It gets trickier in the Elite Eight against the winner of North Carolina-Indiana, but if said winner enters gassed and emotionally drained, the Badgers could have an avenue to keep rolling.

Nobody Comes Close to Kansas 

Folks keep waiting for the first No. 1 seed domino to bite the dust and set off a chain reaction. 

It figures to happen this weekend, but it's best to look at the three not named Kansas.

Kansas has won 16 games in a row, the last loss coming on January 25. The deep Jayhawks sit first in RPI, boasting a silly 21-3 mark against the RPI top 100 and ranking among the top 10 in adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency.

The first two rounds, as such, were quite routine. No. 16 Austin Peay didn't stand a chance, falling 105-79. No. 9 Connecticut suffered the same fate, 73-61. Those Huskies at least touted an adjusted defensive efficiency of 14th, but the Jayhawks had two starters with 21 or more points, shot 49 percent from the floor, 35 percent from deep and won the battle on the glass, 44-24.

It's going to look like much of the same story against Maryland, with most of the credit from head coach Bill Self going to guard Wayne Selden Jr., according to USA Today's Gerry Ahern:

"

I think Wayne can have great possessions and impact possessions even when he’s not shooting the ball. He’s doing that more. He’s getting to the free-throw line more. He’s driving more and not playing for just the perimeter shots. For the most part this year that’s been the case.

"

Indeed, over those two tournament wins, the junior totaled 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. And he's not even the team's leading scorer. That title belongs to Perry Ellis, who sits on 16.9 points per game.

Maryland won't have a way to keep pace. After, it's on to the winner of Miami-Villanova, two more teams the Jayhawks match up well against.

Those looking for a top seed to topple have plenty of other options.

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

Stats and information courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified. Advanced metrics courtesy of ESPN.com and KenPom.com. Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.