NCAA Scores 2016: Tournament Results Tracker for Friday's Sweet 16 Bracket

The Elite Eight field is set.

Which of those teams are the elite of the bunch won't be answered until this weekend, but there's a bit more clarity now that the second half of the Sweet 16 tipped off Friday.

The action began with the Virginia Cavaliers looking to make the Elite Eight for the first time in over two decades, taking on the Iowa State Cyclones in Chicago. The winner of that matchup plays the winner of the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Syracuse Orange on Sunday for the right to go to the Final Four.

Meanwhile, in the East Region, the Wisconsin Badgers tried to transfer their second-round magic to the Wells Fargo Center for a meeting with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. And capping off the night, it was the battle of two historic programs with the Indiana Hoosiers and North Carolina Tar Heels facing off.

Here's how it all went down Friday night.

 You can find an updated bracket here.

No. 1 Virginia 84, No. 4 Iowa State 71

Virginia big man Anthony Gill scored a team-high 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds as Virginia advanced to its first Elite Eight since 1995 in a high-scoring win over Iowa State.

Without the threat of the Michigan State Spartans in their region, the stars are aligning for the Cavaliers, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports:

Virginia center Mike Tobey had 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench, which offset a tough shooting night for ACC Player of the Year Malcolm Brogdon, who took 13 shots to get 12 points. 

Iowa State's leading scorer, Georges Niang, had a game-high 30 points despite battling foul trouble all night, but the difference was Virginia winning the battle of the boards. The Cavaliers out-rebounded the Cyclones, 33-24, while also grabbing seven offensive rebounds.

ESPN Stats & Info also showed Virginia hardly loses when it scores 75 points or more:

It didn't take long for Virginia to establish its dominance on both sides of the floor. The Cavaliers jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first four-plus minutes, and the Cyclones had only one made field goal in the first six minutes, 19 seconds.

Iowa State forward Georges Niang picked up two fouls in the first seven-plus minutes of the game, sending the Cyclones' leading scorer to the bench. 

Dan Wolken of USA Today thought things were about to get worse for the Cyclones:

Despite the Cavaliers leading by as many as 17 points in the first half, Iowa State continued to hang around thanks to six three-pointers and 15 first-half points from Niang. But Virginia shot 17-of-28 in the first 20 minutes thanks to nine points from Gill.

Freelance journalist David Ubben was surprised at how Iowa State was not out of the game yet:

Despite Niang having a complete offensive game, Virginia's activity on the boards turned out to be the difference-maker. It's been 32 years since Virginia made a Final Four, and the Cavaliers are one win away from doing that.

No. 6 Notre Dame 61, No. 7 Wisconsin 56

Wisconsin had a three-point lead with 28 seconds left, but Fighting Irish point guard Demetrius Jackson made back-to-back layups in a span of five seconds to push Notre Dame to its second straight Elite Eight.

Badgers guard Vitto Brown's three-pointer with 28 seconds remaining gave Wisconsin a 56-53 lead. Jackson made a layup with 19 seconds left on Notre Dame's ensuing possession to cut the lead to one point.

As Wisconsin inbounded the ball to Nigel Hayes, Notre Dame forced a double-team and knocked the ball loose. Jackson scooped it up and scored the go-ahead basket to give the Irish the lead. Despite being the hero in Wisconsin's win over Xavier in the second round, Bronson Koenig's layup rimmed out, and the Fighting Irish escaped with a win.

CBS Sports thought Jackson turned into the ultimate thief at the end of the game:

Jackson took 18 shots to get 16 points, but he came through in a major way with the game on the line, per ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman:

Badgers freshman Ethan Happ had a team-high 14 points, and Koenig was held to eight points on 3-of-12 shooting after a 20-point performance in the second-round win over Xavier. But this is a game that could be viewed as a Wisconsin loss more than a Notre Dame win, per Bleacher Report:

For the second straight game, Notre Dame has had to survive in the final seconds in order to advance. The luck of the Irish was on Notre Dame's side on Good Friday, and now it'll have a chance to go to the Final Four on Easter Sunday.

No. 10 Syracuse 63, No. 11 Gonzaga 60

Michael Gbinije made a layup with 22 seconds remaining to give the 10th-seeded Orange a spot in the Elite Eight with a three-point win over Gonzaga.

Gbinije's offensive rebound and putback gave Syracuse a 61-60 lead with less than a half minute remaining. On Gonzaga's ensuing possession, Josh Perkins' potential game-winning floater was blocked by Tyler Lydon with less than four seconds remaining.

Gbinije's game-winning shot was his 23rd shot attempt, giving him a team-high 20 points on the night. He was one of three players to score in double figures for the Orange. Trevor Cooney also had 15 points for Syracuse.

ESPN's Holly Rowe commented on the banner day for both Syracuse men's and women's hoops:

Syracuse was one of questionable teams to make it into the NCAA tournament, getting in over teams like Monmouth and Saint Mary's, but the Orange now have a chance to make it to the Final Four, per Rich Eisen of NFL Network:

Gonzaga finally got a breakthrough scoring performance in the tournament from Kyle Wiltjer's 23 points, and also had a stellar 19-point, 17-rebound game from Domantas Sabonis. But the Zags came up one play short, while the Orange continue to be this year's unusual Cinderella of the tournament.

No. 1 North Carolina 101, No. 5 Indiana 86

All five of North Carolina's starters scored in double figures, led by Marcus Paige's team-high 21 points as the Tar Heels advanced to the Elite Eight after a 15-point win over the Hoosiers.

As a result of UNC's win, the ACC will be guaranteed a spot in the national championship game. North Carolina will play Notre Dame in the East Regional final, while Virginia and Syracuse will meet in the Midwest final.

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports details how dominant the ACC has been in the NCAA tournament for the last two years:

Tar Heels big man Brice Johnson had a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three blocks. Also as a 77 percent free-throw shooter, Johnson made 10 of his 12 free-throw attempts. Paige's efficient night came from the three-point line, making six long-distance shots to go along with six assists.

Those six threes tied a UNC tournament record set by Shammond Williams, per ESPN Stats & Info.

CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein thought the Tar Heels played such a complete game, it resembled two other title teams:

Indiana was led by Yogi Ferrell's game-high 25 points, but he shot 6-of-14 to get there. Troy Williams also had 21 points for the Hoosiers, but they needed a complete game from their starting lineup to contend with North Carolina on this day.

Before Friday night, the Tar Heels didn't have a performance showing they could be a legitimate threat in the national championship picture. After defeating an Indiana team that beat Kentucky to get this far, North Carolina has to be considered as a favorite to win it all, at this moment.

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