NCAA Tournament 2016: Sunday's Elite 8 Scores, Updated Bracket and Schedule
Sunday featured a pair of ACC showdowns for the remaining two spots in next weekend's Final Four in Houston.
The No. 10-seeded Syracuse Orange—the highest remaining seed in the tournament—continued their remarkable run by shocking the top-seeded Virginia Cavaliers with an incredible second-half comeback in the Midwest Regional final.
The North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the nightcap, and will join the Villanova Wildcats, Oklahoma Sooners and Orange in Houston.
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Here is a look at the scores, an updated bracket, the schedule for the Final Four and recaps of Sunday's action:
| No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 10 Syracuse | Midwest | 68-62, SYR |
| No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 6 Notre Dame | East | 88-74, UNC |
| Oklahoma vs. Villanova | 6:09 p.m. | TBS |
| Syracuse vs. North Carolina | 8:49 p.m. | TBS |
| National Championship Game | TBD | TBS |
Syracuse 68, Virginia 62
Syracuse freshman Malachi Richardson made a valiant statement to be included in the conversation for the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player with his performance Sunday.
The star freshman led Syracuse to arguably the most iconic comeback of the tournament thus far, finishing with 23 points as the Orange rolled past top-seeded Virginia, 68-62, and advanced to their second Final Four in four seasons.
Richardson anchored a 25-4 run late in the second half after trailing by 15 points with nine minutes, 33 seconds remaining. Facing a 59-48 deficit with 7:34 remaining, Richardson took over.
It began with a shifty six-point swing, starting with an impressive step-back three-pointer with a Virginia defender in his face. On the ensuing play, Richardson acrobatically stole the inbounds pass at midcourt and, while going out of bounds, threw the ball off Malcolm Brogdon to regain possession.
The Orange seized momentum immediately afterward, as big man Tyler Lydon followed with a sniper shot from beyond the arc to pull his team to within three:
Richardson was playing with a ton of confidence at that point, per Brian Hamilton of Sports Illustrated:
The Orange reclaimed the lead with 5:50 remaining, when Richardson drove to the basket for two points, showcasing his athleticism in the process. He followed with another three-pointer a little more than a minute later, which gave Syracuse a 62-58 lead—this time with ACC Defensive Player of the Year Brogdon in his face:
Virginia mustered just four points over the final 7:34 and had no answer for the Syracuse surge.
Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports noted it’s likely going to be a long offseason of reflection for the Cavaliers:
Syracuse became just the fourth double-digit seed to reach the Final Four, per Matthew Berry of ESPN.com. But its feat doesn’t run among the shockers of years past such as George Mason in 2006 or Virginia Commonwealth in 2011.
Despite its struggles in the regular season—19-13 overall and 9-9 in the competitive ACC—the Orange are still among college basketball’s all-time elite programs. Their run to the Final Four is an impressive surprise, but their pedigree is without question.
North Carolina 88, Notre Dame 74
North Carolina overcame a mid-game scare and advanced to the Final Four as the only No. 1 seed with an 88-74 win over Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish kept the Tar Heels on their toes throughout much of the contest before North Carolina pulled away late.
After going back and forth in the first half, Notre Dame took a 52-51 lead 6:56 into the second half on the heels of a 12-0 run. Momentum appeared to be swinging in favor of an upset.
But before Notre Dame could take a firm grip on the lead, UNC answered with a 12-0 run of its own, capped by a defensive rebound, shifty pass and acrobatic alley-oop from Theo Pinson to Isaiah Hicks:
Even North Carolina native and NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt Jr.—off the track on Sunday for Easter—was impressed with the Tar Heels’ resolve:
All five Tar Heels starters scored in double figures, but it was Brice Johnson who led the charge. The senior finished with his third straight double-double, scoring 25 points with 12 rebounds while shooting 10-of-15.
Yet even with Johnson’s heroics, the Tar Heels got on their 12-0 run with the leading scorer on the bench after a technical foul:
North Carolina shot an astounding 61.5 percent and convincingly won the battle in the paint with 32 rebounds to Notre Dame’s 15. The Tar Heels also committed just six turnovers.
Despite defeat, Notre Dame still held its own—a respectable feat given that it ran into arguably the hottest team in the tournament.
The Fighting Irish shot 27-of-59 (55.1 percent) from the field and were 9-of-18 on three-pointers.
They also had quite a few highlights of their own, including V.J. Beachem’s first-half dunk that gave Notre Dame a lead and left his teammates on the bench in shock:
The Tar Heels are headed to the Final Four for the fourth time under head coach Roy Williams and will voyage to Houston as the likely favorites.
Their last trip ended with confetti raining on their celebration with a stamp on an incredible 2008-09 season.
UNC has had its hiccups this year, but the Tar Heels firmly look like the team that many envisioned when ranked as the Associated Press Top 25 preseason No. 1.
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