NCAA Tournament 2017: Friday's Sweet 16 Scores, Updated Bracket and Schedule

Four teams earned spots in the Elite Eight on Thursday, and the other half of the field will be set by the end of Friday's action.

The 2017 NCAA tournament continued with a combination of traditional powers such as the North Carolina Tar Heels, UCLA Bruins and Kentucky Wildcats along with teams in new territory like South Carolina. With schools fighting to keep their seasons alive, the level of intensity should remain high.

Here is what you need to know about the second day of Elite Eight action.   

Sweet 16 Results

Region	Matchup	Result/Time (ET)
South	No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 4 Butler	92-80, North Carolina
East	No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 7 South Carolina	70-50, South Carolina
South	No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 3 UCLA	86-75, Kentucky
East	No. 4 Florida vs. No. 8 Wisconsin	84-83, Florida

Bracket

Saturday Schedule

Region	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
West	No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 11 Xavier	6:09 p.m.	TBS
Midwest	No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 3 Oregon	8:49 p.m.	TBS

Friday Recap

North Carolina 92, Butler 80

Schemes didn't seem to matter when No. 1 seed North Carolina was bigger, stronger, more athletic and simply better than the No. 4 seed Butler Bulldogs.

The Tar Heels seemed to get everything they wanted offensively at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee, scoring layups and open three-pointers to build a 52-36 lead in the first half. This continued in the second, with UNC going up 20 points.

Of course, Butler kept things from getting out of control, as Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports described:

The Bulldogs eventually cut down the lead to 11 points but never got it to single digits as North Carolina secured the victory.

Jeff Goodman of ESPN noted the standout player early on:

Luke Maye had his first-career double-double with 16 points, including 14 in the first half, and 12 rebounds. Justin Jackson was the obvious star with 24 points, five assists and five rebounds, while Joel Berry II led all scorers with 26 points.

Still, the contributions off the bench with Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks in foul trouble made the difference for the victors.

Andrew Chrabascz had a strong effort for Butler with 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists, although 28.6 percent shooting from three-point range as a team hurt the Bulldogs' chances of pulling off the upset. Being out-rebounded 36-25 also didn't help.

Although the Tar Heels have faced some tough challenges the last two rounds, they should be favored to reach the Final Four against Kentucky. 

South Carolina 70, Baylor 50

South Carolina showed its upset win over Duke wasn't a fluke, putting together another strong performance to knock out No. 3 Baylor.

Defense was a big part of the performance, most notably in the first half with Baylor limited to just 22 points on 25 percent shooting.

Rob Dauster of NBC Sports detailed an especially disappointing stretch for the Bears:

Meanwhile, South Carolina did a great job of moving the ball to find open shots, via CBS Sports:

Sindarius Thornwell was the top performer once again for South Carolina, filling up the stat sheet with 24 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. 

Three other players finished in double figures in a balanced effort for the Gamecocks.

Still, the defensive work remained on display at Baylor finished with just 30.9 percent shooting for the game, including 3-of-13 from three-point range, plus 16 turnovers. Johnathan Motley had 18 points, but he was the only player in double figures and most of his points came after the game was already well in hand.

Seth Davis of CBS Sports provided thoughts on a team that had been overlooked:

While many pointed to the location of the first weekend in Greenville, South Carolina as a reason the Gamecocks were successful, the talent—and fan support—was on display in New York as well. 

After going 43 years without an NCAA tournament win, South Carolina is now on the brink of the Final Four.

Kentucky 86, UCLA 75

Kentucky avenged its home loss to UCLA earlier in the season, taking advantage of poor defensive play to advance to the Elite Eight.

The team's elite backcourt was on display in this one. De'Aaron Fox set an NCAA tournament record for a freshman with 39 points and was a star from the opening tip.

Jeff Borzello of ESPN described the effort in the first half as the point guard's 15 points helped give the Wildcats a 36-33 lead:

His ability on both ends of the court was on display in the second half as well, via March Madness:

ESPN's Jeff Goodman added his thoughts after the game:

Malik Monk started slowly but turned red-hot, ending up with 21 points.

While UCLA shot 53.7 percent from the field, the 13 turnovers slowed down the offense more than we have seen this season. The squad had just nine total turnovers in the first two rounds combined.

T.J. Leaf and Isaac Hamilton each scored 17 points, but Lonzo Ball 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting. He struggled with the Wildcats' length and athleticism and didn't see much daylight throughout the game. Even his eight assists were countered with four turnovers.

Kentucky will now take on North Carolina in the only Elite Eight game between top-two seeds.

Florida 84, Wisconsin 83 (OT)

Chris Chiozza provided the highlight of the tournament with a buzzer-beating three-pointer to send Florida to the Elite Eight.

Bleacher Report provided a look at the game-winning shot:

Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports provided his thoughts on the moment:

It was the first overtime game of the tournament, which only came about because of Zak Showalter's heroics earlier in the game:

Wisconsin built a lead in overtime, but Florida fought back thanks to this sequence:

After Nigel Hayes hit two free throws to put the Badgers back on top, it was Chiozza who had the last word with an impressive shot for the win.

KeVaughn Allen had a huge night for Florida with 35 points in a game where no one else on the roster reached double figures.

Wisconsin had more balance with its starters, although the bench was only responsible for three points all game. Nigel Hayes had a strong effort with 22 points while Ethan Happ added 21, but the Gators were just slightly better in what was an outstanding game.

Florida will now take on South Carolina in an Elite Eight game few people had in their bracket.