The 2026 tournament is the second year in a row, but only the second time since 1985, that a mid-major did not make the tournament’s second weekend.
WASHINGTON — The first four days of the NCAA tournament are behind us. Now we know who punched their tickets to the Sweet 16. There is a mix of top seeds with a few teams at lower seeds. The two teams with the lowest seeds are No. 9 Iowa and No. 11 Texas.
This year features several teams that are staples in the Sweet 16, one team that made it for the first time and other teams that ended nearly 30 year droughts to get back to the second week of the tournament.
The 2026 tournament is the second year in a row but only the second time since 1985 that a mid-major (a team not in a power conference) did not make it into the second weekend of the tournament.
Who made it to the Sweet 16?
No. 1 Duke: The Blue Devils survived a scare by No. 16 seed Siena, then knocked off No. 9 seed TCU to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16. Duke is no stranger to making it past the first weekend of the tournament. This is the 29th time they have advanced to the Sweet 16 since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
No. 5 St. John’s: The Red Storm are back in the Sweet 16 after knocking off Northern Iowa in the first round. Their second-round game against Kansas took a last-second game-winning shot by St. John’s after the team squandered a 14-point lead in the second half. St. John’s is back in the Sweet 16 for the seventh time and for the first time since 1999.
No. 3 Michigan State: The Spartans opened the tournament with a win over North Dakota State, then punched their ticket to the Sweet 16 after beating No. 6 Louisville on Saturday. Michigan State has qualified 23 times for the Sweet 16 in its history. Current head coach, Tom Izzo, brought them 17 of those 23 times.
No. 2 UConn: The Huskies opened up their tournament with a win over 15-seed Furman. That set up a matchup with two of the most storied programs in the U.S.: UConn vs. UCLA. The scores stayed close for most of the game before the Huskies pulled away in the second half. The win punched UConn’s ticket to their 20th Sweet 16 in program history. The last two times the Huskies made the Sweet 16, in 2023 and 2024, they went on to win the National Championship.
No. 9 Iowa: The Iowa Hawkeyes are back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999, and their journey was not easy. Iowa knocked off Clemson in the first round which set up a meeting with the reigning champion Florida Gators. Iowa drained a three-pointer to take the lead with four seconds left, which stood up and sent them to the Sweet 16. This will be the Hawkeyes’ ninth time in the Sweet 16 and their first time in 27 years.
No. 4 Nebraska: The Cornhuskers opened the tournament with a more than 20-point win over Troy, then they needed last-second heroics to fend off No. 5 seed Vanderbilt. The win was especially sweet for Nebraska because it punched its ticket to the school’s first-ever Sweet 16 appearance.
No. 3 Illinois: The Illini opened the 2026 tournament with a 30-point win over Penn, then a 20-point win over VCU. Illinois has made the second weekend of the tournament 12 times in school history, with their most recent trip being in 2024.
No. 2 Houston: The Cougars have been rolling during the first two rounds of the tournament. They knocked off Idaho by 30 points, then had another 30-point win over Texas A&M. Houston is back in the Sweet 16 for the 17th time in program history and for the 7th year in a row. The team has made each tournament since 2019, with no tournament being held in 2020.
No. 1 Arizona: The Wildcats opened the 2026 tournament with a 34-point win over Long Island. Their second-round matchup saw them beat Utah State by 12 points. Arizona is no stranger to advancing in March Madness. 2026 will be the Wildcats’ 21st time making it to the Sweet 16. It will be their first time playing in the second week of the tournament since 2024.
No. 4 Arkansas: The Razorbacks opened the tournament with a win over Hawaii, then knocked off a Cinderella-minded High Point in the second round. The Razorbacks are back in the Sweet 16 for the 16th time in school history. They are also playing in the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in the last six years.
No. 11 Texas: The Longhorns have had to play more games than anyone so far during the tournament. They opened in the play-in game, where they beat North Carolina State by two points. They beat No. 6 BYU by eight points in the opening round of the tournament, then knocked out No. 3 Gonzaga just days later. The win over Gonzaga ended the Bulldogs’ nine straight Sweet 16 appearances.
No. 2 Purdue: The Boilermakers are in the Sweet 16 after opening the tournament with a more than 30-point win over Queens (N.C.), then a 10-point win over Miami. Purdue has made the second weekend of the tournament 15 times and is riding a three-year Sweet 16 streak.
No. 1 Michigan: One of the most talented teams in the country, Michigan has yet to be tested this tournament. They beat Howard by 21 in the opening round and Saint Louis by 23 in round two. The Wolverines will be making their 21st appearance in the Sweet 16.
No. 4 Alabama: The Crimson Tide opened the 2026 tournament with a 20-point win over Hofstra. Alabama led the entirety of the game against Texas Tech to send itself to the Sweet 16. This will be the Crimson Tide’s 13th trip to play in the second weekend of the tournament. The team has also made the Sweet 16 five of the last six years.
No. 6 Tennessee: Tennessee kicked off the tournament playing the nearly perfect Miami (Ohio) team. They made quick work of them, winning by 22 points. That set up a matchup against No. 3 Virginia. Tennessee beat Virginia by seven to punch its ticket to the Sweet 16. The win sent the Volunteers to their 12th Sweet 16 in program history. It is also their fourth consecutive year making it past the first weekend of the tournament.
No. 2 Iowa State: The Cyclones opened the tournament dropping 108 points in a win over Tennessee State, then they knocked off Kentucky by nearly 20 points. This will be Iowa State’s eighth Sweet 16 appearance. The team is making its third Sweet 16 appearance in five years under head coach T.J. Otzelberger