Over the next few days, the NCAA Tournament’s regionals will reach their conclusion and we’ll be down to the Final Four. The Elite Eight begins Monday evening on CBS with a doubleheader to determine two spots in the Final Four, with the Sweet 16 now in the rearview mirror.
Action tips with two teams — Oregon State and Houston — who have not seen the Final Four in decades. The 12th-seeded Beavers are the worst-seeded team remaining in the field, but a win would punch a ticket to the Four for the first time since 1963. The second-seeded Cougars haven’t returned since the Phi Slama Jama days in 1984.
For Oregon State, its run has fit neatly into the Cinderella category. Each of its three wins have come as underdogs, on a roster picked to finish last in the Pac-12 in the preseason. For Houston, the opposite. Coach Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars have been favorites thus far in every game and are again the favorite entering Monday to win the Midwest Regional.
As for the nightcap, a showdown between No. 1 seed Baylor and No. 3 seed Arkansas offers similar history. The Bears haven’t been to the Final Four since 1950, and the Razorbacks’ drought spans since 1995.
Like Houston, Baylor is the betting favorite, thanks to a 25-2 record and three double-digit victories in the tourney. But Arkansas, like Oregon State, cannot be counted out … ever. The Razorbacks have twice overcame double-digit deficits in the NCAA Tournament and have a whopping 11 wins this season when trailing by nine or more points..
All times Eastern
2021 NCAA Tournament bracket, scores
West
First Four (Thursday)
- (11) Drake 53, (11) Wichita State 52 — Recap
- (16) Norfolk State 54, (16) Appalachian State 53 — Recap
First round (Saturday)
- (1) Gonzaga 98, (16) Norfolk State 55 — Recap
- (8) Oklahoma 72, (9) Missouri 68 — Recap
- (5) Creighton 63, (12) UC Santa Barbara 62 — Recap
- (13) Ohio 62, (4) Virginia 58 — Recap
- (6) USC 72, (11) Drake 56 — Recap
- (3) Kansas 93, (14) Eastern Washington 84 — Recap
- (7) Oregon vs. (10) VCU declared “no contest” — Story
- (2) Iowa 86, (15) Grand Canyon 74 — Recap
Second round (Monday)
- (1) Gonzaga 87, (8) Oklahoma 71 — Recap
- (5) Creighton 72, (13) Ohio 58 — Recap
- (6) USC, 85, (3) Kansas 51 — Recap
- (7) Oregon 95, (2) Iowa 80 — Recap
Sweet 16 (Sunday)
Elite Eight (Tuesday)
- (6) USC vs. (1) Gonzaga — 7:15 p.m.| TBS (watch live)
East
First Four (Thursday)
- (11) UCLA 86, (11) Michigan State 80 — Recap
- (16) Texas Southern 60, (16) Mount St. Mary’s 52 — Recap
First round (Saturday)
- (1) Michigan 82, (16) Texas Southern 66 — Recap
- (8) LSU 76, (9) St. Bonaventure 61 — Recap
- (5) Colorado 96, (12) Georgetown 73 — Recap
- (4) Florida State 64, (13) UNC Greensboro 54 — Recap
- (11) UCLA 73, (6) BYU 62 — Recap
- (14) Abilene Christian 53, (3) Texas 52 — Recap
- (10) Maryland 62, (7) UConn 54 — Recap
- (2) Alabama 68, (15) Iona 55 — Recap
Second round (Monday)
- (1) Michigan 86, (8) LSU 78 — Recap
- (4) Florida State 71, (5) Colorado 53 — Recap
- (11) UCLA 67, (14) Abilene Christian 47 — Recap
- (2) Alabama 96, (10) Maryland 77 — Recap
Sweet 16 (Sunday)
Elite Eight (Tuesday)
- (11) UCLA vs. (1) Michigan — 9:57 p.m. | TBS (watch live)
South
First round
- (1) Baylor 79, (16) Hartford 55 — Recap
- (9) Wisconsin 85, (8) North Carolina 62 — Recap
- (5) Villanova 73, (12) Winthrop 63 — Recap
- (13) North Texas 78, (4) Purdue 69 (OT) — Recap
- (6) Texas Tech 65, (11) Utah State 53 — Recap
- (3) Arkansas 85, (14) Colgate 68 — Recap
- (7) Florida 75, (10) Virginia Tech 70 (OT) — Recap
- (15) Oral Roberts 75, (2) Ohio State 72 (OT)– Recap
Second round
- (1) Baylor 76, (9) Wisconsin 63 — Recap
- (5) Villanova 84, (13) North Texas 61 — Recap
- (3) Arkansas 68, (6) Texas Tech 66 — Recap
- (15) Oral Roberts 81, (7) Florida 78 — Recap
Sweet 16 (Saturday)
Elite Eight (Monday)
- (1) Baylor vs. (3) Arkansas — 9:57 p.m. | CBS (watch live)
Midwest
First round
- (1) Illinois 78 vs. (16) Drexel 49 — Recap
- (8) Loyola Chicago 71, Georgia Tech 60 — Recap
- (12) Oregon State 70, (5) Tennessee 56 — Recap
- (4) Oklahoma State 69, (13) Liberty 60 — Recap
- (11) Syracuse 78, (6) San Diego State 62 — Recap
- (3) West Virginia 84, (14) Morehead State 67 — Recap
- (10) Rutgers 60, (7) Clemson 56 — Recap
- (2) Houston 87, (15) Cleveland State 56 — Recap
Second round
- (8) Loyola Chicago 71, (1) Illinois 58 — Recap
- (12) Oregon State 80, (4) Oklahoma State 70 — Recap
- (11) Syracuse 75, (3) West Virginia 72 — Recap
- (2) Houston 63, (10) Rutgers 60 — Recap
Sweet 16 (Saturday)
Elite Eight (Monday)
- (12) Oregon State vs. (2) Houston — 7:15 p.m. | CBS (watch live)
2021 NCAA Tournament schedule
Final Four
Saturday, April 3 — 5 p.m. start (CBS)
Lucas Oil Stadium
National Championship
Monday, April 5 — 9 p.m. (CBS)
Lucas Oil Stadium