2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament


The 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college basketball national champion for the 2015–16 season. The 78th edition of the Tournament began on March 15, 2016, and concluded with the championship game on April 4 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Upsets were the story of the first round of the Tournament; No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee upset No. 2 seed Michigan State in the biggest upset, just the eighth ever win for a No. 15 seed over a No. 2. At least one 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 seed won a first-round game for the third time ever and the first time since 2013.
In the Final Four, Villanova defeated Oklahoma, while North Carolina defeated Syracuse. Villanova then defeated North Carolina to win the championship on a three-point buzzer beater by Kris Jenkins. Pundits called the game one of the best in tournament history, going on to say this was one of the most competitive finals ever.

2016 NCAA Tournament schedule and venues

Previously, the Round of 64 was known as the Second Round since the 2011 edition, but it was reverted to the moniker First Round for this coming tournament. The First Four was previously named the First Round.
First Four
First and Second Rounds
Regional Semifinals and Finals
National Semifinals and Championship
NRG Stadium in Houston hosted the Final Four for the second time in 2016, Houston's third Final Four overall. The 2016 tournament was the first tournament since 1995 where no domed stadiums were used in the regional rounds. The tournament also featured two new venues. For the second time in three years, the tournament came to New York City, with games played at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, the home of the Brooklyn Nets. The tournament came to the state of Iowa for the first time since 1972, and the first time ever in the city of Des Moines, when it came to the Wells Fargo Arena, home to the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League and the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League. Of the 14 venues used in the tournament, only the NRG Stadium and the Chesapeake Energy Arena do not have future tournament games planned as of 2018.

Notables

champion Stony Brook and WAC champion Cal State Bakersfield made their first NCAA Tournament appearances in school history.
Yale made its first NCAA appearance since 1962 as winners of the Ivy League, which, for the final time, did not stage a conference tournament. Of those that do hold a tournament, Horizon League champion Green Bay made its first appearance since 1996 and Oregon State made its first appearance since 1990.
Yale also earned its first Tournament win in school history with a 79–75 win over Baylor. Hawaii likewise earned its first NCAA Tournament win by defeating California 77–66. Arkansas-Little Rock won its first Tournament game in 30 years and Middle Tennessee won its first Tournament game in 27 years.
In the Midwest Region, No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee upset No. 2 seed Michigan State for just the eighth ever win for a No. 15 seed over a No. 2. More than one-third of ESPN Tournament Challenge brackets predicted Michigan State to make the Final Four.
In the East Region, No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin upset No. 3 seed West Virginia, marking the fourth straight tournament in which a No. 14 seed upset a No. 3 seed.
By winning the Midwest Regional final, Syracuse became the first No. 10 seed in history to advance to the Final Four. However, three lower seeds, all No. 11, have advanced to that stage.
Kansas extended its streak of consecutive tournament appearances to 27 in a row, making every NCAA Tournament dating back to 1990. This tied the record for most consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances held by North Carolina.
This Tournament marked the first championship for Villanova in 31 years. It was also the first championship by a school without a Division I FBS football team since Connecticut in 1999. Villanova fields a Division I FCS football team, as did UConn before 2002.

Qualifying and selection procedure

Out of 336 eligible Division I teams, 68 participate in the tournament. Of the total, 15 Division I teams were ineligible due to failing to meet APR requirements, self-imposed postseason bans, or reclassification from a lower division.
Of the 32 automatic bids, 31 were given to programs that won their conference tournaments. For the final time, the Ivy League awarded its NCAA Tournament bid to the team with the best regular-season record and did not hold a tournament. The Ivy League will hold a postseason tournament for the first time after the 2016–17 Ivy League season. The remaining 36 bids were granted on an "at-large" basis, which were extended by the NCAA Selection Committee to the teams it deems to be the best 36 teams that did not receive automatic bids.
Eight teams—the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams—played in the First Four. The winners of these games advanced to the First Round. The Selection Committee also seeded the entire field from 1 to 68.

Automatic qualifiers

The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2016 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's automatic bid:
ConferenceTeamAppearanceLast bid
ACCNorth Carolina47th2015
America EastStony Brook1stNever
Atlantic 10Saint Joseph's21st2014
AmericanUConn33rd2014
Atlantic SunFlorida Gulf Coast2nd2013
Big 12Kansas45th2015
Big EastSeton Hall10th2006
Big SkyWeber State16th2014
Big SouthUNC Asheville4th2012
Big TenMichigan State30th2015
Big WestHawaii5th2002
CAAUNC Wilmington5th2006
C-USAMiddle Tennessee8th2013
HorizonGreen Bay5th1996
Ivy LeagueYale4th1962
MAACIona11th2013
MACBuffalo2nd2015
MEACHampton6th2015
Missouri ValleyNorthern Iowa8th2015
Mountain WestFresno State6th2001
NECFairleigh Dickinson5th2005
Ohio ValleyAustin Peay6th2008
Pac-12Oregon14th2015
PatriotHoly Cross13th2007
SECKentucky56th2015
SouthernChattanooga11th2009
SouthlandStephen F. Austin4th2015
SWACSouthern9th2013
Summit LeagueSouth Dakota State3rd2013
Sun BeltLittle Rock5th2011
WCCGonzaga19th2015
WACCal State Bakersfield1stNever

Tournament seeds

SeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeOverall rank
1OregonPac-1228–6Auto4
2OklahomaBig 1225–7At-large6
3Texas A&MSEC26–8At-large12
4DukeACC23–10At-large13
5BaylorBig 1222–11At-large20
6TexasBig 1220–12At-large21
7Oregon StatePac-1219–12At-large28
8Saint Joseph'sAtlantic 1027–7Auto32
9CincinnatiAmerican22–10At-large35
10VCUAtlantic 1024–10At-large40
11Northern IowaMissouri Valley22–12Auto46
12YaleIvy League22–6Auto49
13UNC WilmingtonCAA25–7Auto51
14Green BayHorizon23–12Auto55
15Cal State BakersfieldWAC24–8Auto60
16*Holy CrossPatriot14–19Auto68
16*SouthernSWAC22–12Auto67

SeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeOverall rank
1North CarolinaACC28–6Auto2
2XavierBig East27–5At-large8
3West VirginiaBig 1226–8At-large9
4KentuckySEC26–8Auto15
5IndianaBig Ten25–7At-large17
6Notre DameACC21–11At-large22
7WisconsinBig Ten20–12At-large25
8USCPac-1221–12At-large31
9ProvidenceBig East23–10At-large33
10PittsburghACC21–11At-large37
11*MichiganBig Ten22–12At-large42
11*TulsaAmerican20–11At-large45
12ChattanoogaSouthern29–5Auto47
13Stony BrookAmerica East26–6Auto53
14Stephen F. AustinSouthland27–5Auto58
15Weber StateBig Sky26–8Auto62
16*Florida Gulf CoastAtlantic Sun20–13Auto65
16*Fairleigh DickinsonNEC18–14Auto66

SeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeOverall rank
1VirginiaACC26–7At-large3
2Michigan StateBig Ten29–5Auto5
3UtahPac-1226–8At-large11
4Iowa StateBig 1221–11At-large16
5PurdueBig Ten26–8At-large18
6Seton HallBig East25–8Auto24
7DaytonAtlantic 1025–7At-large26
8Texas TechBig 1219–12At-large29
9ButlerBig East21–10At-large34
10SyracuseACC19–13At-large39
11GonzagaWCC26–7Auto44
12Little RockSun Belt29–4Auto48
13IonaMAAC22–10Auto54
14Fresno StateMountain West25–9Auto57
15Middle TennesseeC-USA24–9Auto59
16HamptonMEAC21–10Auto64

*See First Four

Bracket

All times are listed as Eastern Daylight Time
* – Denotes overtime period

First Four – Dayton, Ohio

South Regional – Louisville, Kentucky

South Regional Final

South Regional all tournament team

West Regional Final

West Regional all tournament team

East Regional Final

East Regional all tournament team

Midwest Regional Final

Midwest Regional all tournament team

During the Final Four round, regardless of the seeds of the participating teams, the champion of the top overall top seed's region plays against the champion of the fourth-ranked top seed's region, and the champion of the second overall top seed's region plays against the champion of the third-ranked top seed's region.

NRG Stadium – Houston, Texas

Final four

The Villanova–Oklahoma result was not only the most one-sided in the tournament so far, but also in the history of the men's Final Four. The Wildcats shot 71.4% for the game, surpassed in Final Four games only by the Wildcats' 78.6% performance in the 1985 final against Georgetown. The 44-point margin was also greater than the combined margin of defeat in Oklahoma's seven previous losses in 2015–16. In addition, the 2016 semifinals were the first since 2008 to both be decided by double-digit margins, and the combined 61-point margin broke a men's Final Four record set in 1949.

National Championship

The Wildcats' Championship run was the most dominant in NCAA Tournament history, with a total point differential of +124.

Final Four all-tournament team

Television

and Turner Sports held joint U.S. television broadcast rights to the Tournament under the NCAA March Madness brand. Beginning in 2016, rights to the Final Four and championship game began to alternate between Turner and CBS, with Turner networks broadcasting the 2016 Final Four and championship; a conventional telecast aired on TBS, accompanied by "Team Stream" broadcasts on TNT and TruTV which featured commentary and coverage focused on each participating team. Turner employed this multi-channel presentation of the semifinals in 2014 and 2015, but this was the first time it was used for the final. It marked the first time in tournament history that the national championship game aired on cable channels, and ended CBS' streak of broadcasting 34 consecutive National Championship games. However, Turner allowed the tournament's closing theme, One Shining Moment, to be played for the 30th year in a row. To date, the song is still played in this manner, no matter which network airs the National Championship game.
For 2016, the selection show on CBS was expanded into a two-hour broadcast—a move which proved unpopular with viewers due to the decreased speed at which the participating teams were unveiled. These issues were exacerbated by a leak of the full bracket shortly into the broadcast, which spread on Twitter. Although ratings for the selection show had steadily decreased over the past four years, the 3.7 overnight rating for the broadcast was the lowest in 20 years. CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus admitted that the extended special was a failure, stating that "we haven't had any specific discussions but I think we all agree it would serve all of us well including the fan to release the brackets in a little more timely manner".

Studio hosts

;Final Four
;National Championship Game
had exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.

First Four

Internet

The games were streamed on the NCAA March Madness Live website and app, with streams for Turner games also available on the Bleacher Report website and Team Stream app, and CBS games available on the CBS Sports website and app.
Games on TBS were available on Watch TBS app. Games on TNT were made available on Watch TNT app. Games on TruTV were available on Watch TruTV app. Westwood One's radio broadcasts, including a "National Mix" channel consisting of whip-around coverage during the first and second rounds, was available on its website and on the TuneIn app.
The games were also viewable on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Xbox One video game consoles via the PlayStation Vue, Sling TV and TuneIn apps.