Midwest Region
Tang said the Wildcats won because they’ve “got dudes.” Houston has a few of its own.
The Midwest’s No. 1 seed, the Cougars have played the lockdown defense that made them a Final Four favorite at the start of the season, holding Northern Kentucky to 52 points and Auburn to 64.
The Cougars’ bid to play the Final Four at home now heads to Kansas City, Mo., where they’ll face Miami.
The speedy, fifth-seeded Hurricanes hit Indiana with a gale force of offensive rebounds, scoring 29 second-chance points to reach the Sweet 16 for the second straight season under Jim Larrañaga.
Another Texas team is still in the mix to reach the Final Four in its home state — the one from Austin.
No. 2 seed Texas overcame the midseason firing of coach Chris Beard to play some outstanding basketball under interim coach Rodney Terry. The Longhorns shut down sweet-shooting Colgate in the first round and earned their first Sweet 16 appearance in 15 years with a 7166 win over Penn State.
Up next is another coach making the most of an opportunity.
Fired by Arizona two years ago, Sean Miller landed back where he started at Xavier. The Musketeers earned their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2017 with a 84-73 win over Pittsburgh.
Jaylen
Clark has done little to slow down No. 2 UCLA. Now the Bruins hope their lineup isn’t depleted further after key guard David Singleton injured his ankle late in a 69-63 victory over Northwestern.
UCLA still has Jaime Jaquez and Tyger Campbell, which will give them at least a shot at beating Gonzaga in Las Vegas.
There were midseason whispers the Zags were in a down year. An eighth straight trip to the Sweet 16 under Mark Few put those to rest.
Two coaches with familiar last names face off in the other Sin City game.
Eric Musselman, son of longtime NBA and college coach Bill Musselman, has shown off his coaching chops by leading Arkansas to the Sweet 16 for the third straight season. The Razorbacks got there with a takedown of top-seeded Kansas that had Musselman taking off his shirt — again.
Danny Hurley’s father is a Hall of Fame high school coach, his brother the NCAA’S all-time assist leader. Bob’s son and Bobby’s brother has revitalized Uconn, taking the Huskies to the Sweet 16 for the first time in nine years.