The Sweet 16 starts with two nail-biters and Purdue and Iowa are moving on. Here’s what to know
Head coach Kelvin Sampson of the Houston Cougars reacts during last year's national championship game against Florida.
(CNN) — For the last few days, the fans of 16 men’s college basketball teams haven’t been able to get one thought out of their heads: Two more wins until the Final Four.
After surviving the gauntlet that is the opening rounds of March Madness, the Sweet 16 is an accomplishment on its own. But the chance to play for a national championship now doesn’t just feel like a far-off hope; it’s only one weekend away.
Here are tonight’s results:
Purdue calls game on Texas
No. 2 seeded Purdue shocked No. 11 seeded Texas 79-77 after Boilermakers forward Trey Kaufman-Renn’s late basket won them the game with 0.7 seconds left.
It was a tightly contested matchup between the two programs and it all came down to the final seconds after Longhorns’ and-one foul with 11 seconds left to tie the game at 77.
Purdue star guard Braden Smith then received the inbounds pass and tried for a contested layup with seconds remaining when Kaufman-Renn tipped it in, securing the Boilermakers’ trip to the Elite 8.
Kaufman-Renn finished with a team-high 20 points as Purdue will face the winner of Arkansas-Arizona on Saturday in San Jose.
Iowa’s Cinderella run continues
It was a Big Ten battle and a rivalry game in the Sweet 16.
And the game lived up to all the hype.
No. 9 seed Iowa stunned No. 4 Nebraska 77-71 to advance to the Elite 8 for the first time in 39 years.
The Hawkeyes overcame a 10-point first half deficit late in the game and with just over three minutes left, they tied it up at 65.
But star Bennett Stirtz and Alvaro Folgueiras played hero yet again, leading Iowa to a 15-6 run to end the game and clinch the victory.
Stirtz finished with 20 points, and true freshman Tate Sage and Folgueiras combined for 35 points off the bench for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa will face the winner of Houston-Illinois on Saturday at the Toyota Center in Houston.
No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 4 Arkansas (9:45 p.m. ET on CBS)
This season has been a return to form for the Arizona Wildcats after a few average years following the 2021-22 return to form under Tommy Lloyd. But this point in the season has been the stumbling block for Zona – it’s been more than 10 years since the Wildcats have made it past the Sweet 16.
Standing in their way is John Calipari’s Arkansas, back in the Sweet 16 for the second straight year. The Razorbacks’ high-scoring offense will make for a fine foil for the Wildcats’ stout defense and expect the matchup between Hogs’ guard Darius Acuff Jr. and Wildcats star Brayden Burries to be the standout showdown of the night.
Calipari, one of the leading members of the old guard of coaches who are shining in this Sweet 16, is looking to do something no man has done before by leading Arkansas to the Final Four. It would be the fourth school he’s taken to the season’s final weekend.
Only one other man has the opportunity to do that and his team plays on Friday; Rick Pitino is also looking to take his fourth team to the Final Four.
No. 2 Houston vs. No. 3 Illinois (10:05 p.m., TBS/truTV)
The night’s final game is a doozy.
The Houston Cougars are basically playing a home game in the Toyota Center, putting the cap on a thrilling day for Houston sports fans (the Texas Children’s Houston Open teed off Thursday morning, the Astros have their opening day in the afternoon and then it’s the Sweet 16 at night) with a showdown for a spot in the Elite Eight.
The Illini will be looking to crash the party and certainly could do so, sending their squad of big men at Houston’s swarming defense.
Both teams are led by veteran head coaches in Kelvin Sampson (Houston) and Brad Underwood (Illinois) who are looking to get to the Final Four for personal reasons. For Sampson, his Cougars fell in the national championship game to Florida last year after they couldn’t get a shot off on the final possession. Underwood, meanwhile, is looking to put a cherry on top of a long and winding road to the top of college basketball with his first Final Four appearance.
Expect a tight game throughout this one and plenty of tough defense from both teams.
The-CNN-Wire
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