Season 2015–16 Dates 15 Mar 2016 – 4 Apr 2016 Teams 68 | Winning coach Jay Wright (1st title) MOP Ryan Arcidiacono Finals site NRG Stadium | |
 | ||
Champions Villanova (2nd title, 3rd title game,
5th Final Four) Runner-up North Carolina (10th title game,
19th Final Four) Semifinalists Oklahoma (5th Final Four)
Syracuse (6th Final Four) Champion Villanova Wildcats men's basketball Similar 2015 NCAA Division I, 2014 NCAA Division I, 2013 NCAA Division I, 2011 NCAA Division I, 2012 NCAA Division I | ||
The 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. 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.
Contents
- 2016 NCAA Tournament schedule and venues
- Notables
- Qualifying and selection procedure
- Automatic qualifiers
- Tournament seeds
- Bracket
- South Regional all tournament team
- West Regional all tournament team
- East Regional all tournament team
- Midwest Regional all tournament team
- Final Four
- National Semifinals
- National Championship
- Final Four all tournament team
- Record by conference
- Television
- Studio hosts
- Studio analysts
- Commentary teams
- Radio
- Studio host
- Studio analyst
- Internet
- References
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. Also, every seed except a 16 won at least one game in the first round.
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 (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
National Semifinals and Championship (Final Four and Championship)
Notables
America East Conference 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. 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 (in 1986, 2006 and 2011).
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 (1975–2001).
This Tournament was 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. Fifteen Division I teams were ineligible due to failing to meet APR requirements, self-imposed postseason bans, or reclassification from a lower division.[1]
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 (unless playoffs games were needed to resolve tied champions). The Ivy League will hold a postseason tournament for the first time after the 2016–17 regular 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 successor to what had been popularly known as "play-in games" through the 2010 Tournament). The winners of these games advanced to the First Round (Round of 64). 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:
Tournament seeds
*See First Four
Bracket
All times are listed as Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)
* – Denotes overtime period
South Regional all tournament team
West Regional all tournament team
East Regional all tournament team
Midwest Regional all tournament team
Final Four
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.
National Semifinals
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 (breaking the 2009 record set by the North Carolina Tar Heels of +121).
Final Four all-tournament team
Record by conference
Television
CBS Sports and Turner Sports have joint U.S. television broadcast rights to the Tournament under the NCAA March Madness brand. As part of the 14-year contract between CBS and Time Warner that began in 2011, rights to the National Championship Game alternate between Turner in even-numbered years and CBS in odd-numbered years beginning with the 2016 tournament, marking the first time in tournament history the game aired on cable and breaking CBS' streak of broadcasting 34 consecutive National Championship games.
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."
The Final Four and the National Championship were televised exclusively by 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.
Studio hosts
Studio analysts
Commentary teams
Team Stream broadcasts
Radio
Westwood One had exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.
Studio host
Studio analyst
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 (PS3/PS4; all games), Sling TV (XB1; TBS, TNT, TruTV games) and TuneIn (Vita/XB1; all games) apps.