4 teams survived the East, the top seeded '99 Duke Blue Devils, two National Champions, the '05 North Carolina Tar Heels and the '16 Villanova Wildcats - and the 1988 Oklahoma Sooners. Who are the 4 teams that will survive the South?
1. 1996 Kentucky Wildcats 40-2 National Champions (d. Syracuse 76-67)
2. 2025 Houston Cougars 40-6 Big 12 Champs (L Finals Florida 65-63)
3. 2025 Auburn Tigers 36-7 SEC Champs (L Semis Florida 79-73)
4. 1992 Duke Blue Devils 40-2 National Champions (d. Michigan 71-51)
5. 1998 Kentucky Wildcats 41-4 National Champions (d. Utah 78-69)
6. 2009 North Carolina Tar Heels 40-4 National Champions (d. Mich St 89-72)
7. 1994 Arkansas Razorbacks 39-3 National Champions (d. Duke 76-72)
8. 2019 Duke Blue Devils 35-7 ACC Tourney Champ (L Regional Final Mich St 68-67)
9. 2021 Baylor Bears 34-2 National Champions (Gonzaga 86-70)
10. 2019 Virginia Cavaliers 41-3 National Champions (d. TTech 85-77)
11. 1986 Duke Blue Devils 42-4 ACC Champs (L. NCAA Finals Louisville 72-69)
12. 2024 Houston Cougars 34-6 Big 12 Champs (L. Duke Regional Semi 54-51)
13. 2002 Maryland Terrapins 38-4 NCAA Champions (d. Indiana 64-52)
14. 1995 Kentucky Wildcats 31-6 SEC Champs (L Regional Final UNC 74-61)
15. 1987 Indiana Hoosiers 36-4 NCAA Champions (d. Syracuse 74-73)
16. 2007 North Carolina Tar Heels 34-8 ACC Champs (L Regional Final Georgetown 96-84)
16. 1991 Kansas Jayhawks 32-9 Big 8 Champs (L NCAA Finals Duke 72-65)
PLAY IN GAME
'07 NORTH CAROLINA 92 '91 KANSAS 79
-Freshman forward Brandan Wright has 22 pts, 2 rebounds and the Tar Heels will face the top seeded '96 Kentucky Wildcats in the next game. 15 points, 5 rebounds for Terry Brown in the loss.
ROUND ONE
1. 1996 KENTUCKY 116 16. 2007 NORTH CAROLINA 90
-22 for Walter McCarty, 21 for Tony Delk, double/doubles for Antoine Walker and Mark Pope and the '96 Cats roll into round 2. Tyler Hansbrough had 23 in the loss.
9. 2021 BAYLOR 116 8. 2019 DUKE 101
-The National Champs from Baylor will be heading to Rupp Arena in round 2. Junior Guard Jared Butler plays all 40 minutes and scores 35, with 8 assists and 5 steals. Both Davion Mitchell and MaCio Teague go for 20. RJ Barrett gets the first tournament triple double in the loss.
5. 1998 KENTUCKY 88 12. 2024 HOUSTON 76
-Both of these UK title teams advance in the South; senior guard Jeff Sheppard scored 25, junior center Nazr Mohammed had 17 pts and 13 boards. Jamal Shead had 15 pts and 8 assists in the loss.
4. 1994 DUKE 113 13. 2002 MARYLAND 109
-Really good one between these two National Champions; 97-95 Duke with 2:22 left, Lonnie Baxter stole a pass, giving the Terps the ball - but they couldn't convert, the teams traded buckets - Duke still up 2 when, with 1:14 left, Bobby Hurley hit a huge 3 from the top. Again, the teams traded baskets, and with 27 seconds left, Maryland got within 2 on a Juan Dixon 3 pointer. Duke hit its FTs down the stretch and Maryland never got closer. 27 for Thomas Hill, 26 for Christian Laettner, Hurley had 18 points and a dozen assists. Dixon had 29 in the loss.
6. 2009 NORTH CAROLINA 97 11. 1986 DUKE 94
-Super tight all second half, tied 46-46 at halftime, Freshman Guard Larry Drew hit a corner 3 to bring the Heels within 2 at the 15 minute mark. Senior forward Tyler Hansbrough scored North Carolina's next 7 points and it was 62-62 with 12:30 left. Carolina had its biggest lead of the game, 6 points, at the 10 minute mark. A Jay Bilas dunk tied the score 80-80 with 6:10 to play. Tommy Amaker tied the game at the foul line at 2:37, Duke was down 4 with under a minute to play after a Danny Green bucket, Dave Henderson scored at 45 seconds, the Heels then came up empty and with 15 seconds to play, an Amaker dunk tied the score at 94. Carolina didn't call time out - and at the buzzer, Hansbrough hit a contested triple to send the Heels to round two for the tournament's first buzzer beater. Ty Lawson had 20 points, 11 assists and 5 steals in the win. 28 for Johnny Dawkins in the loss.
14. 1995 KENTUCKY 97 3. 2025 AUBURN 94
-Back to back 97-94 games. Kentucky had an 11 point lead early in the second half, but at the 13 minute mark, the Tigers led 68-67. Senior guard Chad Baker Mazara scored 6 points in the next 3 minutes and with 10 to play, Auburn had entirely swung the game and led by 8. Kentucky junior Rodrick Rhodes scored 6 straight UK points to tie the score at 83 with 6 to play. Johni Broome put Auburn up 1 with a triple at 4:30, Jared Prickett put Kentucky up 1 with a layup at 2:30 and a minute later tied the score for the Cats with a midrange. Junior Forward Walter McCarty hit a corner 3 with 22 seconds left and UK went up 94-91, Denver Jones tied the score with a 3 of his own with just 4 seconds remaining in regulation. Out of the time out - Junior guard Tony Delk hit an off balance buzzer beating 3 and UK moves on. 22 points for Rhodes led the way for UK, 21 points, 14 boards, 6 assists for Broome in the loss.
7. 1994 ARKANSAS 88 10. 2019 VIRGINIA 84
-Arkansas led by as much as 11 in the second half, but with 56 seconds to play, Kyle Guy hit a midrange jumper to tie the score at 81. On the next possession, Scottie Thurman hit a corner 3 and the Razorbacks never trailed again. 17 points, 6 boards, 4 assists for junior guard Corey Beck. 17 points, 10 assists, 5 boards, 5 steals for Ty Jerome in the loss.
15. 1987 INDIANA 83 2. 2025 HOUSTON 66
-The National Champion Hoosiers go to Houston and cook the Cougars. 20 points, 6 boards, 6 assists for Steve Alford. A double/double for Dean Garrett. 16 in the loss for LJ Cryer.
SECOND ROUND
1. 1996 Kentucky v. 9. 2021 Baylor
5. 1998 Kentucky v. 4. 1992 Duke
6. 2009 North Carolina v. 14. 1995 Kentucky
7. 1994 Arkansas v. 15. 1987 Indiana
3 Kentucky teams highlight the second round in the South Region. 4 additional National Champions - Baylor/Duke/Indiana/North Carolina - and the 40 Minutes of Hell Razorbacks.
1. 1996 KENTUCKY 101 9. 2021 BAYLOR 77
The National Champion Cats barrel their way into the Sweet 16. 20 pts for Antoine Walker, 19 pts, 7 rebounds for Walter McCarty, 19 for MaCio Teague in the defeat.
4. 1992 DUKE 102 5. 1998 KENTUCKY 86
Duke becomes the first school with 2 teams headed to the Sweet 16. 22 and 7 for Christian Laettner, 20 for Bobby Hurley. 19 for Scott Padgett in the loss.
14. 1995 KENTUCKY 93 6. 2009 NORTH CAROLINA 92
2 UK teams will advance to the sweet 16 from the South; Jared Prickett scored from the block with 4 to play to give UK a 7 pt lead. Carolina scored the next 6 after a Dean Thompson layup, making it 88-87 UK with 2:21 left. At a minute left it was 90-90, Kentucky ball - Ty Lawson stole a pass, Wayne Ellington hit a midrange and Carolina had the 92-90 lead, 35 seconds to play. Tony Delk hit a corner 3, and its 93-93 UK with 26 seconds to play. On Carolina's last possession, Tyler Hansbrough missed twice and the '95 Cats advance. 15 points/5 boards/4 assists for Walter McCarty. Hansbrough had 24 and 8 in the defeat.
15. 1987 INDIANA 105 7. 1994 ARKANSAS 83
Bobby Knight reaches the Sweet 16. 28 points for Steve Alford. Corliss Williamson goes for 16 in the loss.
4 more teams reach the Sweet 16.
1. 1996 KENTUCKY v. 4. 1992 DUKE
14. 1995 KENTUCKY v. 15. 1987 INDIANA
