Maryland guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie is putting the team on his back right now. He’s up to a team-high 13 points and has knocked down three 3-pointers. Maryland has missed its last five field goals since taking a 30-27 lead with 5:00 left in the first half. Florida guard Will Richard has 10 points. The Gators have turned the ball over 11 times.
Florida star Alex Condon is getting precautionary X-rays, per CBS’ broadcast. Condon appeared to tweak his ankle earlier in the first half and has not returned.
Alabama unleashed an incredible volley of 3-point attempts in the first half as the Crimson Tide built a 51-40 edge on BYU entering the break. Mark Sears led the way by drilling five of his seven attempts beyond the arc while racking up 17 points and five assists. BYU dominated in the paint 28-8 but made just 1 of 13 from 3-point range. Alabama seems more than happy to trade 3-pointers for 2-pointers in a battle between two of the nation’s top offenses.
BYU missed six of its last seven field goal attempts entering the half after trading blows early. It has got to find a way to start making shots, or slowing Sears — or both — to climb back into this.
Alabama appeared to be content letting BYU try to take outside shots to try and keep pace with its No. 1 scoring offense. So far a brilliant tactical move from Nate Oats.
Without Condon on the floor for Florida, Maryland is making a run. Ja’Kobi Gillespie has knocked down both of his 3-point attempts and has a team-high eight points. Florida All-American Walter Clayton Jr. has hit some ridiculous shots in this one and has eight points. Florida is winning the rebounding battle over Maryland 13-5.
Florida star Alex Condon is heading to the locker room after suffering what looked like an ankle injury. Condon had a noticeable limp walking past the Florida bench and into the locker room. Florida’s frontcourt depth is its greatest strength. Reserve bigs Thomas Haugh or Micah Handlogten will see more minutes if Condon can’t return.
Florida is on a 9-0 run over the last 2:44, and Maryland hasn’t scored in almost four minutes.
Florida’s size is proving to be a problem early for Maryland. The Gators already have three offensive rebounds in the first three minutes of play. Something to monitor the rest of the night. Colorado State did a great job on the glass against Maryland in the second round.
The Alabama and BYU offensive battle is meeting the hype. Both teams are shooting better than 50% from the floor and going at a torrent pace. The Crimson Tide have already attempted 18 3-pointers and made nine. BYU is countering with a 22-6 edge in paint points. These are two of the nation’s best offenses, and we are seeing the proof early on in Newark. Mark Sears is leading the way for Bama with 14 early points and three assists.
SAN FRANCISCO — On the eve of the most consequential Maryland basketball game in nearly a decade, coach Kevin Willard spent part of it side stepping questions about the widespread rumors regarding his candidacy for the vacant coaching position at Villanova.
The last two weeks have been a whirlwind for the Maryland athletic department. SMU poached Maryland athletic director Damon Evans away from the school to serve in the same role. Willard went on a postgame rant following his team’s 81-49 first-round win over Grand Canyon about his frustration with the administration over NIL funds.
While some might complain about the lack of Cinderella teams in the second weekend of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, the consolation for your tiny dancer tears is a Sweet 16 schedule loaded with heavyweight matchups across the board. Across the eight programs that will be playing during East Regional and West Regional games on Thursday night, five of them have won national championships in the last 35 years; combined, they account for nearly one-third of the NCAA Tournament titles in that span.
SAN FRANCISCO — We are just over 30 minutes away from this marquee Sweet 16 matchup between Florida and Maryland. The winner of this game will face either No. 3 seed Texas Tech or No. 10 seed Arkansas in the Elite Eight on Saturday. As I wrote yesterday, this is the most important game in at least the last 10 years for Maryland … for many reasons. Not only is an appearance in the Elite Eight on the line, but a loss could mark the end of an era. Maryland coach Kevin Willard has widely been rumored as a candidate for the vacant job at Villanova, and star big man Derik Queen — a projected lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft — is likely to be one-and-done.
The 2025 NCAA Tournament began with 68 teams earlier this week, and the bracket has now been reduced to the Sweet 16. With regional semifinal matchups set with the conclusion of the second round, scouting work has already begun for the teams just two wins away from reaching the Final Four in San Antonio.
Duke, Florida and Houston are back in the Sweet 16 as familiar faces, while BYU and Ole Miss are making their long-awaited return to the second weekend of March Madness. BYU is in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2011, while Ole Miss will return to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001.
2025 NCAA Tournament bracket: Scouting each team in the Sweet 16 as March Madness rolls on
With the first week of the 2025 NCAA Tournament officially in the books, we can look ahead to the exciting matchups in the Sweet 16. Chalk reigned through the first weekend of March Madness, with favorites taking care of business. No. 10 seed Arkansas, coached by longtime Kentucky coach John Calipari, is the lowest seed remaining.
This year gives us the first Sweet 16 field comprised entirely of high-major teams since the tournament expanded in 1975. The SEC leads the way with a record-breaking seven teams remaining.
March Madness 2025: One reason to root for every team playing in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
Arkansas got some good news on Tuesday when coach John Calipari said on ESPN that star forward Adou Thiero, who missed the last eight games with a knee injury, will be available for the Sweet 16 matchup against Texas Tech and expected to play about 12 to 15 minutes.
The news is perfectly timed with the return of star guard Boogie Flandfollowing a two-month absence because of a thumb injury. Fland came off the bench for Arkansas’ wins over Kansas and St. John’s in the NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks started SEC play 0-5 before first-year coach John Calipari turned the season around. Standing in Arkansas’ way of an Elite Eight appearance is JT Toppin and No. 3 seed Tech Tech. Toppin, the Big 12 Player of the Year, has been one of the best forwards in the country. The winner of this game faces No. 1 seed Florida or No. 4 seed Maryland on Saturday with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
Caleb Love will face a familiar opponent in the Sweet 16. Love, the former North Carolina star who transferred to Arizona in 2023, hit one of the biggest shots in the 2022 NCAA Tournament as a member of the Tar Heels. With UNC leading by one in the final moments, Love’s 3-pointer at the top of the key helped seal a win over Duke and send Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski into retirement. Love has faced Duke twice as a member of the Wildcats: Arizona beat Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium in 2023, and the Blue Devils returned the favor with a win over the Wildcats at the McKale Center earlier this season.
This week will mark the 10th time Love has faced Duke. He is averaging 15.9 points and 4.2 assists in the previous nine games against the Blue Devils. Love ended one era of Duke basketball (Coach K) and can again play spoiler by helping his team upset the No. 1 seed in the East, which would likely close the curtains on the Cooper Flagg era.
The are two main storylines in this matchup. This first is the battle between two elite offenses. The Crimson Tide rode their No. 1 ranked scoring offense (90.8 points per game) to another appearance in the Sweet 16. BYU ranks No. 21 in scoring offense (81.2) and will likely have the best NBA Draft prospect on the floor in 6-foot-9 guard Egor Demin. The race to who scores 90 points first might decide the winner.
One upside to the absence of Cinderella stories in the Sweet 16 is that the matchups are all phenomenal. Heading into the second weekend of the Big Dance, there is not a single game on the docket with a double-digit point spread, which suggests we could be in for some dramatic endings as we inch closer to crowning a national champion in San Antonio on April 7.
Ranking the “best” games is all a matter of perspective. A hoops junkie transfixed by on-court schematics might rank the offensive showdown between No. 2 seed Alabama and No. 6 seed BYU at the top of the list. But March Madness is about the storylines, the narratives — particularly with coaches — and the potential for college basketball to hook casual fans at this unique time on the sports calendar.
March Madness 2025: Ranking all Sweet 16 games as NCAA Tournament rolls on to regional semifinals
Every No. 1 seed advanced into the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament and only one double-digits seed — preseason No. 16 Arkansas, a No. 10 seed — is still dancing as we gear up for the Sweet 16. But guess what? Even a morsel of chalk in the action left brackets busted.
Yes, all of them: As of Sunday, no perfect brackets remained at CBS Sports.
Not even mine.
So with the rest of our CBS team’s brackets also a shambles (our title picks are still alive: give us some credit!), I’ve taken the liberty of extending our experts a gob of grace to reset their brackets with the Sweet 16. A fresh slate, if you will.
Our stabs below to reset the slate are below.
