The 2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...

to determine the men's

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2015–16 season. 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 Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. This was the first NCAA tournament to adopt the NCAA March Madness branding, including fully-branded courts at each of the tournament venues. 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 team seeded #9 through #15 won a first-round game for the third time ever and the first time since 2013. The Final Four consisted of Villanova (first appearance since

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

(first appearance since 2002),

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

(returning after their 2009 national championship), and Syracuse (the " Cinderella team" of the tournament, and also the first 10 seed to reach the Final Four). Villanova defeated North Carolina in the championship game 77–74, 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.

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 *March 15 and 16 ** University of Dayton Arena,

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

(Host: University of Dayton) First and second rounds *March 17 and 19 ** Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island (Host: Providence College) ** Wells Fargo Arena,

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

, (Host: Iowa State University) ** PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina, (Host: North Carolina State University) ** Pepsi Center,

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, (Host: Mountain West Conference) *March 18 and 20 ** Barclays Center,

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, (Host:

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. The A-10's member schools are located most ...

) ** Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri, (Host:

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

) ** Chesapeake Energy Arena,

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, (Host: Big 12 Conference) ** Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena,

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, (Host: University of Idaho) Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) *March 24 and 26 **South Regional, KFC Yum! Center,

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, (Host:

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

) **West Regional, Honda Center, Anaheim, California, (Host: Big West Conference) *March 25 and 27 **East Regional, Wells Fargo Center,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, (Host: La Salle University) **Midwest Regional, United Center,

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, (Host:

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

) National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) *April 2 and 4 ** NRG Stadium,

(Hosts: Rice University, Texas Southern University,

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

)

Qualifying and selection procedure

Out of 336 eligible Division I teams, 68 participate in the tournament. Of the total, 15 Division I teams were ineligible due to failing to meet APR requirements, self-imposed postseason bans, or reclassification from a lower division. Of the 32 automatic bids, 31 were given to programs that won their conference tournaments. For the final time, the

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

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 Ivy League 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 The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. * Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behin ...

( UTC−4)

First Four – Dayton, Ohio

The First Four games involved eight teams: the four overall lowest-ranked teams, and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams.

South Regional – Louisville, Kentucky

South Regional Final

South Regional all tournament team

* Kris Jenkins (Jr, Villanova) – South Regional most outstanding player * Ryan Arcidiacono (Sr, Villanova) * Josh Hart (Jr, Villanova) * Daniel Ochefu (Sr, Villanova) * Devonte' Graham (So, Kansas)

West Regional – Anaheim, California

West Regional Final

West Regional all tournament team

* Buddy Hield (Sr, Oklahoma) – West Regional most outstanding player * Isaiah Cousins (Sr, Oklahoma) * Jordan Woodard (Jr, Oklahoma) * Elgin Cook (Sr, Oregon) *

Brandon Ingram Brandon Xavier Ingram (born September 2, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the second overall pick in the 2016 N ...

(Fr, Duke)

East Regional – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

East Regional Final

East Regional all tournament team

Brice Johnson Jonathan Brice Johnson (born June 27, 1994) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Nelson Giants of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played college basketball for North Carolina, graduating i ...

(Sr, North Carolina) – East Regional most outstanding player *

Marcus Paige Marcus Taylor Paige (born September 11, 1993) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He played college basketball for the University of North Carolina, where he helped lead the Tar Heels to the 2016 NCAA championship gam ...

(Sr, North Carolina) * V. J. Beachem (Jr, Notre Dame) *

Demetrius Jackson Demetrius Montell Jackson Jr. (born September 7, 1994) is an American former professional basketball player. He played three seasons of college basketball for the University of Notre Dame before being drafted 45th overall by the Celtics in the 20 ...

(Jr, Notre Dame) *

Yogi Ferrell Kevin Duane "Yogi" Ferrell Jr. (born May 9, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for Budućnost of the Montenegro Prva A Liga and the Adriatic League. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers. Early life Ferrell was ...

(Sr, Indiana)

Midwest Regional – Chicago, Illinois

Midwest Regional Final

Midwest Regional all tournament team

* Malachi Richardson (Fr, Syracuse) – Midwest Regional most outstanding player * Michael Gbinije (Sr, Syracuse) *

London Perrantes London Tyus Perrantes Jr. (born October 3, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for Kolossos Rodou of the Greek Basketball League (GBL). He played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers. High school career Perrantes atten ...

(Jr, Virginia) * Georges Niang (Sr, Iowa State) *

Domantas Sabonis Domantas Sabonis (; born May 3, 1996) is a Lithuanian–American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Lithuanian national team. Son of the Hall of Fame player Arvydas Sabon ...

(So, Gonzaga)

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 (Kansas's South Region) plays against the champion of the fourth-ranked top seed's region (Oregon's West Region), and the champion of the second overall top seed's region (North Carolina's East Region) plays against the champion of the third-ranked top seed's region (Virginia's Midwest Region).

Final Four - NRG Stadium,
Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Final Four

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 3rd 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), behind the 1996 Kentucky Wildcats (+129) and the 2024 UConn Huskies (+140).

Final Four all-tournament team

* Ryan Arcidiacono (Sr, Villanova) – Final Four Most Outstanding Player * Josh Hart (Jr, Villanova) * Phil Booth (So, Villanova) *

Joel Berry II Joel DeWayne Berry II (born April 1, 1995) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels and led the team to the 2017 national championship. Berry played professionally for two ...

(So, North Carolina) *

(Sr, North Carolina)

Tournament notes

America East Conference The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachu ...

champion Stony Brook and WAC champion

Cal State Bakersfield California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB, Cal State Bakersfield, or CSU Bakersfield) is a public university in Bakersfield, California. It was established in 1965 as Kern State College and officially in 1968 as California State College Ba ...

made their first NCAA Tournament appearances in school history.

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

made its first NCAA appearance since 1962 as winners of the

, which, for the final time, did not stage a conference tournament. Of those that do hold a tournament,

Horizon League The Horizon League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in ...

champion Green Bay made its first appearance since

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees through all 11 of the universit ...

made its first appearance since

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

also earned its first Tournament win in school history with a 79–75 win over Baylor.

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

likewise earned its first NCAA Tournament win by defeating

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

77–66. Arkansas-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 West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, 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, six lower seeds, all No. 11, have advanced to that stage (in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

extended its streak of consecutive tournament appearances to 27 in a row, making every NCAA Tournament dating back to

. This tied the record for most consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances held by

(1975–2001). This Tournament marked the first championship for Villanova in 31 years. It was also the first championship by a school without a Division I FBS

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team since

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. Villanova fields a

Division I FCS The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Sponsored by the National Collegiate ...

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

, as did

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

before

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Upsets

Per the NCAA, "Upsets are defined as when the winner of the game was seeded five or more places lower than the team it defeated." The 2016 tournament saw a total of 11 upsets; 8 of them were in the first round, 2 of them were in the second round, none in the Sweet Sixteen, and one in the Elite Eight.

Record by conference

*The R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the round of 64 (first round), round of 32 (second round), Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game, and national champion, respectively. *The "Record" column includes wins in the First Four for the Big Ten, Missouri Valley, Atlantic Sun, and Patriot conferences and losses in the First Four for the SEC and American conferences. *The

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

and SWAC each had one representative, both eliminated in the First Four with a record of 0–1. *The

America East The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979, t ...

, Big Sky, Big South, CAA,

Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...

, MAAC,

MAC Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...

MEAC The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States. It participates in the Nation ...

Mountain West The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Janu ...

Ohio Valley The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its mouth on the Mississippi River in Cairo, ...

, Southern,

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

, and WAC conferences each had one representative, eliminated in the first round with a record of 0–1.

Media coverage

Television

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...

and

Turner Sports TNT Sports is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery in the United States that is responsible for Sports broadcasting, sports broadcasts on its parent company's streaming service, Max (streaming service), Max, and primarily the TruTV, TBS (Americ ...

held joint U.S. television broadcast rights to the Tournament under the ''NCAA March Madness'' brand. Beginning in 2016, rights to the Final Four and championship game began to alternate between Turner and CBS, with Turner networks broadcasting the 2016 Final Four and championship; a conventional telecast aired on TBS, accompanied by "Team Stream" broadcasts on

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

and

TruTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable Television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts reruns of Television comedy, comedy, Reality television, docusoaps and reality shows, with a rec ...

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. It marked the first time in tournament history that the national championship game aired on cable channels, and ended CBS' streak of broadcasting 34 consecutive National Championship games. However, Turner allowed the tournament's closing theme, '' One Shining Moment'', to be played for the 30th year in a row. To date, the song is still played in this manner, no matter which network airs the National Championship game. 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 A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a Water tank, tank or a Ship, ship's Hull (watercraft), hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can e ...

of the full bracket shortly into the broadcast, which spread on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

. 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".

Studio hosts

Greg Gumbel Gregory Girard Gumbel (May 3, 1946 – December 27, 2024) was an American television sportscaster. He was best known for his various assignments for CBS Sports (most notably, the National Football League and NCAA basketball). He became the firs ...

(New York City and Houston) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game *

Ernie Johnson Jr. Ernest Thorwald Johnson Jr. (born August 7, 1956) is an American sportscaster for TNT Sports (United States), TNT Sports. He is the television voice and a studio host for Major League Baseball on TBS, hosts ''Inside the NBA'' for ESPN, Americ ...

(New York City, Atlanta, and Houston) – First round, second round, Regional Semi-Finals, Final Four and National Championship Game *

Matt Winer Matt Winer is an American television personality who is currently working for TNT Sports. Career Turner Sports signed Winer in 2010 to contribute to coverage of sports across its networks. He became the primary studio host for '' Major Leagu ...

(Atlanta) – First Four, First Round and Second Round

Studio analysts

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT and CBS Sports. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "the Bread Truck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", ...

(New York City and Houston) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game *

Swin Cash Swintayla Marie Cash Canal (born September 22, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. She played in college for the University of Connecticut and professionally for 15 years in the Women's National Basketball Association (WN ...

(Atlanta) – First Four *

Seth Davis Seth Davis is an American sportswriter and broadcaster. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of Hoops HQ and is a host on Campus Insiders, an in-studio analyst for CBS men's college basketball coverage and an analyst for the NBA ...

(Atlanta and Houston) – First Four, first round, second round, Regional Semi-Finals, Final Four and National Championship Game *

Johnny Dawkins Johnny Earl Dawkins Jr. (born September 28, 1963) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the UCF men's basketball team. From 2008 to 2016, he was the head coach of Stanford. He was a two-time All-American an ...

(New York City) – Second Round *

Doug Gottlieb Douglas Mitchell Gottlieb (born January 15, 1976) is an American basketball analyst, sports talk radio host and college basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. Gottlieb played NCAA c ...

(New York City) – Regionals *

Ron Hunter Ronald Eugene Hunter (born April 7, 1964) is an American college basketball coach and the men's basketball head coach of the Tulane University Green Wave. His son, R. J. Hunter, was a first-round NBA draft pick for the Boston Celtics. High sc ...

(Atlanta) – First round *

Clark Kellogg Clark Clifton Kellogg Jr. (born July 2, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player who is the lead college basketball analyst for CBS Sports. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Indiana Pacers. Basketba ...

(New York City and Houston) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game *

Reggie Miller Reginald Wayne Miller (born August 24, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, played his entire 18-year career in the National Basketball Assoc ...

(Houston) – Final Four and National Championship Game *

Kenny Smith Kenneth Smith (born March 8, 1965) is an American sports commentator and former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Jet", he played in the NBA from 1987 to 1997 as a member of the Sacramen ...

(New York City and Houston) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game * Steve Smith (Houston) – Final Four and National Championship Game *

Kevin Stallings Kevin Eugene Stallings (born October 1, 1960) is an American former basketball coach, who formerly served as the head coach at Illinois State University, Vanderbilt University and the University of Pittsburgh. He was an assistant coach at Purdue ...

(Atlanta) – Second Round *

Wally Szczerbiak Walter Robert Szczerbiak Jr. ( ; born March 5, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player and current color analyst for the New York Knicks on MSG Network. He played 10 seasons for four teams in the National Basketball Associati ...

(Atlanta) – First Four, first round, second round and Regional Semi-Finals *

Buzz Williams Brent Langdon "Buzz" Williams (born September 1, 1972) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the University of Maryland. He previously served as head coach at Texas A&M from 2019 to 2025, Virginia Tech from 2014 to 2019, Marq ...

(Atlanta) – Regional Semi-Finals

Commentary teams

Jim Nantz James William Nantz III (born May 17, 1959) is an American sportscaster who has worked on telecasts of the National Football League (NFL), NCAA Division I men's basketball, the NBA, and the PGA Tour for CBS Sports since the 1980s. He has ancho ...

Bill Raftery William Joseph Raftery (born April 19, 1943) is an American basketball analyst and former college basketball coach. Early life and playing years Born William Joseph Raftery in Orange, New Jersey, and raised in nearby Kearny, Raftery grew up i ...

Grant Hill Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is a co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a part-owner of Orlando City SC of Major League ...

Tracy Wolfson Tracy Wolfson (born March 17, 1975) is an American sportscaster for CBS Sports. She is the lead sideline reporter for the NFL on CBS. Early life Wolfson grew up in Congers, New York, and attended Clarkstown High School North, in New City, New ...

Craig Sager Craig Graham Sager ( ; June 29, 1951 – December 15, 2016) was an American sports reporter who covered an array of sports for CNN and its sister stations TBS and TNT, from 1981 until his death in late 2016. Sager worked as a sideline reporter ...

– First and Second Rounds at Des Moines, Iowa; South Regional at Louisville, Kentucky; Final Four and National Championship at Houston ** Sager joined Nantz, Raftery, Hill, and Wolfson for the Championship Game to interview

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

* Brian Anderson/ Steve Smith/ Dana Jacobson – First and Second Rounds at St. Louis, Missouri; East Regional at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania *

Verne Lundquist Merton Laverne Lundquist Jr. (born July 17, 1940) is an American former sportscaster known for his long career with CBS Sports. Early life Lundquist was born in Duluth, Minnesota. He graduated from Austin High School in Austin, Texas, before ...

Jim Spanarkel James Gerard Spanarkel (born June 28, 1957) is an American television analyst for College Basketball on CBS and Fox College Hoops. He is a former professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Dallas Mavericks. He played co ...

Allie LaForce Alexandra Leigh LaForce (born December 11, 1988) is an American journalist, model and beauty queen who won Miss Teen USA 2005. She is a reporter for TNT Sports, covering the ''NBA on TNT''. She was previously the lead reporter for SEC college ...

– First and Second Rounds at Brooklyn, New York; West Regional at Anaheim, California *

Kevin Harlan Kevin Robert Harlan (born June 21, 1960) is an American television and radio sports announcer, and a 3 time National Sportscaster of Year as voted by his peers. The son of former Green Bay Packers President and CEO Bob Harlan, he broadcasts NF ...

/ Dan Bonner/ Lewis Johnson – First and Second Rounds at Raleigh, North Carolina; Midwest Regional at Chicago *

Ian Eagle Ian Eagle ( ; born February 9, 1969) is an American sports announcer. He calls NBA, NFL, and college basketball games on CBS, TNT, and TBS, as well as Brooklyn Nets games on the YES Network and French Open tennis for Tennis Channel. Other ann ...

Chris Webber Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III (born March 1, 1973), nicknamed "C-Webb", is an American former professional basketball player. Webber played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), with the largest portion of his career sp ...

Len Elmore Leonard J. Elmore (born March 28, 1952) is an American sportscaster, lawyer and former National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Elmore has served as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and Fox Sports and has served in the same capacity ...

Evan Washburn Evan Washburn (born September 25, 1984) is an American reporter for CBS Sports. He joined CBS in 2014, and is a part of the network's coverage of the NFL and NCAA basketball, along with contributing to CBS Sports Network. He is also the sideli ...

– First and Second Rounds at Providence, Rhode Island * Spero Dedes/

Rosalyn Gold-Onwude Rosalyn Fatima Gold-Onwude (; born April 28, 1987) is an American-Nigerian sports broadcaster. A native of New York City, Gold-Onwude played college basketball at Stanford and played on the Nigeria national team. Gold-Onwude covers NBA basketb ...

– First and Second Rounds at Spokane, Washington * Andrew Catalon/

Steve Lappas Stephan Thomas Lappas (born March 18, 1954) is an American former college basketball coach. He coached at Manhattan (1988–1992), Villanova (1992–2001) and UMass (2001–2005), compiling a 280–237 (.542) record over a 17-year coaching ca ...

/ Jamie Erdahl – First Four at Dayton, Ohio (Tuesday); First and Second Rounds at Denver, Colorado *

Carter Blackburn Carter Blackburn (born March 30, 1979) is an American sportscaster. He currently works for CBS Sports after leaving ESPN in 2014. Early life and education Blackburn was born in Dallas, Texas, and grew up in Kerrville, in the Texas Hill Count ...

Mike Gminski Michael Thomas Gminski (born August 3, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player and a college basketball TV analyst for the CW Courtside Saturday, ACC on The CW and CBS Sports. In 2003, Gminski, of Polish descent, was inducted i ...

/Jaime Maggio – First Four at Dayton, Ohio (Wednesday); First and Second Rounds at Oklahoma City.

=''Team Stream'' broadcasts

= ;Final Four *Chad McKee/

Eduardo Nájera Eduardo Alonso Nájera Pérez () (born July 11, 1976) is a Mexican former professional basketball player who is currently a scout for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also a pregame and postgame analyst o ...

/Jessica Coody – Oklahoma Team Stream on TNT * Scott Graham/ Brian Finneran/Kacie McDonnell – Villanova Team Stream on truTV *

Wes Durham Dallas Wesley "Wes" Durham (born January 25, 1966, in Greensboro, North Carolina) is an American sportscaster. He is a play-by-play announcer for ESPN and ACC Network coverage of college football and basketball. Durham served as the radio play-b ...

Brendan Haywood Brendan Todd Haywood (born November 27, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who was a center in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won an NBA championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. Following his playin ...

/Dwayne Ballen – North Carolina Team Stream on TNT *

Tom Werme Tom Werme is a television sports announcer who currently calls ACC College Basketball and Football for ACC on The CW, The CW broadcasts produced by Raycom Sports and Major League Lacrosse games for the Charlotte Hounds on ESPN3. Biography Werme ...

/ Roosevelt Bouie/

Donovan McNabb Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college ...

– Syracuse Team Stream on truTV ;National Championship Game *

/Dwayne Ballen – North Carolina Team Stream on TNT * Scott Graham/ Brian Finneran/Kacie McDonnell – Villanova Team Stream on truTV

Radio

Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...

had exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.

First Four

* Craig Way and Kevin Grevey – at Dayton, Ohio

First and Second rounds

* Scott Graham and Donny Marshall – Providence, Rhode Island *

Brandon Gaudin Brandon Gaudin (born December 18, 1983) is an American television broadcaster for FanDuel Sports Network South and FanDuel Sports Network Southeast's coverage of the Atlanta Braves baseball. He also does play-by-play for college football and c ...

and

Mike Montgomery Mike or Michael Montgomery may also refer to: *Mike Montgomery (basketball), American basketball coach *Michael Montgomery (born 1983), American football defensive end *Mike Montgomery (American football) (born 1949), American football running back ...

– Des Moines, Iowa *

John Sadak John Sadak (born September 15, 1979) is an American TV/radio sports announcer with the Cincinnati Reds, CBS Sports, Westwood One radio, CBS Sports Network, the ESPN family of networks and Fox Sports 1. Personal life Sadak is a two-time Rowan Un ...

and

Eric Montross Eric Scott Montross (September 23, 1971 – December 17, 2023) was an American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight seasons with the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, New Jersey Nets, P ...

/ John Thompson – Raleigh, North Carolina (Montross – Thursday afternoon; Thompson – Thursday night & Saturday) *

Kevin Kugler Kevin Kugler (Born August 1972) is an American sportscaster who works in both radio and television. Kugler is currently employed on television by Fox Sports for NFL, college basketball (including on Big Ten Network), MLB and UFL games. On radio, ...

and Jim Jackson – Denver, Colorado * Chris Carrino and

Kelly Tripucka Peter Kelly Tripucka (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1981 to 1991. He was a two-time NBA All Star and averaged over twenty points a game i ...

– Brooklyn, New York City, New York *

Wayne Larrivee Wayne Larrivee is an American sportscaster. Larrivee is currently the radio play-by-play voice of the Green Bay Packers on the Packers Radio Network alongside color commentator Larry McCarren and calls college football and basketball for the ...

and

Will Perdue William Edward Perdue III (born August 29, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a member of four NBA championship teams, three with the Chicago Bulls (1991–1993) and ...

– St. Louis, Missouri * Tom McCarthy and

P. J. Carlesimo Peter John Carlesimo (born May 30, 1949) is an American former basketball coach who coached in both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and college basketball for nearly 40 years. He is also a television broadcaster and has worked with ESP ...

– Oklahoma City, Oklahoma *

Kevin Calabro Kevin Paul Calabro (born June 27, 1956) is an American sportscaster based in Seattle, Washington. The longtime voice of the former Seattle SuperSonics NBA franchise, Calabro has primarily called NBA basketball but has also announced collegiate ...

and

Dan Dickau Daniel David Dickau (born September 16, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who currently works as an on-air broadcaster for ESPN, the Pac-12 Network, CBS Sports Network, Fox Sports and Westwood One. He is also a co-host o ...

– Spokane, Washington

Regionals

*Tom McCarthy and John Thompson – East Regional at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania *

Gary Cohen Gary Cohen (born ) is an American sportscaster, best known as a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). Cohen currently calls Mets games for SNY and WPIX, as well as Seton Hall basket ...

and Jim Jackson – Midwest Regional at Chicago, Illinois *Ian Eagle and P. J. Carlesimo – South Regional at Louisville, Kentucky *Kevin Kugler and Donny Marshall – West Regional at Anaheim, California

Final Four

*Kevin Kugler, John Thompson, Clark Kellogg, and Jim Gray – Houston, Texas

Local radio

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

were made available on Watch TNT app. Games on

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 TuneIn is a global audio streaming service providing news, radio, sports, music, and podcasts to over 75 million monthly active users. TuneIn is operated by the privately held company TuneIn Inc. based in San Francisco, California. The comp ...

app. The games were also viewable on the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, then in other international territories on February 22, 2012, and was produced ...

and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...

video game consoles via the

PlayStation Vue PlayStation Vue (PS Vue) was an American streaming television service that was owned by the Sony Interactive Entertainment subdivision of the Sony Corporation of America division of Sony. Launched with a limited major-market rollout on March 18, ...

(PS3/PS4; all games),

Sling TV Sling TV is an American streaming television service operated by Sling TV LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dish Network. Unveiled on January 5, 2015, at the Consumer Electronics Show, the virtual multichannel video programming distributor aim ...

(XB1; TBS, TNT, TruTV games) and TuneIn (Vita/XB1; all games) apps.

Notes

:1.The 15 teams that were ineligible, and the reasons for ineligibility: ;

Academic Progress Rate The Academic Progress Rate (APR) is a measure introduced by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the nonprofit association that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, to ...

Alcorn State Alcorn State University (Alcorn State, ASU or Alcorn) is a public historically black land-grant university adjacent to Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871 and was the first black land grant college established in the United States. T ...

Central Arkansas Central Arkansas, also known as the Little Rock metro, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state ...

: Florida A&M :

Stetson Stetson is an American brand of hat manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company. "Stetson" is also used as a generic trademark to refer to any campaign hat, particularly in Scouting. John B. Stetson gained inspiration for his most famous ...

; Other NCAA infractions : SMU ; Self-imposed bans :

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

Cal State Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge, Los Angeles, Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as o ...

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

: Southern Miss ; Reclassification : Abilene Christian :

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...

: Incarnate Word :

UMass Lowell The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a Public university, public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of M ...

Northern Kentucky Northern Kentucky is an urban area in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky consisting of the southern part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. The three main counties of the area are Boone County, Kentucky, Boone, Kent ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament NCAA tournament NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Basketball in Houston March 2016 sports events in the United States April 2016 sports events in the United States 2016 in sports in Texas 2016 in Houston

Schedule and venues

Qualifying and selection procedure

Automatic qualifiers

Tournament seeds

Bracket

First Four – Dayton, Ohio

South Regional – Louisville, Kentucky

South Regional Final

South Regional all tournament team

West Regional – Anaheim, California

West Regional Final

West Regional all tournament team

East Regional – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

East Regional Final

East Regional all tournament team

Midwest Regional – Chicago, Illinois

Midwest Regional Final

Midwest Regional all tournament team

Final Four

Final Four - NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Final Four

National Championship

Final Four all-tournament team

Tournament notes

Upsets

Record by conference

Media coverage

Television

Studio hosts

Studio analysts

Commentary teams

=''Team Stream'' broadcasts

Radio

First Four

First and Second rounds

Regionals

Final Four

Local radio

Internet

See also

Notes

References

Final Four - NRG Stadium,
Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...