It's a party of Midwest teams heading to the Elite Eight of the 2026 men's NCAA Tournament.
A record-breaking four Big Ten teams won Sweet 16 games, giving the conference more than half of the remaining teams in March Madness. It could've put five teams to the Elite Eight, but Michigan State narrowly lost to UConn 67-63.
Iowa has been the biggest surprise of the NCAA Tournament, and its historic run continued with an upset victory over fellow Big Ten foe Nebraska in the Sweet 16. First-year coach Ben McCollum and the Hawkeyes are making their first Elite Eight appearance since 1987, and McCollum has already won four career Division I NCAA Tournament games despite being in only his second season at the level.
REQUIRED READING: Inside Ben McCollum's 'insane' Iowa ride to Elite 8: A story of unbreakable resolve
Three No. 1 seeds — Duke, Arizona and Michigan — also punched their tickets to the Elite Eight. The Wildcats and Wolverines rolled in wins over No. 4 seeds Arkansas and Alabama, respectively, whereas the Blue Devils survived a tough matchup with coach Rick Pitino and No. 5 St. John's.
Here's a look at the winners and losers of the Elite Eight, with only four games remaining before the Final Four gets underway in Indianapolis:
Sweet 16 winners
Big Ten
The Big Ten put a record-breaking four teams — Michigan, Purdue, Illinois and Iowa — in the Elite Eight, making up half of the remaining teams in national championship contention. It's only the third time since the NCAA Tournament expanded that a single conference has had four members in the Elite Eight, joining the SEC in 2025, the ACC in 2016 and the Big East in 2009.
The Big Ten could've broke the record, too, but Michigan State fell to No. 2 UConn by four points in the Sweet 16. Overall, the conference has a 17-5 record in the NCAA Tournament, proving the conference was the best in college basketball this season.
Iowa, of course, is the biggest surprise inclusion among Big Ten teams. Michigan, Purdue and Illinois are all ranked top 10 in KenPom. The Hawkeyes proved there's still some Madness in March, though.
Caleb Foster
Caleb Foster suffered a hairline fracture in his foot on March 7 that required surgery and returned to game action in Duke's 75-70 win over St. John's in the Sweet 16. His 19 minutes off the bench against the Red Storm Devils was his first 5-on-5 action in the 20 days since suffering the injury, and he didn't miss a beat.
While he didn't return to the starting lineup, he scored 11 points — all of which came in the second half. His gutsy performance resulted in a teary-eyed Jon Scheyer after he was asked of Foster after the game.
"He had no business playing today," Scheyer said to CBS Sports' Tracy Wolfson after the game. "He was determined. That was one of the most special performances I've ever seen. He was incredible, even in the huddles what he was doing, and some big-time plays too.
"That's a leader right there and that's a guy that came through for us when we needed him the most."
Tommy Lloyd
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd has established himself as one of the premier coaches in men's college basketball in his first four seasons with the Wildcats, accumulating a 112-33 record. However, he and Arizona had some NCAA Tournament blunders, failing to surpass the Sweet 16 in any of those four seasons.
Lloyd and Arizona squashed that narrative against Arkansas in the Sweet 16, defeating the Razorbacks 109-88. The Wildcats were able to score 109 points despite making just five 3-pointers after shooting 64% from the field.
Arizona is playing like one of, if not the best team in college basketball right now.
Trey Kaufman-Renn
Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn saw his scoring average dip from 20.1 points per game last season to 14.3 this season. He's shown up big for the Boilermakers in the NCAA Tournament regardless, proving he still has "it" when it matters.
The 6-foot-9 senior scored a buzzer-beater tip-in to give Purdue a 79-77 win over No. 11 Texas in the Sweet 16, avoiding an upset against the surging Longhorns. He finished the game with 20 points and eight rebounds on 8-of-10 shooting, after scoring 19 against Miami and 25 against Queens in the first round.
Kaufman-Renn has been wildly efficient in the postseason, as far back as scoring 20 points on 10-of-15 shooting in Purdue's Big Ten Conference Championship win over No. 1 Michigan prior to the NCAA Tournament. His re-emergence has been huge for the Boilermakers' chances at getting back to the Final Four.
Sweet 16 losers
Houston offense
Houston narrowly fell to Florida in the national championship game last season, and brought back three stars along with two potential NBA first-round picks in Kingston Flemings and Chris Cenac Jr. However, an offensive cold spell doomed the Cougars against Illinois in the Sweet 16.
Making their seventh consecutive Sweet 16, Houston was held to an abysmal 34% mark from the field in its 65-55 loss, making just 22 of its 64 shots. The Cougars' defense held a stout Illinois offense in check, one that ranks No. 2 nationally in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency this season.
Still, it wasn't enough to get back to the Final Four, leaving Houston heading into next season still seeking its first-ever national championship under legendary coach Kelvin Sampson, one of the best coaches to have never won a title.
Joshua Jefferson-less Iowa State
Iowa State won't get to see how far it could've gone with star forward Joshua Jefferson, after the senior forward suffered an ankle injury in the opening minutes of the Cyclones' first-round win over East Tennessee State. He missed out on Iowa State's win over Kentucky in the second round and was unable to get ready for its 76-62 Sweet 16 loss to No. 6 Tennessee.
Jefferson, a second-team All-American, averaged 16.4 points with 7.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game this season, making him one of the best all-around players in college basketball. His presence was missed against the Vols, who finished with 16 offensive rebounds and outrebounded Iowa State 43-22 overall.
It's an unfortunate ending for Iowa State's veteran trio of Jefferson, Tamin Lipsey and Milan Momcilovic, who have started nearly every game for the Cyclones the past two seasons. Jefferson and Lipsey end their college careers with 232 regular season starts, while Momcilovic will likely lead the program as a senior next season.
Alabama
Alabama was on fire in the first half against No. 1 Michigan in the Sweet 16 on March 27, even leading the Wolverines 49-47 in the first half. The Crimson Tide came out of halftime and were dominated the rest of the game, however.
Alabama made nine 3-pointers in the first half and was led by star guard Labaron Philon Jr., who scored 19 points in the first 20 minutes before finishing with 35 points with seven rebounds and four assists. The shooting went cold as it was outscored by Michigan 43-28 in the second half, as the Crimson Tide were held to a 5-of-23 mark from 3-point range and only 10 field goals in general.
The Crimson Tide were close to pulling off an upset, but ultimately won't be heading to the Elite Eight for the third consecutive season.
Nebraska fans
Nebraska fans took over Oklahoma City for its first-ever wins in the NCAA Tournament against Troy and Vanderbilt in the first weekend. Cornhuskers fans arrived in droves for their Sweet 16 game against Big Ten foe Iowa in Houston, but to no avail after Nebraska lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Hawkeyes.
Nebraska led for all but 2:10 of regulation, which happened to be the final moments of the game. The Cornhuskers also had only four players on the court following a timeout, which led to a massive 3-point play for Iowa's Alvaro Folgueiras, which ultimately sealed the game.
Nebraska ultimately leaves March Madness as winners in 2026, laying the groundwork for where the program can go in the future. However, it squandered an opportunity to keep its run going against Iowa, which it already defeated once this season in conference play.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Winners of losers of men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
