Bracket basics

What is the Sweet 16?

The Sweet 16 is the round with 16 teams left. It is the regional semifinal round. Win here, and you reach the Elite Eight.

Four teams left in each region

The 64-team bracket splits into four regions.

Each region starts with 16 teams.

Two rounds cut each region to four.

Four regions times four teams makes 16.

NCAA.com calls this round the regional semifinals.

Every team here has won two straight games.

An Opening Round team has won three straight.

New to the chart? Read what a bracket is.

The second weekend of the tournament

The first weekend cuts 64 teams to 16.

The Sweet 16 opens the second weekend.

The men's games are Thursday and Friday.

In 2027, they are March 25 and 26.

Eight games are played across two days.

The women's games are Friday and Saturday.

In 2027, they are March 26 and 27.

Both rounds share the same regional arenas.

The Sweet 16 in 2027

The men's South plays in San Antonio, Texas.

Its arena is the Frost Bank Center.

The West plays in Los Angeles, California.

Its arena is Crypto.com Arena.

The Midwest plays in Kansas City, Missouri.

Its arena is the T-Mobile Center.

The East plays in New York.

Its arena is Madison Square Garden.

They are Philadelphia and Las Vegas.

See every key date for 2027.

Where the name came from

The name counts the teams still playing.

Sixteen teams remain, so it sounds sweet.

NCAA.com credits CBS commentators in the late 1980s.

They used it after the field reached 64.

High schools used the phrase much earlier.

NCAA.com cites an Iowa newspaper from March 1936.

It described a state high school tournament.

Small schools that reached this round

Most teams here are big names.

Now and then, a long shot crashes in.

Florida Gulf Coast, 2013. A 15 seed.

Oral Roberts, 2021. Another 15 seed.

Cleveland State, 1986. A 14 seed.

Chattanooga, 1997. Another 14 seed.