NCAA Tournament SEC Sweet 16 Update
Texas is still crashing the party.
PORTLAND, OREGON - MARCH 21: Dailyn Swain #3 of the Texas Longhorns dunks the ball against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the first half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on March 21, 2026 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images) | Getty Images The first weekend of the 2026 NCAA Tournament is in the books, and the field has shrunk from 68 to 16. The SEC led all leagues in bids with ten, and four of them are still around, making up a quarter of the Sweet 16.
Alabama pulled away from Hofstra before cruising past Texas Tech, and Arkansas rolled Hawaii before winning an epic shootout with High Point. Tennessee ran past Miami Ohio to avoid a First Four upset before knocking off a 3-seed in a 40-minute battle with Virginia. The big surprise, however, is the Texas Longhorns, who won 68-66 on Tuesday, 79-71 on Thursday, and 74-68 on Saturday to defeat three increasingly better-seeded opponents in close games to reach the Sweet 16 after being one of the very last at-large teams put in the field.
How much further will these four go? Will an SEC team make the Final Four? We’ll find out when the action resumes this weekend.
Let’s take a look at the SEC in the Sweet 16: The SEC in the Sweet 16: Notes: Texas is the 28th 11-seed to ever make the Sweet 16. About 17% of 11’s have made it to the second weekend historically, and the Longhorns are the first to do so since NC State in 2024. Coincidentally, they defeated the Wolfpack en route to reaching this point.