Winners and losers of March Madness Sweet 16: Big Ten puts 4 teams in Elite 8

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.