INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Baylor went three full weeks without a game last month due to COVID-19 protocols. The Bears were rusty when they returned, but the time off might turn out to be a benefit. Now the No. 1 seed is in the Sweet 16, where it will face No. 5 seed Villanova today. In the other South Region semifinal, No. 15 seed Oral Roberts will play No. 3 seed Arkansas. The Golden Eagles are only the second No. 15 seed in history to get to the Sweet 16. Oral Roberts coach Paul Mills says he believed all season his team would win multiple NCAA Tournament games. Arkansas second-year coach Eric Musselman has the Razorbacks in the Sweet 16 for the first time in more than 20 years.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Midwest Region has caused more busted NCAA Tournament brackets than any other. But perhaps the four teams in the quadrant that have sent Illinois, Tennessee and Oklahoma State packing shouldn’t be that surprising. Loyola Chicago, Houston and Syracuse all have coaches that have been to the Final Four. Oregon State has lost just once in the past five weeks. That could make for an intriguing pair of games when the Ramblers face the Beavers and the Cougars and Orange square off today in Indianapolis.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — NCAA President Mark Emmert says glaring failures to give coaches and players in the women’s tournament the same attention the NCAA gave the men resulted from a lack of communication between the two basketball staffs, along with focusing on trying to tip off both events safely during a pandemic. In an interview with The Associated Press, Emmert said the oversights led to inequities that have cast a dark, looming cloud over the women’s tournament. The NCAA announced on Thursday that it was hiring a law firm to review potential gender equity issues in all men’s and women’s championship events.