2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament explained

Year:	2016
Teams:	68
Finalfourarena:	NRG Stadium
Finalfourcity:	Houston, Texas
Champions:	Villanova Wildcats
Titlecount:	2nd
Champgamecount:	3rd
Champffcount:	5th
Runnerup:	North Carolina Tar Heels
Gamecount:	10th
Runnerffcount:	19th
Semifinal1:	Oklahoma Sooners
Finalfourcount:	5th
Semifinal2:	Syracuse Orange
Finalfourcount2:	6th
Coach:	Jay Wright
Coachcount:	1st
Mop:	Ryan Arcidiacono
Mopteam:	Villanova

The 2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2015–16 season. The 78th edition of the Tournament began on March 15, 2016, and concluded with the championship game on April 4, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.^[1] This was the first NCAA tournament to adopt the NCAA March Madness branding, including fully-branded courts at each of the tournament venues.

Upsets were the story of the first round of the Tournament;^[2] No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee upset No. 2 seed Michigan State in the biggest upset, just the eighth ever win for a No. 15 seed over a No. 2.^[3] At least one team seeded #9 through #15 won a first-round game for the third time ever and the first time since 2013.

The Final Four consisted of Villanova (first appearance since 2009), Oklahoma (first appearance since 2002), North Carolina (returning after their 2009 national championship), and Syracuse (the "Cinderella team" of the tournament, and also the first 10 seed to reach the Final Four). Villanova defeated North Carolina in the championship game 77–74, on a three-point buzzer beater by Kris Jenkins.^[4] Pundits called the game one of the best in tournament history, going on to say this was one of the most competitive finals ever.^{[5] [6]}

Schedule and venues

Previously, the round of 64 was known as the second round since the 2011 edition, but it was reverted to the moniker first round for this coming tournament. The first four was previously named the first round.

First four

• March 15 and 16
  • University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)

First and second rounds

• March 17 and 19
  • Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island (Host: Providence College)
  • Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa, (Host: Iowa State University)
  • PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina, (Host: North Carolina State University)
  • Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado, (Host: Mountain West Conference)
• March 18 and 20
  • Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, (Host: Atlantic 10 Conference)
  • Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri, (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)
  • Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, (Host: Big 12 Conference)
  • Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, Washington, (Host: University of Idaho)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

• March 24 and 26
  • South Regional, KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky, (Host: University of Louisville)
  • West Regional, Honda Center, Anaheim, California, (Host: Big West Conference)
• March 25 and 27
  • East Regional, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, (Host: La Salle University)
  • Midwest Regional, United Center, Chicago, (Host: Big Ten Conference)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

• April 2 and 4
  • NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas (Hosts: Rice University, Texas Southern University, University of Houston)

Qualifying and selection procedure

Out of 336 eligible Division I teams, 68 participate in the tournament. Of the total, 15 Division I teams were ineligible due to failing to meet APR requirements, self-imposed postseason bans, or reclassification from a lower division.

Of the 32 automatic bids, 31 were given to programs that won their conference tournaments. For the final time, the Ivy League awarded its NCAA Tournament bid to the team with the best regular-season record and did not hold a tournament (unless playoffs games were needed to resolve tied champions). The Ivy League will hold a postseason tournament for the first time after the 2016–17 Ivy League season.^[7] The remaining 36 bids were granted on an "at-large" basis, which were extended by the NCAA Selection Committee to the teams it deems to be the best 36 teams that did not receive automatic bids.

Eight teams—the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams—played in the First Four (the successor to what had been popularly known as "play-in games" through the 2010 tournament). The winners of these games advanced to the first round (round of 64). The Selection Committee also seeded the entire field from 1 to 68.^[8]

Automatic qualifiers

The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2016 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's automatic bid:^[9]

Conference	Team	Appearance	Last bid
ACC	North Carolina	47th	2015
America East	Stony Brook	1st	Never
Atlantic 10	Saint Joseph's	21st	2014
American	UConn	33rd	2014
Atlantic Sun	Florida Gulf Coast	2nd	2013
Big 12	Kansas	45th	2015
Big East	Seton Hall	10th	2006
Big Sky	Weber State	16th	2014
Big South	UNC Asheville	4th	2012
Big Ten	Michigan State	30th	2015
Big West	Hawaii	5th	2002
CAA	UNC Wilmington	5th	2006
C-USA	Middle Tennessee	8th	2013
Horizon	Green Bay	5th	1996
Ivy League	Yale	4th	1962
MAAC	Iona	11th	2013
MAC	Buffalo	2nd	2015
MEAC	Hampton	6th	2015
Missouri Valley	Northern Iowa	8th	2015
Mountain West	Fresno State	6th	2001
NEC	Fairleigh Dickinson	5th	2005
Ohio Valley	Austin Peay	6th	2008
Pac-12	Oregon	14th	2015
Patriot	Holy Cross	13th	2007
SEC	Kentucky	56th	2015
Southern	Chattanooga	11th	2009
Southland	Stephen F. Austin	4th	2015
SWAC	Southern	9th	2013
Summit League	South Dakota State	3rd	2013
Sun Belt	Little Rock	5th	2011
WCC	Gonzaga	19th	2015
WAC	Cal State Bakersfield	1st	Never

Tournament seeds

South Regional – KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky

Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Overall rank
1	Kansas	Big 12	30–4	Auto	1
2	Villanova	Big East	29–5	At-large	7
3	Miami	ACC	25–7	At-large	10
4	California	Pac-12	23–10	At-large	14
5	Maryland	Big Ten	25–8	At-large	19
6	Arizona	Pac-12	25–8	At-large	23
7	Iowa	Big Ten	21–10	At-large	27
8	Colorado	Pac-12	22–11	At-large	30
9	UConn	American	24–10	Auto	36
10	Temple	American	21–11	At-large	38
11*	Vanderbilt	SEC	19–13	At-large	41
Wichita State	Missouri Valley	24–8	At-large	43
12	South Dakota State	Summit League	26–7	Auto	50
13	Hawaii	Big West	27–5	Auto	52
14	Buffalo	MAC	20–14	Auto	56
15	UNC Asheville	Big South	22–11	Auto	61
16	Austin Peay	Ohio Valley	18–17	Auto	63

West Regional – Honda Center, Anaheim, California

Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Overall rank
1	Oregon	Pac-12	28–6	Auto	4
2	Oklahoma	Big 12	25–7	At-large	6
3	Texas A&M	SEC	26–8	At-large	12
4	Duke	ACC	23–10	At-large	13
5	Baylor	Big 12	22–11	At-large	20
6	Texas	Big 12	20–12	At-large	21
7	Oregon State	Pac-12	19–12	At-large	28
8	Saint Joseph's	Atlantic 10	27–7	Auto	32
9	Cincinnati	American	22–10	At-large	35
10	VCU	Atlantic 10	24–10	At-large	40
11	Northern Iowa	Missouri Valley	22–12	Auto	46
12	Yale	Ivy League	22–6	Auto	49
13	UNC Wilmington	CAA	25–7	Auto	51
14	Green Bay	Horizon	23–12	Auto	55
15	Cal State Bakersfield	WAC	24–8	Auto	60
16*	Holy Cross	Patriot	14–19	Auto	68
Southern	SWAC	22–12	Auto	67

East Regional – Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia

Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Overall rank
1	North Carolina	ACC	28–6	Auto	2
2	Xavier	Big East	27–5	At-large	8
3	West Virginia	Big 12	26–8	At-large	9
4	Kentucky	SEC	26–8	Auto	15
5	Indiana	Big Ten	25–7	At-large	17
6	Notre Dame	ACC	21–11	At-large	22
7	Wisconsin	Big Ten	20–12	At-large	25
8	USC	Pac-12	21–12	At-large	31
9	Providence	Big East	23–10	At-large	33
10	Pittsburgh	ACC	21–11	At-large	37
11*	Michigan	Big Ten	22–12	At-large	42
Tulsa	American	20–11	At-large	45
12	Chattanooga	Southern	29–5	Auto	47
13	Stony Brook	America East	26–6	Auto	53
14	Stephen F. Austin	Southland	27–5	Auto	58
15	Weber State	Big Sky	26–8	Auto	62
16*	Florida Gulf Coast	Atlantic Sun	20–13	Auto	65
Fairleigh Dickinson	NEC	18–14	Auto	66

Midwest Regional – United Center, Chicago

Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Overall rank
1	Virginia	ACC	26–7	At-large	3
2	Michigan State	Big Ten	29–5	Auto	5
3	Utah	Pac-12	26–8	At-large	11
4	Iowa State	Big 12	21–11	At-large	16
5	Purdue	Big Ten	26–8	At-large	18
6	Seton Hall	Big East	25–8	Auto	24
7	Dayton	Atlantic 10	25–7	At-large	26
8	Texas Tech	Big 12	19–12	At-large	29
9	Butler	Big East	21–10	At-large	34
10	Syracuse	ACC	19–13	At-large	39
11	Gonzaga	WCC	26–7	Auto	44
12	Little Rock	Sun Belt	29–4	Auto	48
13	Iona	MAAC	22–10	Auto	54
14	Fresno State	Mountain West	25–9	Auto	57
15	Middle Tennessee	C-USA	24–9	Auto	59
16	Hampton	MEAC	21–10	Auto	64

*See First Four

Bracket

All times are listed as Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)

First Four – Dayton, Ohio

The First Four games involved eight teams: the four overall lowest-ranked teams, and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams.

South Regional – Louisville, Kentucky

South Regional all tournament team

• Kris Jenkins (Jr, Villanova) – South Regional most outstanding player^[10]
• Ryan Arcidiacono (Sr, Villanova)^[10]
• Josh Hart (Jr, Villanova)^[10]
• Daniel Ochefu (Sr, Villanova)^[10]
• Devonte' Graham (So, Kansas)^[10]

West Regional – Anaheim, California

West Regional all tournament team

• Buddy Hield (Sr, Oklahoma) – West Regional most outstanding player^[11]
• Isaiah Cousins (Sr, Oklahoma)^[11]
• Jordan Woodard (Jr, Oklahoma)^[11]
• Elgin Cook (Sr, Oregon)^[11]
• Brandon Ingram (Fr, Duke)^[11]

East Regional – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

East Regional all tournament team

• Brice Johnson (Sr, North Carolina) – East Regional most outstanding player^[12]
• Marcus Paige (Sr, North Carolina)^[13]
• V. J. Beachem (Jr, Notre Dame)^[13]
• Demetrius Jackson (Jr, Notre Dame)^[13]
• Yogi Ferrell (Sr, Indiana)^[13]

Midwest Regional – Chicago, Illinois

Midwest Regional all tournament team

• Malachi Richardson (Fr, Syracuse) – Midwest Regional most outstanding player^[14]
• Michael Gbinije (Sr, Syracuse)^[14]
• London Perrantes (Jr, Virginia)^[14]
• Georges Niang (Sr, Iowa State)^[14]
• Domantas Sabonis (So, Gonzaga)^[14]

Final Four

During the Final Four round, regardless of the seeds of the participating teams, the champion of the top overall top seed's region (Kansas's South Region) plays against the champion of the fourth-ranked top seed's region (Oregon's West Region), and the champion of the second overall top seed's region (North Carolina's East Region) plays against the champion of the third-ranked top seed's region (Virginia's Midwest Region).

Final Four - Houston, TX

Final Four

The Villanova–Oklahoma result was not only the most one-sided in the tournament so far, but also in the history of the men's Final Four. The Wildcats shot 71.4% for the game, surpassed in Final Four games only by the Wildcats' 78.6% performance in the 1985 final against Georgetown. The 44-point margin was also greater than the combined margin of defeat in Oklahoma's seven previous losses in 2015–16. In addition, the 2016 semifinals were the first since 2008 to both be decided by double-digit margins, and the combined 61-point margin broke a men's Final Four record set in 1949.^[15]

National Championship

See main article: article and 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game.

The Wildcats' Championship run was the 3rd most dominant in NCAA Tournament history, with a total point differential of +124 (breaking the 2009 record set by the North Carolina Tar Heels of +121^[16]), behind the 1996 Kentucky Wildcats (+129) and the 2024 UConn Huskies (+140).

Final Four all-tournament team

• Ryan Arcidiacono (Sr, Villanova) – Final Four Most Outstanding Player^[17]
• Josh Hart (Jr, Villanova)
• Phil Booth (So, Villanova)
• Joel Berry II (So, North Carolina)
• Brice Johnson (Sr, North Carolina)

Tournament notes

America East Conference champion Stony Brook and WAC champion Cal State Bakersfield made their first NCAA Tournament appearances in school history.^{[18] [19]}

Yale made its first NCAA appearance since 1962 as winners of the Ivy League, which, for the final time, did not stage a conference tournament. Of those that do hold a tournament, Horizon League champion Green Bay made its first appearance since 1996 and Oregon State made its first appearance since 1990.

Yale also earned its first Tournament win in school history with a 79–75 win over Baylor. Hawaii likewise earned its first NCAA Tournament win by defeating California 77–66. Arkansas-Little Rock won its first Tournament game in 30 years and Middle Tennessee won its first Tournament game in 27 years.

In the Midwest Region, No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee upset No. 2 seed Michigan State for just the eighth ever win for a No. 15 seed over a No. 2.^[3] More than one-third of ESPN Tournament Challenge brackets predicted Michigan State to make the Final Four.^[20]

In the East Region, No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin upset No. 3 seed West Virginia, marking the fourth straight tournament in which a No. 14 seed upset a No. 3 seed.^[21]

By winning the Midwest Regional final, Syracuse became the first No. 10 seed in history to advance to the Final Four. However, six lower seeds, all No. 11, have advanced to that stage (in 1986, 2006, 2011, 2018, 2021, and 2024.^[22]

Kansas extended its streak of consecutive tournament appearances to 27 in a row, making every NCAA Tournament dating back to 1990.^[23] This tied the record for most consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances held by North Carolina (1975–2001).^[24]

This Tournament marked the first championship for Villanova in 31 years. It was also the first championship by a school without a Division I FBS football team since Connecticut in 1999. Villanova fields a Division I FCS football team, as did UConn before 2002.

Upsets

Per the NCAA, "Upsets are defined as when the winner of the game was seeded five or more places lower than the team it defeated." The 2016 tournament saw a total of 11 upsets; 8 of them were in the first round, 2 of them were in the second round, none in the Sweet Sixteen, and one in the Elite Eight.

Round	South	West	East	Midwest
First round			No. 14 Stephen F. Austin defeated No. 3 West Virginia, 70–56
Second Round	None	None	No. 7 Wisconsin defeated No. 2 Xavier, 66–63	No. 11 Gonzaga defeated No. 3 Utah, 82–59
Sweet 16	None	None	None	None
Elite 8	None	None	None	No. 10 Syracuse defeated No. 1 Virginia, 68–62

Record by conference

Conference	Bids^[25]	Record	Win %	R64	R32	S16	E8	F4	CG	NC
Big East	5	9–4		5	4	1	1	1	1	1
ACC	7	19–7		7	6	6	4	2	1
Big 12	7	9–7		7	3	3	2	1
Pac-12	7	4–7		7	2	1	1
Big Ten	7	8–7		7	4	3
SEC	3	3–3		2	2	1
WCC	1	2–1		1	1	1
Atlantic 10	3	2–3		3	2
Missouri Valley	2	2–2		2	2
American	4	1–4		3	1
Big West	1	1–1		1	1
C-USA	1	1–1		1	1
Ivy League	1	1–1		1	1
Southland	1	1–1		1	1
Sun Belt	1	1–1		1	1
Atlantic Sun	1	1–1		1
Patriot	1	1–1		1

• The R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the round of 64 (first round), round of 32 (second round), Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game, and national champion, respectively.
• The "Record" column includes wins in the First Four for the Big Ten, Missouri Valley, Atlantic Sun, and Patriot conferences and losses in the First Four for the SEC and American conferences.
• The NEC and SWAC each had one representative, both eliminated in the First Four with a record of 0–1.
• The America East, Big Sky, Big South, CAA, Horizon, MAAC, MAC, MEAC, Mountain West, Ohio Valley, Southern, Summit, and WAC conferences each had one representative, eliminated in the first round with a record of 0–1.

Media coverage

Television

CBS Sports and Turner Sports held joint U.S. television broadcast rights to the Tournament under the NCAA March Madness brand. Beginning in 2016, rights to the Final Four and championship game began to alternate between Turner and CBS, with Turner networks broadcasting the 2016 Final Four and championship; a conventional telecast aired on TBS, accompanied by "Team Stream" broadcasts on TNT and TruTV which featured commentary and coverage focused on each participating team. Turner employed this multi-channel presentation of the semifinals in 2014 and 2015, but this was the first time it was used for the final.^[26] It marked the first time in tournament history that the national championship game aired on cable channels, and ended CBS' streak of broadcasting 34 consecutive National Championship games.^{[27] [28]} However, Turner allowed the tournament's closing theme, One Shining Moment, to be played for the 30th year in a row. To date, the song is still played in this manner, no matter which network airs the National Championship game.

For 2016, the selection show on CBS was expanded into a two-hour broadcast—a move which proved unpopular with viewers due to the decreased speed at which the participating teams were unveiled. These issues were exacerbated by a leak of the full bracket shortly into the broadcast, which spread on Twitter. Although ratings for the selection show had steadily decreased over the past four years, the 3.7 overnight rating for the broadcast was the lowest in 20 years.^{[29] [30]} CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus admitted that the extended special was a failure, stating that "we haven't had any specific discussions but I think we all agree it would serve all of us well including the fan to release the brackets in a little more timely manner".^[31]

Studio hosts

• Greg Gumbel (New York City and Houston) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
• Ernie Johnson Jr. (New York City, Atlanta, and Houston) – First round, second round, Regional Semi-Finals, Final Four and National Championship Game
• Matt Winer (Atlanta) – First Four, First Round and Second Round

Studio analysts

• Charles Barkley (New York City and Houston) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
• Swin Cash (Atlanta) – First Four
• Seth Davis (Atlanta and Houston) – First Four, first round, second round, Regional Semi-Finals, Final Four and National Championship Game
• Johnny Dawkins (New York City) – Second Round
• Doug Gottlieb (New York City) – Regionals
• Ron Hunter (Atlanta) – First round
• Clark Kellogg (New York City and Houston) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
• Reggie Miller (Houston) – Final Four and National Championship Game
• Kenny Smith (New York City and Houston) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
• Steve Smith (Houston) – Final Four and National Championship Game
• Kevin Stallings (Atlanta) – Second Round
• Wally Szczerbiak (Atlanta) – First Four, first round, second round and Regional Semi-Finals
• Buzz Williams (Atlanta) – Regional Semi-Finals

Commentary teams

• Jim Nantz/Bill Raftery/Grant Hill/Tracy Wolfson/Craig Sager – First and Second Rounds at Des Moines, Iowa; South Regional at Louisville, Kentucky; Final Four and National Championship at Houston
  • Sager joined Nantz, Raftery, Hill, and Wolfson for the Championship Game to interview Michael Jordan
• Brian Anderson/Steve Smith/Dana Jacobson – First and Second Rounds at St. Louis, Missouri; East Regional at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Verne Lundquist/Jim Spanarkel/Allie LaForce – First and Second Rounds at Brooklyn, New York; West Regional at Anaheim, California
• Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Dan Bonner/Lewis Johnson – First and Second Rounds at Raleigh, North Carolina; Midwest Regional at Chicago
• Ian Eagle/Chris Webber/Len Elmore/Evan Washburn – First and Second Rounds at Providence, Rhode Island
• Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb/Rosalyn Gold-Onwude – First and Second Rounds at Spokane, Washington
• Andrew Catalon/Steve Lappas/Jamie Erdahl – First Four at Dayton, Ohio (Tuesday); First and Second Rounds at Denver, Colorado
• Carter Blackburn/Mike Gminski/Jaime Maggio – First Four at Dayton, Ohio (Wednesday); First and Second Rounds at Oklahoma City.

Team Stream broadcasts

Final Four

• Chad McKee/Eduardo Nájera/Jessica Coody – Oklahoma Team Stream on TNT
• Scott Graham/Brian Finneran/Kacie McDonnell – Villanova Team Stream on truTV
• Wes Durham/Brendan Haywood/Dwayne Ballen – North Carolina Team Stream on TNT
• Tom Werme/Roosevelt Bouie/Donovan McNabb – Syracuse Team Stream on truTV

National Championship Game

• Wes Durham/Brendan Haywood/Dwayne Ballen – North Carolina Team Stream on TNT
• Scott Graham/Brian Finneran/Kacie McDonnell – Villanova Team Stream on truTV

Radio

Westwood One had exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.^[32]

First Four

• Craig Way and Kevin Grevey – at Dayton, Ohio

First and Second rounds

• Scott Graham and Donny Marshall – Providence, Rhode Island
• Brandon Gaudin and Mike Montgomery – Des Moines, Iowa
• John Sadak and Eric Montross/John Thompson – Raleigh, North Carolina (Montross – Thursday afternoon; Thompson – Thursday night & Saturday)
• Kevin Kugler and Jim Jackson – Denver, Colorado
• Chris Carrino and Kelly Tripucka – Brooklyn, New York City, New York
• Wayne Larrivee and Will Perdue – St. Louis, Missouri
• Tom McCarthy and P. J. Carlesimo – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Kevin Calabro and Dan Dickau – Spokane, Washington

Regionals

• Tom McCarthy and John Thompson – East Regional at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Gary Cohen and Jim Jackson – Midwest Regional at Chicago, Illinois
• Ian Eagle and P. J. Carlesimo – South Regional at Louisville, Kentucky
• Kevin Kugler and Donny Marshall – West Regional at Anaheim, California

Final Four

• Kevin Kugler, John Thompson, Clark Kellogg, and Jim Gray – Houston, Texas

Local radio

Seed	School	Station	Play–by–play	Color analyst	Studio host
South Region
2		WTEL–AM 610 and Villanova IMG Sports Network	Ryan Fannon	Whitey Rigsby	Joe Weil
East Region
1		WCHL–AM 1360 and Tar Heel Sports Network

Internet

The games were streamed on the NCAA March Madness Live website and app, with streams for Turner games also available on the Bleacher Report website and Team Stream app, and CBS games available on the CBS Sports website and app.^[33] Games on TBS were available on Watch TBS app. Games on TNT were made available on Watch TNT app. Games on TruTV were available on Watch TruTV app. Westwood One's radio broadcasts, including a "National Mix" channel consisting of whip-around coverage during the first and second rounds, was available on its website and on the TuneIn app.

The games were also viewable on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Xbox One video game consoles via the PlayStation Vue (PS3/PS4; all games), Sling TV (XB1; TBS, TNT, TruTV games) and TuneIn (Vita/XB1; all games) apps.

See also

• 2016 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 2016 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
• 2016 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 2016 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 2016 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
• 2016 National Invitation Tournament
• 2016 Women's National Invitation Tournament
• 2016 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 2016 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 2016 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 2016 NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 2016 College Basketball Invitational
• 2016 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament
• 2016 Vegas 16 Tournament

Notes

1.The 15 teams that were ineligible, and the reasons for ineligibility:

Academic Progress Rate^[34]

Alcorn State

Central Arkansas

Florida A&M

Stetson

Other NCAA infractions

SMU^[35]

Self-imposed bans

Louisville^[36]

Missouri^[37]

Cal State Northridge^[38]

Pacific^[39]

Southern Miss^[40]

Reclassification^[41]

Abilene Christian

Grand Canyon

Incarnate Word

UMass Lowell

Northern Kentucky

Notes and References

1. Web site: Division I Men's Basketball. NCAA. February 26, 2016.
2. Web site: NCAA Tournament 2016: The best and worst from the wildest day in March Madness history. Mike Rutherford. March 19, 2016. Vox Media. SB Nation. March 28, 2016.
3. Web site: Middle Tennessee State's win over Michigan State is the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history. Mike Rutherford. March 18, 2016. Vox Media. SBNation. March 28, 2016.
4. Web site: Villanova's national championship, Kris Jenkins' heroics product of instant title classic. go.com.
5. Web site: Villanova beating UNC was the greatest NCAA championship game ever, period. April 5, 2016. sportingnews.com.
6. Web site: Villanova-UNC was the best NCAA championship game ever. April 5, 2016. usatoday.com.
7. The Ivy League Adds Men's, Women's Basketball Tournaments Beginning in 2017 . . March 10, 2016 . March 10, 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160311041901/http://ivyleaguesports.com/information/general_releases/2015-16/releases/The_Ivy_League_Adds_Mens-Womens_Basketball_Tournaments_Beginning_in_2017 . March 11, 2016 . mdy-all .
8. Web site: Men's Basketball Selections 101 – Selections. NCAA – The Official Site of the NCAA. April 4, 2016.
9. Web site: 2016 NCAA tournament auto-bids. si.com.
10. Web site: NCAA Tournament 2016: 4 Villanova players named to South Regional All-Tournament Team. March 27, 2016. Philadelphia. March 28, 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160409135352/http://philadelphia.suntimes.com/villanova-wildcats/7/96/277237/ncaa-tournament-2016-4-villanova-players-named-to-south-regional-all-tournament-team. April 9, 2016. mdy-all.
11. Web site: Trio of Oklahoma Sooners Named To West Regional All-Tournament Team. Rich DeCray. March 27, 2016. Crimson And Cream Machine. March 28, 2016.
12. Web site: Brice Johnson makes UNC NCAA tournament history. newsobserver. March 28, 2016.
13. Web site: NCAA College Basketball Box Scores. Chicago Sun-Times. March 28, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160409142951/http://scores.suntimes.com/basketball/ncaab-boxscores.aspx?page=%2Fdata%2Fncaab%2Fresults%2F2015-2016%2Frecap915242.html. April 9, 2016. dead.
14. Web site: Jim Boeheim's halftime fury adds chapter to his legend. March 28, 2016. New York Post. March 28, 2016.
15. Web site: Why the 2016 NCAA Final Four could be the worst ever . Pat . Forde . Pat Forde . . April 3, 2016 . April 4, 2016.
16. Web site: 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament . Database Sports.
17. Web site: Ryan Arcidiacono named Most Outstanding Player of 2016 NCAA Final Four . Syracuse.com . April 4, 2016 . April 5, 2016.
18. Jameel Warney leads Stony Brook toward first NCAA tournament. Molly Geary. February 10, 2016. Sports Illustrated. April 4, 2016.
19. Web site: Cal State Bakersfield wins WAC tournament, beats New Mexico State. Fox Sports. April 4, 2016.
20. Web site: Tournament Challenge: Six perfect brackets left after Middle Tennessee upset. ESPN.com. 2016-03-21.
21. Stephen F. Austin rides stingy defense to upset of West Virginia. Gabriel Baumgaertner. March 18, 2016. Sports Illustrated. April 4, 2016.
22. Web site: Syracuse becomes first No. 10 seed to reach Final Four. Chicago Sun-Times. March 28, 2016.
23. Web site: Kansas kicks off the NCAA tournament Thursday afternoon. 247Sports.com. April 4, 2016.
24. Web site: College Basketball: Longest active NCAA Tournament streaks. NCAA. April 4, 2016.
25. News: 2016 NCAA Tournament: Bids broken down by conferences. CBS Sports. Chip. Patterson. March 14, 2016.
26. Web site: CBS/Turner unveil 2016 NCAA Tournament announcers; Brian Anderson to call Elite Eight. Awful Announcing. March 9, 2016.
27. Web site: CBS Sports, Turner Sports announce programming schedule for 2014, 2015. National Collegiate Athletic Association. May 7, 2013. April 1, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402110948/http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2013-05-07/cbs-sports-turner-sports-announce-programming-schedule-2014. April 2, 2015. dead.
28. Web site: CBS Sports and Turner Sports Announce 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Commentator Team. NCAA. March 9, 2016. March 8, 2016.
29. News: Ratings for CBS's NCAA tournament selection show were almost as bad as show itself. March 14, 2016. The Washington Post.
30. News: NCAA says it's investigating the bracket leak that saved us from the two-hour Selection Sunday show. March 14, 2016. Los Angeles Times.
31. News: CBS and Turner Sports lock down NCAA tournament through 2032. April 12, 2016. The Washington Post. April 12, 2016.
32. Web site: NCAA, Westwood One extend deal. NCAA. February 26, 2016. January 13, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20160309200708/http://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2011-01-13/ncaa-westwood-one-extend-deal. March 9, 2016. dead.
33. Web site: NCAA March Madness Live to Provide Access to the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Across More Platforms Than Ever Before. NCAA. March 8, 2016. March 7, 2016.
34. Web site: Brutlag Hosick. Michelle. Raising the bar. NCAA. February 27, 2016. May 27, 2015.
35. Web site: James. Emily. SMU commits men's basketball and golf violations. NCAA. February 27, 2016. September 29, 2015.
36. Web site: Pemberton. Kim. University Makes Major Announcement on Friday. Louisville Athletics. February 27, 2016. February 5, 2016.
37. Web site: Missouri Athletics. Missouri basketball announces details of NCAA review, self-imposed penalties. NCAA. March 1, 2016. January 13, 2016.
38. Web site: CSUN Men's Basketball Self-Imposes 2016 Post-Season Basketball Ban. CSUN Athletics. March 9, 2016. January 7, 2016.
39. Web site: Athletics Administers Self-Imposed Penalties On Men's Basketball. Pacific Athletics. March 9, 2016. December 17, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151223041318/http://www.pacifictigers.com/sports/m-baskbl/2015-16/releases/20151217qp129x. December 23, 2015. dead.
40. Web site: Norlander. Matt. Southern Miss self-imposes postseason ban for 2nd straight year. CBSSports.com. CBS Interactive. November 8, 2015.
41. Web site: Multidivision and Reclassifying for 2015–16. NCAA. February 27, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160322123835/http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/DI%20MULTIDIVISION%202015-16.pdf. March 22, 2016. dead. mdy-all.

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