The second round of the Madness is here! After two thrilling days of big wins, close calls and star performances, the round of 32 gets going Sunday with 16 teams vying to make it to the Sweet 16.
Will Duke put on another defensive clinic? Can Washington — or anyone — stop Olivia Miles? Before the games tip off, our ESPN college basketball analysts have you covered with a key to winning the game for every team.
Make sure to come back as the games get underway for live updates from the second round.
Jump to: Sunday game previews
6 p.m. ET, ESPN
How the Ducks can advance to the Sweet 16: The Ducks, who beat Maryland in the second round of the Big Ten tournament, have now won three of their past four games, their best streak since winning four in a row in late January. When Oregon beat Maryland in Indianapolis, Michigan was up next — and the Wolverines handed the Ducks a 22-point loss. Oregon’s likely next opponent, Texas, offers an even bigger challenge.
This was also the 23rd win of the season for the Ducks, making this their most successful campaign since Sabrina Ionescu’s senior year in 2020, when the NCAA tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. — Creme
How the Longhorns can advance to the Sweet 16: The Longhorns, who have made it to at least the Elite Eight four of the past five years, face No. 8 seed Oregon in the second round. The Ducks beat Virginia Tech 70-60 in the first round. You can be sure Texas coach Vic Schaefer is focusing on a defensive game plan to limit Oregon standout guard Katie Fiso, who had 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting against the Hokies. — Voepel
8 p.m. ET, ESPN
How the Spartans can advance to the Sweet 16: Against Oklahoma, the Spartans will have to deal with the home crowd and one of the best point guards in the game in freshman Aaliyah Chavez — not to mention one of the most dominant centers in Raegan Beers. The Spartans need to knock down some 3-pointers to help stretch the floor and open the court up for Grace VanSlooten down low. Michigan State’s guard-heavy lineup has been here before and is more experienced, which could be an X factor against Chavez. — ESPN
How the Sooners can advance to the Sweet 16: Keep doing what they’re doing. Oklahoma was effective in the frontcourt and backcourt, shot 51% from the field and had four players in double-digit scoring. As impressive as Beers and Sahara Williams were, it’s perhaps most notable that Chavez — making her NCAA tournament debut — had zero turnovers in 31 minutes. — ESPN
10 p.m. ET, ESPN
How the Huskies can advance to the Sweet 16: This was Washington’s first tournament win since 2017, the year the Huskies made it to the Sweet 16 behind Kelsey Plum’s 30 points per game. Washington will face No. 3 seed TCU — and triple-double threat Olivia Miles — in the second round. The Huskies cannot fall into an early hole like they did against South Dakota State. Washington must make sure its defense is clicking early. — Andrews
How the Horned Frogs can advance to the Sweet 16: After the Horned Frogs scored just 53 points in the Big 12 tournament championship game against West Virginia, they scored 48 in the first half against UC San Diego, erasing the memory of their second-lowest offensive output of the season. The Tritons are certainly not the Mountaineers, but an offensive game like this helps restore TCU’s confidence. The pick-and-roll offense looked sharp again with the Horned Frogs registering 23 assists on their 32 field goals. The 13 3-pointers on 26 attempts were also the most for TCU since early December. Having that shooting stroke against either Georgia or South Dakota State in the second round will be important. — Creme
