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. 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; 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. 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 (first appearance since 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. Pundits called the game one of the best in tournament history, going on to say this was one of the most competitive finals ever.

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. 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.

Automatic qualifiers The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2016 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's automatic bid: ConferenceTeamAppearanceLast bidACCNorth Carolina47th2015America EastStony Brook1stNeverAtlantic 10Saint Joseph's21st2014AmericanUConn33rd2014Atlantic SunFlorida Gulf Coast2nd2013Big 12Kansas45th2015Big EastSeton Hall10th2006Big SkyWeber State16th2014Big SouthUNC Asheville4th2012Big TenMichigan State30th2015Big WestHawaii5th2002CAAUNC Wilmington5th2006C-USAMiddle Tennessee8th2013HorizonGreen Bay5th1996Ivy LeagueYale4th1962MAACIona11th2013MACBuffalo2nd2015MEACHampton6th2015Missouri ValleyNorthern Iowa8th2015Mountain WestFresno State6th2001NECFairleigh Dickinson5th2005Ohio ValleyAustin Peay6th2008Pac-12Oregon14th2015PatriotHoly Cross13th2007SECKentucky56th2015SouthernChattanooga11th2009SouthlandStephen F. Austin4th2015SWACSouthern9th2013Summit LeagueSouth Dakota State3rd2013Sun BeltLittle Rock5th2011WCCGonzaga19th2015WACCal State Bakersfield1stNever

Tournament seeds +South Regional – KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, KentuckySeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall SeedBerth typeLast bid1KansasBig 1230–41Auto20152VillanovaBig East29–57At-large20153Miami (FL)ACC25–710At-large20134CaliforniaPac-1223–1014At-large20135MarylandBig Ten25–819At-large20156ArizonaPac-1225–823At-large20157IowaBig Ten21–1027At-large20158ColoradoPac-1222–1130At-large20149UConnAmerican24–1036Auto201410TempleAmerican21–1138At-large201311*VanderbiltSEC19–1341At-large2012Wichita StateMissouri Valley24–843At-large201512South Dakota StateSummit League26–750Auto201313HawaiiBig West27–552Auto200214BuffaloMAC20–1456Auto201515UNC AshevilleBig South22–1161Auto201216Austin PeayOhio Valley18–1763Auto2008+West Regional – Honda Center, Anaheim, CaliforniaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall SeedBerth typeLast bid1OregonPac-1228–64Auto20152OklahomaBig 1225–76At-large20153Texas A&MSEC26–812At-large20114DukeACC23–1013At-large20155BaylorBig 1222–1120At-large20156TexasBig 1220–1221At-large20157Oregon StatePac-1219–1228At-large19908Saint Joseph'sAtlantic 1027–732Auto20149CincinnatiAmerican22–1035At-large201510VCUAtlantic 1024–1040At-large201511Northern IowaMissouri Valley22–1246Auto201512YaleIvy League22–649Auto196213UNC WilmingtonCAA25–751Auto200614Green BayHorizon23–1255Auto199615Cal State BakersfieldWAC24–860AutoNever16*Holy CrossPatriot14–1968Auto2007SouthernSWAC22–1267Auto2013+East Regional – Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall SeedBerth typeLast bid1North CarolinaACC28–62Auto20152XavierBig East27–58At-large20153West VirginiaBig 1226–89At-large20154KentuckySEC26–815Auto20155IndianaBig Ten25–717At-large20156Notre DameACC21–1122At-large20157WisconsinBig Ten20–1225At-large20158USCPac-1221–1231At-large20119ProvidenceBig East23–1033At-large201510PittsburghACC21–1137At-large201411*MichiganBig Ten22–1242At-large2014TulsaAmerican20–1145At-large201412ChattanoogaSouthern29–547Auto200913Stony BrookAmerica East26–653AutoNever14Stephen F. AustinSouthland27–558Auto201515Weber StateBig Sky26–862Auto201416*Florida Gulf CoastAtlantic Sun20–1365Auto2013Fairleigh DickinsonNEC18–1466Auto2005+Midwest Regional – United Center, Chicago, IllinoisSeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall SeedBerth typeLast bid1VirginiaACC26–73At-large20152Michigan StateBig Ten29–55Auto20153UtahPac-1226–811At-large20154Iowa StateBig 1221–1116At-large20155PurdueBig Ten26–818At-large20156Seton HallBig East25–824Auto20067DaytonAtlantic 1025–726At-large20158Texas TechBig 1219–1229At-large20079ButlerBig East21–1034At-large201510SyracuseACC19–1339At-large201411GonzagaWCC26–744Auto201512Little RockSun Belt29–448Auto201113IonaMAAC22–1054Auto201314Fresno StateMountain West25–957Auto200115Middle TennesseeC-USA24–959Auto201316HamptonMEAC21–1064Auto2015

*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 Final

South Regional all tournament team Kris Jenkins (Jr, Villanova) – South Regional most outstanding player Ryan Arcidiacono (Sr, Villanova) Josh Hart (Jr, Villanova) Daniel Ochefu (Sr, Villanova) Devonte' Graham (So, Kansas)

West Regional – Anaheim, California

West Regional Final

West Regional all tournament team Buddy Hield (Sr, Oklahoma) – West Regional most outstanding player Isaiah Cousins (Sr, Oklahoma) Jordan Woodard (Jr, Oklahoma) Elgin Cook (Sr, Oregon) Brandon Ingram (Fr, Duke)

East Regional – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

East Regional Final

East Regional all tournament team Brice Johnson (Sr, North Carolina) – East Regional most outstanding player Marcus Paige (Sr, North Carolina) V. J. Beachem (Jr, Notre Dame) Demetrius Jackson (Jr, Notre Dame) Yogi Ferrell (Sr, Indiana)

Midwest Regional – Chicago, Illinois

Midwest Regional Final

Midwest Regional all tournament team

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

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 - NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas

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.

National Championship

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), 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 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.

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.