What Is Sweet 16 In Basketball?

The Sweet 16 in basketball refers to the round of the final 16 teams remaining in the NCAA's men's and women's college basketball tournaments. Teams that reach the Sweet 16 are three wins away from the championship game. But just reaching the Sweet 16 is an accomplishment for any team, because that squad would have had to beat at least two other top teams to get that far.

Sweet 16 on the Schedule

Changes to the number of teams that qualify for the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments have added more teams through the years, but the round of Sweet 16 still starts on the second full weekend of the tournament. The winners of the Sweet 16 games, usually on the Thursday and Friday of the second weekend, advance to the round of the Elite Eight, which is played on the Saturday and Sunday of that weekend. The winners of the Elite Eight games reach the Final Four round, which includes the semi-finals and the finals to determine the NCAA basketball champion of that season.

Tournament Structure

Both the men's and women's tournaments are set up in geographical regions, usually the West, Midwest, South and East. An NCAA selection committee places all the teams that are selected for the tournament into these various regions. For many years, there were 64 teams selected, which meant 16 teams were seeded in each region, meaning the number one-ranked team would play the 16th ranked team in that region, the second-ranked would play the 15th ranked and so on. In 2011, the tournament was expanded to 68 teams, meaning a round of games is played before the regions finalize their 16 teams. After the 16 teams in each region play, the eight remaining teams play a couple of days later, and the remaining four teams from each region comprise the Sweet 16.

History of the Phrase

The phrase "Sweet 16" for basketball is believed to have been first coined in reference to the Kentucky Boys Basketball State Tournament. In 1932, Kentucky switched from an 18-region tournament to a 16-region tournament, and the phrase "Sweet 16" was used to describe the statewide event. The Kentucky High School Athletic Association actually trademarked the phrase in 1988, and when the NCAA wanted to start using it to promote the tournament, it had to pay a fee to the KHSAA. Other organizations have used it, too, also paying fees to the KHSAA.

Accomplishments

Usually by the Sweet 16 round, the best teams in the tournament have established themselves and most of the lowest-seeded teams have been eliminated. As of 2011, only two men's teams seeded 14th in their region have advanced to the Sweet 16. They were the Cleveland State Vikings in 1986 and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Mocs in 1997. As of 2011, no team seeded 15 or 16 had reached the Sweet 16.