Oh, how sweet it is. The first stanza of Sweet 16 basketball delivered the absolute goods. Trey Kaufman-Renn’s putback with less than a second to go propelled Purdue into the Elite Eight with a 79-77 win over Texas, and it came just moments after Iowa used a flurry to walk Nebraska down and send the Huskers home, 77-71, to book a trip to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987.
Illinois and Arizona will join ’em after dispatching Houston and Arkansas, respectively.
That’s four down, four to go.
Let’s dive into winners and losers from Thursday’s slate.
Winner: The Ben McCollum hire for the ages
Once upon a time, Iowa had a legitimate decision to make between Ben McCollum or Darian DeVries to replace Fran McCaffery.
Take a bow, Beth Goetz.Â
McCollum was the A1 target, and McCollum just led No. 9 seed Iowa to the Elite Eight.
Is this real life? This year’s March Madness doesn’t have a Cinderella, but Iowa sure looks like it. This roster could cosplay as a mid-major outfit because it is. Nebraska’s historic season just got felled at the hands of Robert Morris transfer Alvaro Folgueiras, three-star Drake commit Tate Sage and former Division II point guard Bennett Stirtz.
It’s 40 minutes away from a Final Four, and McCollum may need an updated contract on his desk pronto. He’s won 80% of his games for a reason. – Isaac Trotter
Winner: Illinois’ defensive masterclass
Illinois is on the doorstep of its first Final Four since 2005, thanks to an unlikely source. The much-maligned Illinois defense rose to the occasion, holding Houston to just 0.90 points per possession in a 65-55 victory. Illinois coaxed the Coogs’ offense into attempting a jumper on 59 of its 67 shots. That’s a staggering number, even for a Houston club that entered Thursday with a dead-last rim rate among high-major teams. Illinois packed the paint, gobbled up space in the driving lanes and stayed home on elite snipers like Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan. It took Houston nearly 31 minutes to score just 30 points. That type of defense can take Illinois much farther than just the Elite Eight. – Trotter
Loser: Nebraska’s run ends in frustration
Nebraska had never won an NCAA Tournament game before last week, so Cornhuskers fans shouldn’t be too frustrated about a Sweet 16 exit. But the circumstances will irk them. It wasn’t reigning national champion Florida who eliminated Nebraska, which would have been a less frustrating potential outcome had the No. 1 seed Gators had survived the first weekend. Rather, it was Big Ten rival Iowa, who was a No. 9 seed. The Hawkeyes aren’t exactly basketball royalty, and their 2025-26 season didn’t feature nearly the same highs as Nebraska’s. The Cornhuskers reached No. 5 in the AP poll amid a 20-0 start and achieved their best NCAA Tournament seeding since 1991. This team beat the likes of Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan State during the regular season and came within a single victory of reaching the Elite Eight. But its strong defense ran out of steam against the Hawkeyes, leaving the Cornhuskers to stew over the fact that their corn country neighbor is dancing on with a 2-1 edge in the season series. – David Cobb
Loser: Texas on the wrong side of heartbreakÂ
Texas was the lone double-digit seed in the Sweet 16 and was just seconds away from potentially sending the game to overtime. However, what hurt Texas was allowing second-chance opportunities. In total, Purdue outscored Texas 22-12 in second-chance opportunities. None was more important — and will hurt more — than the final possession when Purdue star Trey Kaufman-Renn tipped in a missed shot with 0.7 seconds left in the 79-77 win over the Longhorns. Texas had an incredible run from the First Four to the Sweet 16, but time ran out on the No. 11 seed in the West Region. — Cameron Salerno
Winner: Purdue’s veterans show their savvy
Texas’ strategic decision to deploy a small-ball lineup for the final possession played right into the hands of a veteran Purdue team that read the situation perfectly. The Longhorns benched seven-footer Matas Vokietaitis for the play, which meant Kaufman-Renn was the biggest player on the floor.
The Longhorns intended to protect against Vokietaitis getting switched onto a smaller, quicker guard on the perimeter. But in the process, they left themselves vulnerable down low. At that point, Purdue point guard Braden Smith’s primary objective was just to get a shot onto the rim. If it happened to go in, great. If not, Smith knew his four-year running mate Kaufman-Renn would be there for a chance at a putback.Â
That’s exactly how it worked out. Between Smith, Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer, Purdue’s three-man class of internally developed seniors combined for 54 points while advancing to their second Elite Eight.  – Cobb
Loser: Darius Acuff Jr. sees his college career likely end, and John Calipari’s frontcourt whiff looms large
Arkansas star Darius Acuff Jr. saw his college career likely come to a close with a 109-88 lloss against Arizona. Acuff, a projected top 10 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, finished with 28 points against a tough and physical Arizona defense. Acuff put up one of the best offensive seasons by a guard in the last decade and will likely go down as one of the best first-year players to play for coach John Calipari. Acuff scored 60 points during his first two NCAA Tournament games, the most by a freshman ever.
Acuff’s season is ending prematurely largely because Arizona’s front-line went beast mode on the Hogs. Calipari went all-in on Malique Ewin and Nick Pringle last spring. Those two guys had absolutely no answers for Arizona all night long. Arkansas was one difference-making defensive center away from potentially being Final Four good. It just ran into an Arizona buzzsaw that could eviscerate its biggest Achilles heel. – Salerno and Trotter
Winner: Arizona bullies Arkansas into submission
Arizona bullied Arkansas with a relentless physical barrage that made the Razorbacks look like a lower-tier SoCon or Big South team instead of an SEC power. The Wildcats shot a blistering 63.8% from the field with the majority of that work coming inside the arc and at the free-throw line. The only reason Arkansas owned a 9-6 edge in offensive rebounds was because Arizona missed so infrequently that it didn’t have offensive rebounding opportunities. Arkansas may have had a bigger star in Acuff. But there was no doubt who had the better team. The Wildcats look like the best team in college basketball as they dance onward to face No. 2 seed Purdue for a spot in the Final Four. They also have a star freshman guard of their own in Brayden Burries, who led the Wildcats with 23 points on 7 of 11 shooting. – Cobb
Loser: Houston faces major questions heading into the offseason
After losing in the national title game last year, Houston brought a majority of its production back this season. This was supposed to be the year that Kelvin Sampson returned to the Final Four. Now, Houston faces major roster question marks heading into the offseason. Milos Uzan and Emanuel Sharp are out of eligibility. Kingston Flemings is a projected top 10 pick in the NBA Draft. And Chris Cenac and Joseph Tugler could also declare for the draft. The Cougars had a clear path to the Final Four in their backyard. This will go down as a missed opportunity for Sampson’s team. — Salerno
Winner: Jordan Pope’s toughness
Texas guard Jordan Pope revealed in the postgame scrum that he was playing on a broken foot against Purdue. Pope’s availability was very much in doubt in the lead-up to this one, but he played, started and delivered four treys in his last collegiate game. – Trotter
