2026 March Madness Round of 32 wraps up Sunday with Kansas vs. St. John's headlining

The 2026 NCAA Tournament's Round of 32 concludes on Sunday, March 22, with the day's marquee game pitting No. 4 Kansas against No. 5 St. John's at 5:15 PM ET in San Diego on CBS. The Sweet Sixteen field will be fully set by Sunday evening, and the bracket has already been reshaped considerably by the second round's results. Texas knocked out Gonzaga. Michigan State advanced for the second consecutive year. Several other high seeds have been eliminated ahead of schedule, and whoever survives Sunday's slate will carry genuine momentum into next week.

Sunday's schedule includes eight games spread across CBS and TBS, with tip-off times running from noon to approximately 10 PM ET. The Kansas-St. John's matchup is the most-watched game of the day based on TV placement and the programs involved. Kansas is a perennial tournament presence under Bill Self, who has now coached 21 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances at the program. St. John's is making their fourth tournament appearance in five years under Rick Pitino, who rebuilt the Red Storm into a consistent Big East contender after taking over in 2023.

Kansas vs. St. John's: what each team brings

Kansas enters Sunday having handled their first-round opponent with relative comfort, winning by 14 against a 13-seed. Their offense ranks 11th nationally in adjusted efficiency according to KenPom's 2026 data, built around senior guard Shakeel Brown, who is averaging 21.3 points per game in tournament play so far. Brown is one of the more decorated players remaining in the bracket, a two-time All-Big 12 selection who chose to return for his senior season specifically for a tournament run.

St. John's counters with one of the best defensive teams left in the tournament. The Red Storm allowed fewer than 65 points per game during the regular season and rank 8th nationally in opponents' three-point percentage allowed at 28.9%. Pitino's teams tend to execute in the half-court with patience that younger opponents find disruptive, and St. John's has the size in their frontcourt, particularly center Idan Tretout, to challenge Kansas's interior offense.

Michigan State's return to back-to-back Sweet Sixteens

Michigan State advanced Saturday, reaching the Sweet Sixteen for the second consecutive year for the first time since the 2014 and 2015 seasons, when the Spartans made consecutive Final Four appearances under Tom Izzo. Izzo, now in his 31st season at Michigan State, has taken the Spartans back to national relevance after a stretch from 2020 to 2023 that produced two first-round exits and one second-round loss. Their second-round win this weekend was by seven points over a six-seed that had upset the three-seed in the first round, which means the Spartans beat a team that was already playing with confidence.

Michigan State will face No. 1 seed Florida in the Sweet Sixteen, a matchup that projects as one of the more interesting games of next week's regional rounds. Florida entered this tournament ranked second nationally in scoring defense at 59.4 points allowed per game, and their adjusted defensive efficiency rating at KenPom was the highest among all one-seeds. Michigan State's half-court offense, which emphasizes post play and deliberate ball movement, will be tested against a Florida team that has not allowed more than 68 points in any game since January 11.

The Texas-Gonzaga upset and what it means for the West region

Texas's win over Gonzaga on Saturday removed one of the bracket's most dangerous three-seeds and opened the West region considerably. Gonzaga had been projected by multiple models as a Final Four contender before the tournament began. With them out, the path through the West region for Texas looks considerably more manageable than it would have against the Bulldogs in the Sweet Sixteen. Texas now faces the winner of the Creighton-Vermont game, which will be decided Sunday afternoon in that region's other second-round matchup.

Vermont has been the tournament's most surprising surviving low seed. The Catamounts, seeded 14th, defeated No. 3 seed Creighton by four points on Friday in one of the weekend's other notable upsets. If Vermont holds on in any continuation game, the West region could have three double-digit seeds in the Sweet Sixteen, a scenario that would make predicting that bracket's final outcome nearly impossible based on historical base rates.

Sunday's full schedule and what to watch for

Beyond Kansas and St. John's, Sunday includes Auburn against a double-digit seed opponent in the early afternoon window and Arizona attempting to fend off a dangerous mid-major in the late TBS slot. Auburn's path has been the most dominant of any one-seed through the first two rounds, winning both games by double digits and limiting opponents to an average of 56 points. Arizona, the two-seed in their region, has been less convincing, winning their first-round game by just four points against a team that shot poorly from three in the second half.

By 10:30 PM ET Sunday, the full 16-team Sweet Sixteen field will be set. Regional games begin Thursday, March 26, with all four regionals playing over Thursday and Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, State Farm Arena in Atlanta, and Chase Center in San Francisco.