The NCAA tournament is in full swing with expected wins and some the most unexpected upset ever in the first round. The second round has just begun with more surprises to be had, but we’re already thinking about this coming week. That’s when the sixteen teams that will compose what is commonly known as college basketball’s “Sweet 16” or officially, the NCAA Regional Semi-Finals.
No “Sweet Sixteen” isn’t referring to a teenager’s 16th birthday, but the eight games in this part of the bracket that will feature a mix of 16 teams vying for one of the eight spots in the next round — the Elite Eight. With that, we’ve created a pretty-sweet Sweet 16 bracket (if we may say so ourselves) that’s blank and ready to download, print and do whatever your heart desires.
At this point, we don’t know how things will turn out after the second round cuts the field in half – like Thanos halving the numbers of humanity — from that round. We do know that if the past is any indication, this year’s tournament Sweet Sixteen will feature many teams that have won NCAA championships in the past, as well as coaches that have helmed teams to the Final Four. If you’re here looking for a Sweet 16 bracket, we assume you may not have selected your teams yet, so keep those two little “experience matters” tidbits in mind. In any case, we’ve provided a blank bracket for you.
The Sweet 16 Bracket and Schedule
Though we’re not sure who will be playing, we do know where and when the Sweet 16 will be played. Here’s when and where the Sweet Sixteen bracket will play out in the 2018 NCAA tournament.
| Day | Date | Regional | Arena | City | State | Host |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Mar 22 | South | Philips Arena | Atlanta | Georgia | Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Thursday | Mar 22 | West | Staples Center | Los Angeles | California | Pepperdine University |
| Friday | Mar 23 | East | TD Garden | Boston | Massachusetts | Boston College |
| Friday | Mar 23 | Midwest | CenturyLink Center | Omaha | Nebraska | Creighton University |
NCAA March Madness Schedule from Sweet 16 on:
Here’s a quick look at the remaining NCAA tournament schedule from the regional semifinal rounds all the way to the championship game on April 2nd.
| Round | Where | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Sweet 16 West | Los Angeles | March 22 |
| Sweet 16 South | Atlanta | March 22 |
| Sweet 16 Midwest | Omaha Neb. | March 23 |
| Sweet 16 East | Boston | March 23 |
| Elite Eight West | Los Angeles | March 24 |
| Elite Eight South | Atlanta | March 24 |
| Elite Eight Midwest | Omaha Neb. | March 25 |
| Elite Eight East | Boston | March 25 |
| Final Four | San Antonio | March 31 |
| NCAA championship | San Antonio | April 2 |
It’s amazing to think about all the close games, celebrations, upsets and heartbreak that got us to the Sweet Sixteen teams that remain. It must feel great to be one of those programs; knowing that more than 75% of teams have been eliminated and you are one of the cream of the crop whether it was by defeating last year’s champion, taking down a #1 seed, hitting an off-balance jumper you practiced all your life, or by hitting a desperation three from 30 feet away. This tournament, like the ones before it, has been memorable in it’s own right.
Your Printable Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament Bracket
Looking over the internet, there weren’t many brackets that were created specifically for the Sweet 16 — just larger brackets that included the first and second rounds. Additionally, the brackets that were available weren’t that great. Because of that dearth of NCAA brackets for that popular and famous Sweet Sixteen round, we created a couple different versions that were blank and easily-printable for the 2018 NCAA Tournament. The Sweet 16 bracket offerings are available in several formats including Microsoft Word, PDF bracket or in the high-res image you see below.
The great thing about this bracket is that there’s nothing on it that marks it up; no year to make it time-specific and no brackets are populated. We did add some general logos to the bracket, but they won’t stop you from using our Sweet 16 bracket for 2018, 2019 and years to come. We’ve also included a 16-team bracket without any of the logos or branding, so you can use that for your eight game, single elimination tournaments below:
For a blank and printable Elite Eight bracket, go here. You are so obsessed and crazed and mad about all this.
