Men's NCAA Tournament winners, losers: UConn, Duke set for Elite Eight matchup

The Elite Eight for the 2026 men's basketball tournament is officially set with Friday's Sweet 16 games in the books. It was another big day for No. 1 seeds, while two of the most successful programs in college basketball will meet on Sunday with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

Let's take a look at some of the winners and losers from Friday's Sweet 16 games.

Winner: No. 1 seeds

Even with defending national champion Florida losing in the round of 32, it has still been a great tournament for the top seeds. That continued on Friday with No. 1 seeds Duke and Michigan advancing to the Elite Eight. Combined with Arizona's convincing win on Thursday, that is three of the four No. 1 seeds advancing through to the Elite Eight. That is a lot of chalk for this tournament. 

Loser: St. John's run

Rick Pitino has turned St. John's back into a nationally relevant team, and as long as he is there, you have to figure they will be a regular at this stage of the tournament. 

They just need to find a way to get over the hump and break through to the level of the truly elite.

Friday's loss was especially frustrating because they shot incredibly well from the field, making 45% of their field goal attempts, including 41% from 3-point range.

Despite a strong defensive first half, they just struggled to slow down Duke and hold onto the double-digit lead they had built. 

Winner: Caleb Foster's return

One of the biggest reasons Duke was able to overcome that deficit was the play of guard Caleb Foster. Foster was not even supposed to be available in the tournament after undergoing surgery less than three weeks ago. 

But he returned on Friday, played 19 minutes, scored 11 points, and brought some much-needed energy, experience and leadership to Duke's rotation. 

Loser: Nate Oats excuse-making

Alabama was out-rebounded 46-32, and head coach Nate Oats thinks he knows why: It was because big man Charles Bediako was ruled ineligible after trying to return to Alabama following a three-year run in the NBA's G-League.