Round 1 | Round 2 | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four

The NCAA men's basketball tournament continued Friday, when top-seeded Louisville and North Carolina advance to the Elite Eight and Michigan State knocked off defending champion Kansas.

In Thursday's Sweet 16 action, No. 1 seeds Connecticut and Pittsburgh advanced to this weekend's contests, where they will take on No. 3 Missouri and No. 3 Villanova, respectively.

South

The South region's top four seeds were in action Friday.

In the first game, No. 3 Syracuse took on No. 2 Oklahoma. The Sooners came out strong against the No. 3 seed and held a 39-26 lead at the half. Syracuse played Oklahoma even in the second period, but it was unable to overcome the early deficit. OU clinched an 84-71 lead to advance to the Elite Eight.

In the region's second game, No. 4 Gonzaga faced No. 1 North Carolina. The Tar Heels had no trouble with the Zags, jumping out to an 11-point lead at the half. UNC, which once again had standout Ty Lawson -- who had been suffering from a lingering toe injury -- in the lineup, downed Gonzaga 98-77 to advance to this weekend's fourth round. In the Elite Eight, North Carolina will face Oklahoma for a chance to go to the Final Four.

Friday's Games
No. 2 Oklahoma 84, No. 3 Syracuse 71
No. 1 North Carolina 98, No. 4 Gonzaga 77

Midwest

The lowest remaining seed in the tournament, No. 12 Arizona, was no match for No. 1 Louisville in Friday's third-round action. The Cardinals led early in the game and took a 21-point lead into halftime. Louisville, the overall No. 1 seed in the tournament, built on its lead in the second period to clinch a 103-64 victory.

Friday's second game in the Midwest region featured a close contest between No. 3 Kansas against No. 2 Michigan State. The Jayhawks, last year's champion, led early in the contest and held a seven-point advantage at the half. But the Spartans fought back in the second period as the teams traded the lead late in the game. Michigan State hit their free throws down the stretch to clinch the 67-62 victory.

Friday's Games
No. 1 Louisville 103, No. 12 Arizona 64
No. 2 Michigan State 67, No. 3 Kansas 62

West

No. 1 Connecticut eliminated the lowest-remaining seed in the West region when it defeated No. 5 Purdue 72-60 in the teams' Sweet 16 meeting. With the victory UConn -- which defeated No. 16 Chattanooga and No. 9 Texas A&M in the first two rounds -- advanced to this weekend's Elite Eight.

In the region's second game, No. 3 Missouri took on No. 2 Memphis. The Tigers came out strong against last year's runner up, taking a 13-point lead into halftime. Memphis rebounded in the second half to cut the deficit to single-digits late in the period, but it was unable to overcome Missouri's lead. The No. 3 seed claimed the 102-91 victory to secure a matchup with UConn in the Elite Eight to determine who will advance to the Final Four.

Thursday's Results
No. 1 UConn 72, No. 5 Purdue 60
No. 3 Missouri 102, No. 2 Memphis 91

East

No. 1 Pittsburgh survived a scare in Thursday's Sweet 16 action. The Panthers trailed No. 4 Xavier by eight at the half before outscoring the Musketeers 31-18 in the second half to post a 60-55 victory. With the win, Pitt advances to this weekend's Elite Eight for the first time.

Levance Fields, who scored 13 points in the contest, triggers the Panthers' comeback down the stretch when he made a three-pointer with under a minute left to play to put Pitt ahead 55-54. The No. 1 seed held onto the lead from that point on.

The region's second game Thursday featured No. 3 Villanova against No. 2 Duke. Villanova, who looked strong in its first two outings in the tournament, continued to look sharp en route to defeating the Blue Devils 77-54. Villanova held a slight three-point lead at the half before taking control in the second period to clinch the victory. With the win, Villanova will face Pittsburgh in the next round to determine who will advance to the Final Four.

Thursday's Results
No. 1 Pittsburgh 60, No. 4 Xavier 55
No. 3 Villanova 77, No. 2 Duke 54