Arkansas heard over and over that it had no chance to beat top-seeded Gonzaga, the favorite to win the NCAA Tournament.

Any game between Villanova and Michigan, two college basketball bluebloods, is likely to be a slugfest. But with the stakes raised in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 on Thursday, it came down to the simplest of factors -- making shots, keeping the opponent's best player from playing his best, and never stopping fighting.

Duke has reached the midway point of its goal to win the national championship in Mike Krzyzewski's final season as coach.

If winning college basketball is about learning and adjusting and then executing, fifth-seeded Houston did more than ace its test against top-seeded Arizona in the teams' NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 heavyweight battle on Thursday in San Antonio -- it earned its way onto the honor roll.