NCAA® Men's Elite 8® Preview: What to Watch With Sling TV

This year's Elite 8® on Sling features a heavy favorite and surprising underdogs. Here's a preview along with the schedule on Sling.

After an opening weekend to the NCAA® Men’s College Basketball Tournament that was heavy on favorites, the first batch of Sweet 16 ® games saw a number of upsets. First up, #4 Alabama took down the top-seeded UNC Tar Heels in a nail-biter. That was followed by #6 Clemson taking out the last remaining Pac-12 team, #2 Arizona. The nightcap saw #2 Iowa State go down in defeat to #3 Illinois. Sure, defending champs #1 UConn absolutely rolled the San Diego State Aztecs (yet again) 82-52, but to those whose brackets leaned chalk, the Sweet 16 is already far more bitter than the previous rounds.

Although there are two more Sweet 16 games airing on Sling on Friday, March 29, we already know the schedule for the Elite 8 games airing on TBS on Saturday, March 30. The other two Sweet 16 games and Sunday’s Elite 8 matchups will air on CBS, which Sling does not carry (to stream those, subscribe to Paramount+). With that in mind, here’s the NCAA Men’s schedule, followed by a preview of the Elite 8 games on Sing. To watch both the men’s and women’s tournaments with Sling, use the link below to subscribe to Sling Orange with TBS and ESPN/ ABC (simulcast on Sling with ESPN3).

https://main--sling--aemsites.aem.page/aemedge/fragments/try-sling-orange

2024 NCAA® Men's March Madness®

Subscribe to Sling Orange to watch the most games with Sling!

#3 Illinois vs. #1 UConn - 6:00pm ET, TBS

After a Cinderella run last season that saw the Aztecs advance to their first-ever national championship game, San Diego State was blown out by UConn in the final. SDSU was no doubt hoping for a rematch and a shot at redemption; instead, it was more humiliation, as their 30-point loss to the Huskies was the worst blowout in the Sweet 16 since Kansas beat Purdue by 32-points in 2017.

This is no slight to San Diego State. Instead, it’s a reflection of just how dominant this year’s UConn team has been. The Huskies have won by 39, 17, and 30 points in the first three rounds and have now won nine straight NCAA Tournament games by double-digits. Cam Spencer paced the team with 18 points, followed by Tristen Newton with 17, and Stephon Castle pitching in 16 points and 11 boards.

Next up for UConn is the Fighting Illini, who forced nine turnovers in their upset over #2 Iowa State. Illinois was led by Terrence Shannon Jr., who scored 29 points, including 20 in the first half alone. Facing the top-ranked defense in the country, Illinois held the Cyclones to just 39% shooting in the game. They put the game away thanks to a turnover and clutch free throw shooting in the inal minute. To advance to their first Final Four ® since 2005, the Fighting Illini will need to live up to their nickname and play even better defense against the Huskies. Good luck with that.

#6 Clemson vs. #4 Alabama - 8:45pm ET, TBS

Clemson and Alabama are mostly thought of as elite football schools, but for the first time ever, one of them will play in a Final Four. Alabama has opened as a slight favorite (-2.5 against the spread) and their gritty win over #1-seed North Carolina was as impressive as we’ve seen in the tournament thus far. Grant Nelson’s “and-1” free throw with 38 seconds left gave ‘Bama a 2 point lead, and he followed that with his fifth block of the night, this one against Tar Heels star RJ Davis. Nelson then hit two free throws for his team-leading (and season-high) 24th point of the game, sealing the win.

The Crimson Tide now move on to face a Clemson team that led most of the way against Arizona in their Sweet 16 matchup. Chase Hunter led the way for the Tigers, finishing with 18 points, including a crucial three-point play that put the game away with just over 25-seconds remaining. Clemson has held all three of their tournament opponents under 40% shooting, and they’ve been particularly effective defending the 3-point line, where Arizona made just 5-of-28 shots. After knocking out bluebloods UNC and Arizona, Saturday’s Clemson-Alabama showdown feels a bit like a changing of the guard.