Mar 20, 2026, 11:45 AM ET
The first day of the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament set a high bar.
The 11-seeded VCU Rams and 12-seeded High Point Panthers delivered the first upsets of March Madness. AJ Dybantsa scored the most points (35) by a freshman in an NCAA tournament debut in BYU’s loss to Texas. And more points rained in with Michigan, Illinois and Saint Louis each eclipsing the 100-point mark Thursday.
The action doesn’t slow down with 16 more first-round games Friday (all times Eastern):
-
(10) Santa Clara vs. (7) Kentucky: 12:15 p.m.
-
(12) Akron vs. (5) Texas Tech: 12:40 p.m.
-
(16) Long Island vs. (1) Arizona: 1:35 p.m.
-
(14) Wright State vs. (3) Virginia: 1:50 p.m.
-
(15) Tennessee State vs. (2) Iowa State: 2:50 p.m.
-
(13) Hofstra vs. (4) Alabama: 3:15 p.m.
-
(9) Utah State vs. (8) Villanova: 4:10 p.m.
-
(11) Miami (Ohio) vs. (6) Tennessee: 4:25 p.m.
-
(9) Iowa vs. (8) Clemson: 6:50 p.m.
-
(12) Northern Iowa vs. (5) St. John’s: 7:10 p.m.
-
(10) UCF vs. (7) UCLA: 7:25 p.m.
-
(15) Queens vs. (2) Purdue: 7:35 p.m.
-
(16) Prairie View A&M vs. (1) Florida: 9:25 p.m.
-
(13) California Baptist vs. (4) Kansas: 9:45 p.m.
-
(15) Furman vs. (2) UConn: 10 p.m.
-
(10) Missouri vs. (7) Miami: 10:10 p.m.
ESPN’s reporters are on-site across the country, tracking the biggest highlights in real time.
