The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 Men’s March Madness first round.
The NCAA Tournament resumed Friday, featuring 16 more games across four regional sites to determine the final entries into the Round of 32.
Day 1 gave us one big upset (pleased to meet you, Chase Johnston), one massive scare (exhale, Duke fans) and plenty of chalk. What did Day 2 bring?
The Athletic has you covered with Friday’s results.
No. 6 Tennessee 78, No. 11 Miami (Ohio) 56
Miami (Ohio) proved it belonged in the NCAA Tournament in Wednesday’s First Four win over SMU. On Friday, the RedHawks looked completely overmatched, losing to the Volunteers in the Midwest Region.
It brought the dream season to a screeching halt. The Vols shot 53 percent from the floor and 9-for-20 from 3-point range, led by 29 points by senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie.
Miami emerged as one of the defining stories of the season, starting 31-0 to become the 21st Division I program to complete a perfect regular season. Tennessee’s size and physicality, however, proved far too much to handle. The RedHawks were outrebounded by 17 and outscored 40 to 16 in points in the paint, finishing their season 32-2.
Despite the lopsided score, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said Miami (Ohio) “would win some games in our league, make no bones about it.” — Justin Williams, staff writer
No. 7 Kentucky 89, No. 10 Santa Clara 84
With nine seconds left, Kentucky-Santa Clara was heading to overtime after Otega Oweh’s shot tied the score at 70-70. Down to two seconds, Santa Clara was in jubilation, seemingly wheeling into the second round after an Allen Graves 3-pointer put the Broncos ahead 73-70, and the Wildcats didn’t take a timeout.
The clock hit zero just as Oweh’s tying 3 banked off the glass, though, forcing overtime at 73-73.
It was needed.
In the extra period of the Midwest Regional game, Santa Clara condemned itself to firing 3s on nine of its 10 shots, making only three, while Kentucky was able to attack the paint and outlast the Broncos behind 35 points from Oweh. — Devon Henderson, staff writer
No. 4 Kansas 68, No. 13 Cal Baptist 60
Dominique Daniels Jr., take a bow. Or two. Or as many as you want.
In a game that looked all but decided after Darryn Peterson’s buzzer-beating triple gave the Jayhawks a 20-point lead heading into halftime, Daniels had no such blowout on his Friday night to-do list.
Daniels, or Dom-ination or Dom-dollar as the unrelenting Cal Baptist student section labels him, is the nation’s fifth-leading scorer at 23.2 points per game. After two seasons putting up just over 19 a game, questions swirled around his likely migration to a high-major program that’d offer him stacks of cash and piles of brand deals. He wanted no part of that, utilizing two weeks of prayers and a water-only fast to ultimately opt to stay put at Cal Baptist under Rick Croy.
And similar questions about his future will undoubtedly come knocking on Daniels’ doorstep this offseason after the senior guard scored 20 points in the second half against Kansas in the East Region matchup. Daniels put the Lancers on his back to mount a comeback from down 26 points with 16 minutes remaining to within six points in the game’s final minutes. Scoring on all three levels, there was nothing the mastermind of Bill Self or the talent of Darryn Peterson could do to stop one of the greatest — and rarest — pieces of mid-major basketball.
California Baptist’s Dominique Daniels Jr. drives to the basket against Kansas’ Flory Bidunga during the first half of the game at Viejas Arena. (Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
Ultimately, Peterson needed this night for Kansas. As the freshman entered his first — and likely last — March Madness run, it seemed as though every question swirling around the Jayhawks centered on their stalwart, the biggest mystery of this college basketball season. Will he cramp up, again, when it matters most? Will he be able to play in March?
One game cannot answer it all, but if it could, Peterson checked all the boxes and put the narrative to rest for at least one night. After a start where neither team could get a shot through the net, Peterson helped Kansas pull away at the end of the first half with 15 points, and added 13 in the second half to finish with the most points (28) scored by a Jayhawks freshman in March Madness.
The Jayhawks survived, but a mighty Rick Pitino-helmed St. John’s team awaits Peterson and the Jayhawks on Saturday. — Ira Gorawara, college basketball writer
No. 2 UConn 82, No. 15 Furman 71
UConn head coach Dan Hurley is never one to hide his emotions.
So when Furman hit a 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer to cut the Paladins’ halftime deficit to just 4 points, Hurley stood with his arms crossed, staring into nothing as his team exited the court.
“What the f— are we doing?” he mouthed to no one in particular.
His mood improved early in the second half of the East Region affair, after a quick 8-2 run put the Huskies back ahead by double digits.
“Let’s f—ing go! Let’s f—ing go!” Hurley screamed this time, to everyone in particular.
UConn won 82-71, but the game remained a dogfight until the final minutes. That’s when Huskies big man Tarris Reed Jr. grabbed three straight offensive rebounds on the same possession, which ended in a 3-pointer by Alex Karaban to push the lead to double digits and out of reach for good.
It was the defining moment on a career night for Reed, who finished with 31 points (12-of-15 shooting) and 27 rebounds (11 offensive), all career highs. It was also the first 20-rebound game for a Husky in an NCAA Tournament game in 61 years.
Furman hung tough thanks to making 9-of-24 from 3-point range and 21 points each by Tom House and Alex Wilkins. Yet, Karaban chipped in 22 points for the Huskies, and Reed’s monster performance was too much for the Paladins. — Justin Williams, college sports writer
No. 7 Miami 80, No. 10 Missouri 66
In what felt like a road game, Miami made big shot after big shot down the stretch. By the time it was over, an arena once full of Mizzou fans had nearly emptied.
Miami coach Jai Lucas won his first career NCAA Tournament game on the backs of transfers Malik Reneau (24 points) and Tre Donaldson (17 points, eight rebounds and six assists). Five-star freshman Shelton Henderson had several highlight dunks and finished with 15 points.
The Hurricanes led 27-26 at halftime after a sloppy first half in the West Region matchup. The two teams heated up in the second half when the Hurricanes made 7-of-11 attempted 3-pointers. When it wasn’t Reneau in the post, Miami had the Tigers scrambling and continuously found open shooters.
Mizzou leading scorer Mark Mitchell, who had just four points in the first half and didn’t make a field goal, finished with 19 points and made a career-high three 3s. The Tigers are one-and-done in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. — C.J. Moore, college basketball writer
No. 9 Utah State 86, No. 8 Villanova 76
Friday afternoon’s West Region skirmish was invented by disciples of a similar basketball engineer: Utah State coach Jerrod Calhoun employs the same defense as Villanova coach Kevin Willard’s father. It was one of the first things Willard noticed when his Wildcats drew the Aggies on Selection Sunday. Utah State adopts a matchup zone that has Ralph Willard’s hands all over it, but Calhoun has put his own spin on it in recent years with increased man coverage.
And though it’d be easy to assume that Kevin Willard would thereby have an edge on Calhoun, understanding his own father’s design better than anyone, Willard praised his foe Thursday, saying he “does it probably better than anybody.” And Friday, that was laid bare.
Calhoun’s high-powered offense didn’t let up, even after momentum swung all the way in Villanova’s direction early in the second half as Utah State absorbed a nearly three-minute scoreless slump. But the Aggies stormed back on a 16-6 run and held their own in the final 15 minutes, eventually pulling away to create a 10-point cushion in the final minute. — Ira Gorawara, college basketball writer
No. 9 Iowa 67, No. 8 Clemson 61
Iowa led the entire game to outlast Clemson in a showdown that was exactly what you’d expect from two low-scoring teams who rank among the slowest in the nation. In the first half, they combined for a scoreless stretch of almost three minutes and had missed 31 of their 51 shots at the break. Iowa had a separate scoring drought of almost six minutes in the second half — and still never trailed.
Hawkeyes star Bennett Stirtz had his worst shooting night of the season (4-for-17), finishing with 16 points and five rebounds. RJ Godfrey led Clemson with 15 points and seven boards.
Iowa advances to the second round of the South Region and a matchup with No. 1 seed Florida. — Matt Baker, senior college sports writer
No. 1 Florida 114, No. 16 Prairie View A&M 55
Believe it or not, the score was tied at 15 after 6 1/2 minutes. Prairie View A&M briefly made this a game by making five 3-pointers on its first 11 trips, but the Panthers inevitably cooled off. When they did, it was a hard freeze: Florida held them scoreless for six minutes and outscored them 45-6 the rest of the half.
Florida’s size is a problem for even the best teams in the country, and it was overwhelming for a smaller Prairie View A&M side. The Gators scored an astounding 20 points in the paint in the first 8 1/2 minutes and 38 in the first half as whole, hardly needing to shoot any jump shots because they were generating so many layups and dunks.
In fact, Florida had 15 layups and two dunks by halftime on the official stat sheet, out of only 34 possessions, and led 60-21 at the half. In an almost unheard-of feat in this era, the Gators led by as many as 18 before they had made a 3-pointer. Guard Boogie Fland made all five of his shots in the first half and scored 13 of his 16 points before the break to lead the way.
The final margin of victory, 59 points, set a record for the greatest since the field expanded to 64 teams, and was topped only by Loyola of Illinois’s 111-42 win over Tennessee Tech in 1963.
The top-seeded Gators will draw 9th-seeded Iowa on Sunday in the South Region and should again have a partisan crowd in their favor. — John Hollinger, senior writer
No. 5 Texas Tech 91, No. 12 Akron 71
Texas Tech never trailed but couldn’t pull away until the closing minutes to avoid an upset bid from Akron.
Red Raiders guard Christian Anderson, who left the Big 12 tournament with an injury after slipping on the glass court, made some of the team’s biggest plays. Midway through the second half, he stole the ball and finished with a dunk to extend Texas Tech’s lead to 11. Anderson was one of five Red Raiders who scored at least 14 points in the Midwest Regional win.
The Zips hurt themselves early by missing 13 of their 22 shots inside the arc in the first half. Amani Lyles led Akron with 26 points.
Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said Thursday that defensive rebounding was one of his team’s biggest areas for growth. The Red Raiders finished with 32 on Friday — a notable showing as they try to advance to the Sweet 16 on Sunday against the winner of Alabama-Hofstra. — Matt Baker, senior college sports writer
No. 2 Purdue 104, No. 15 Queens University 71
Braden Smith set the NCAA’s all-time assists record in the Boilermakers’ easy win in the West Region.
Purdue had too much size, too much shooting (14 of 24 from 3) and too much experience for Queens to stay close.
Outside of Smith, the Boilers did show nerves early but settled in once Smith set the record about eight minutes in. Smith played an excellent all-around floor game, finishing with 26 points and eight assists. Trey Kaufman-Renn (25 points and nine boards) and Oscar Cluff (9 points, 11 boards, a season-high five assists and four blocks) dominated the paint. Fellow senior Fletcher Loyer made four 3s and added 14 points.
The Boilers will play the winner of Miami-Missouri. — C.J. Moore, college basketball writer
No. 5 St. John’s 79, No. 12 Northern Iowa 53
March is where big leads go to die. Just ask North Carolina. But from the outset of the East Regional game, it was clear St. John’s was the far superior team. The Red Storm took a 20-3 lead, and it never got back within single digits. Rick Pitino called a couple of timeouts in frustration as Northern Iowa made a few mini runs to cut the lead to 13. St. John’s was probably better than a 5 seed, and showed it.
Possessions marked how athleticism most manifested itself. St. John’s outrebounded its opponent 45-29 and committed just eight turnovers. Up by 15 with five minutes to go, Red Storm big man Zuby Ejiofor skied in and literally ripped away what should have been an easy board for either of the two UNI players in the vicinity. That was the look of this game, and the Panthers never stood a chance. — Sam Blum, staff writer
No. 7 UCLA 75, No. 10 UCF 71
Even with leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau sidelined with a knee injury, the Bruins put the clamps on defensively for much of the game in their East Regional win.
The Bruins missed Bilodeau offensively, particularly from outside the arc, where they shot just 6-for-21. But UCLA turned 17 turnovers into 19 points, while UCF shot 38 percent from the field and was just 5-for-16 from the free-throw line.
Playing in its first NCAA Tournament since 2019, UCF cut the deficit to 3 after an 11-0 run early in the second half, but UCLA responded with an 8-0 run to stem the tide. A late surge by the Knights cut it to 3 again in the final seconds before the Bruins converted from the stripe to hold on.
Donovan Dent, who like Bilodeau, was banged up in the Big Ten tournament, shot just 4 for 17 for 10 points but had five assists and zero turnovers. Eric Dailey Jr. led the Bruins with 20 points.
Also, UCLA guard Skyy Clark got his tooth knocked out. And returned to the game. — Justin Williams, staff writer
No. 1 Arizona 92, No. 16 LIU 58
On Thursday, Siena led top-seeded Duke by 13 in the second half and stayed competitive until the final minute. For a No. 16 seed to upset a No. 1, ultimately, the 16th seed probably needs to be miscast with that number. Siena was, but LIU was not. That was evident within Arizona-LIU’s first few seconds, and the Wildcats’ ability to take a 32-point lead after just 23 minutes of the West Regional game.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd has never been worse than a No. 4 seed during his five years in Tucson, and he’s been a No. 2 seed or lower in four of those seasons. Still, he’s never advanced the Wildcats past the Sweet 16. This year’s team is arguably the best he’s fielded, but nothing these Wildcats do in San Diego will be considered an accomplishment. Lloyd will have to prove his March mettle if and when Arizona makes it to San Francisco. — Sam Blum, staff writer
No. 3 Virginia 82, No. 14 Wright State 73
Not this time, Cinderella. Despite a first-half deficit and shaky opening 30 minutes, Virginia held off Wright State.
Remarkably, it’s the first NCAA Tournament win for Virginia since it won the national championship in 2019 under coach Tony Bennett. And that came one year after the Hoos became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed, falling to a 2018 UMBC team coached by current Virginia coach Ryan Odom.
In his first season with the Cavaliers, Odom managed to break a painful cycle of early March Madness exits.
Virginia ripped off separate runs of 9-0 and 11-0 to hold off a frisky Wright State squad that forced 14 turnovers and shot an uncharacteristically efficient 13-for-31 from 3-point range. But the Hoos had too much firepower in the Midwest Regional matchup, shooting 52 percent from the floor and 13 of 26 from deep, led by a 6-for-8 day from Jacari White, who led all scorers with 26 points. The Raiders scored only 3 points over the final 5 1/2 minutes. — Justin Williams, staff writer
No. 4 Alabama 90, No. 13 Hofstra 70
Can anyone stop Labaron Philon Jr. from getting to the rim? Alabama’s sensational sophomore broke open a close game by erupting after halftime for 21 of his game-high 29 points, confounding Hofstra’s defense with a series of slaloms to the rim that showcased his extensive bag of finishes. Without second-leading scorer Aden Holloway, the Crimson Tide needed all of Philon’s production, too, as Alabama overcame an early 10-point deficit.
Philon also snagged eight rebounds and handed out seven assists, making goggles to the bench after a particularly spicy one to set up a London Jemison transition dunk. Freshman forward Amari Allen took on a bigger ballhandling role and contributed 11 points, five rebounds and four assists, while big man Aiden Sherrell was a problem both inside (nine offensive boards) and out (two 3s) while finishing with 15 points and 15 rebounds. The fourth-seeded Tide will play fifth-seeded Texas Tech in Tampa, Fla., on Sunday. — John Hollinger, senior writer
No. 2 Iowa State 108, No. 15 Tennessee State 74
Cyclones star Joshua Jefferson suffered a sprained left ankle early in Friday’s Midwest Regional win. X-rays were negative, and he hasn’t been ruled out for the second round.
All the details of how the Cyclones won are insignificant at this point. All that really matters for Iowa State is Jefferson’s status for Sunday against Kentucky and for the rest of the NCAA Tournament. Jefferson has been ISU’s rock this season, making second-team All-American as a do-everything forward. He averages 16.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
The Cyclones (28-7) still rolled without Jefferson against the overmatched Tigers, led by 25 points from freshman Killyan Toure, 22 off the bench from Nate Heise and 17 from Milan Momcilovic. Toure, whom some teams haven’t guarded lately, is the X-factor for the Cyclones. When he makes shots — as he did on this day (8-for-12 from the field and 2-for-3 from 3) — the Cyclones are one of the best offensive teams in the country. But it’s going to be hard to keep advancing without Jefferson, who returned to the bench in a boot and on crutches. — C.J. Moore, staff writer