Upsets and Duke surviving a tough challenge marked the first day of March Madness. Here are the biggest moments from Thursday
Texas guard Tramon Mark scores a layup during the First Four win against North Carolina State on Tuesday. Mark and the Longhorns will play BYU next.
(CNN) — The first day of the men’s NCAA Tournament is over and boy did it deliver.
A few upsets, a top seed being pushed to its limits by a 16-seed and a few other close games marked a fantastic opening day of the Big Dance. The night ended on a bit of a down note – three of the final four games of the evening were decided by 35, 25 and 31 points – but nothing could top the slate of upsets that started the day.
Here’s all you need to know about the first day of the NCAA tournament:
Texas upsets BYU and their fantastic freshman AJ Dybantsa
The Texas Longhorns rolled into their matchup against BYU on the back of a dramatic win in the First Four over the North Carolina State Wolfpack, and looked like the next 11-seed that would keep their momentum going from the First Four into a first round upset.
The Longhorns built themselves a 17-point lead in the second half with about 10 minutes to go before things started to slip away. BYU, led by freshman star AJ Dybantsa, made its charge and pulled to within four with a minute to go.
But that final minute would prove to be the Cougars’ undoing.
Dybantsa’s poor pass with 30 seconds to play resulted in a Texas steal, and the Longhorns would make two free throws on the ensuing possession. More free throws would follow after BYU couldn’t convert on the offensive end and Texas held off the comeback attempt to win 79-71.
They’ll play the winner of Gonzaga and Kennesaw State later on Thursday.
VCU’s second half rally stuns UNC in OT
The No. 11 seeded VCU Rams were a popular upset pick ahead of the tournament and the brave souls who dared to pick them were sweating after the first half with the Tar Heels holding nine-point lead.
But the tide turned in the second half with the Rams forcing overtime and eventually upsetting the sixth-seeded Tar Heels squad 82-78.
It seemed like an improbable outcome after UNC’s lead grew to 19 points with 13 minutes to go but the Rams stormed back behind Terrence Hill Jr.’s 34 points off the bench.
It is the first tournament win for VCU since 2016 and the Rams will now face the winner of Illinois and the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday while UNC will face some questions regarding their future.
Duke gets a scare but survives
A No. 16 team has only beaten a top seed twice in the NCAA men’s tournament. It’s perhaps the biggest lock in the tournament – the top seeds will beat the worst seeds in the opening game.
But the best part of this tournament is the unexpected suddenly becoming actually possible. And for about three quarters of Thursday’s game against Siena, it really looked like Duke could be the third 1-seed to go home in the opening round.
The Saints took the lead over Duke with about 15 minutes left in the first half and held on until the Blue Devils took a 63-61 lead with a little more than four minutes to go in the second half. Led by the Boozer brothers, Cameron and Cayden, Duke finally seized control in the final minutes and eased into the round of 32.
Perhaps the key was that Siena coach Gerry McNamara did not play a single player off his bench, and instead asked his starters to play all 40 minutes. A tall task against any team, let alone the top-seeded team in the tournament.
High Point upsets Wisconsin to make school history
It was a tight game throughout, but the High Point Panthers have pulled off the first upset of the 2026 men’s NCAA tournament and it’s the first of the obligatory 12-seed over 5-seed win.
High Point took down Wisconsin, getting a breakaway layup to take a 83-82 lead with just 11 seconds left. Incredibly, Chase Johnston – the High Point 3-point specialist – scored his first two-point bucket of the entire season on the play, just in time to pull off the upset.
Wisconsin had time to run a play on the ensuing possession, but High Point blocked Nick Boyd’s layup attempt and picked up the rebound. Wisconsin would have one last chance after a missed free throw, but the deep pass down the court would be intercepted.
It’s another moment of history in this tournament as High Point captured their first NCAA tournament victory.
The bracket starts with a banger
The first game of the tournament is always a matchup of the eighth and ninth seeds and usually leads to an evenly matched game. For about 25 minutes on Thursday, it seemed like TCU was going to put an end to a tough season for Ohio State.
Until the Buckeyes remembered it’s one-and-done time.
A strong second-half run put the Buckeyes on top and the final minutes of the game would be played with the lead going back and forth in a tight one-possession game.
The opener came down to the final minute, with TCU taking a 3-point lead and then Ohio State answering with 30 seconds to play.
The Horned Frogs used up the entire shot clock on their next possession, with Xavier Edmonds getting the tough shot off in the paint with just four seconds to play – sinking the go-ahead bucket through two defenders.
Ohio State had an opportunity to get one more shot off – a heave as time expired – but the ball caromed off the middle of the backboard and the Buckeyes became the first victim of this year’s tournament.
The final score: TCU 66, Ohio State 64
Nebraska breaks unwanted streak
It didn’t take long for the first bit of history to be made in this year’s tournament.
Nebraska, the four-seed in the South region, did something that the school had never done: Win a tournament game.
The Cornhuskers had been 0-for-8 in the tournament before Thursday but this Nebraska team was much different than those of years past. They had started the season 20-0 and finished second in the Big Ten during the regular season.
The Troy Trojans began the contest hot from the field and gave Fred Hoiberg’s team a bit of a scare early but then a big run in the first half put the Cornhuskers comfortably ahead and on cruise control. Oklahoma City had turned into South Lincoln with the number of red-clad fans who made the trip and chants of “Go Big Red!” roared the Huskers on.
Pryce Sandfort led the way for Nebraska, going off from beyond the arc. He hit seven 3-pointers and ended up with 23 points as the Cornhuskers rolled to an easy 76-47 victory.
They’ll play the winner of Vanderbilt and McNeese, who play later on Thursday.
Here are all the results and games for Thursday
- TCU 66, Ohio State 64
- Nebraska 76, Troy 47
- Louisville 83, USF 79
- High Point 83, Wisconsin 82
- Duke 71, Siena 65
- Vanderbilt 78, McNeese 68
- Michigan State 92, North Dakota State 67
- Arkansas 97, Hawaii 78
- VCU 82, UNC 78
- Michigan 101, Howard 80
- Texas 79, BYU 71
- Texas A&M 63, Saint Mary’s 50
- Illinois 105, Penn 70
- Saint Louis 102, Georgia 77
- Houston 78, Idaho 47
- Gonzaga 73, Kennesaw State 64
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