The inaugural day of the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament established a formidable standard.
The 11-seeded VCU Rams and 12-seeded High Point Panthers generated the initial upsets of March Madness. AJ Dybantsa achieved the highest point total (35) for a freshman making an NCAA tournament premiere during BYU’s defeat against Texas. Furthermore, an abundance of points continued to pour in as Michigan, Illinois, and Saint Louis each surpassed the 100-point threshold on Thursday.
The excitement is set to continue unabated with an additional sixteen opening-round contests scheduled for Friday (all times listed in Eastern Time):
(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 correspondents are stationed throughout the country, monitoring the most significant highlights as they unfold.