The field thins, but the frenzy continues;the remaining teams are tied after the 1st round |

The first round of March Madness 2026 is over.See how the teams are doing for second place.

ST.LOUIS – And that's how the 68 teams are down to 32. After months of rumors and bubble talk, it's incredible how quickly the names disappear.So what now?

It was not a good first round for a rebellion.There were 32 games played between Thursday and Friday, with the higher seed winning 24.Four of the eight that did not were 8 to 9.

It's not a good Friday for the sequel.The average winning margin is 19.7 points.Only 5 of the 16 games ended with a single number, breaking the day with numbers 59, 34, 34 and 33. Thanks to Kentucky vs. Santa Clara, it helped California Baptist and Furman try hard to scare Kansas and Connecticut.

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These were not auspicious days for chaos.By Friday night, seven of the top eight seeds remained in the West and East.Only four of the 32 double-digit seeds that started 72 hours ago were standing.

Not that there weren't compelling moments.

Thursday Duke gave us a corner in Siena, North Carolina was melting against VCU, High Point was thundering against Wisconsin.

After exchanging nuclear three-pointers in the last 2.4 seconds of regulation, Friday set us up for an impressive overtime between Kentucky and Santa Clara, with the Wildcats saving a half-court shot.

— Kentucky Men's Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) March 20, 2026

There was Connecticut boxing Taris Reed Jr.'s stellar performance with 31 points and 27 rebounds against Furman -- the first 30-25 tournament record in 58 years.“My mindset coming into the game is just to be dominant,” he said later."This is my last March Madness. My days are numbered in college basketball."

There was the story of Purdue guard Brayden Smith's No. 1,077 pass, a one-handed rebound in the first half to Trey Kaufman-Wren, who got in the lane and scored on the Queens goal when he was fouled.That pushed Smith to surpass Bobby Hurley's career hitting streak, a mark he held for 33 years.

"For me, I don't think it's that obvious, because for me, it's my job," Smith said."That's why I'm here. As a window guard, that's what you're supposed to do."

His teammate on Friday's record was perfect.Smith's Help No.1 came 1,228 days ago against Milwaukee in his first season.Purdue's player on the other end of the night was Trey Kaufman-Renn."I think it's been really cool over the years, growing together," Kaufman-Renn said.

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Friday gave us Kansas to enjoy a big night from Darrin Peterson until the Jayhawks looked up and saw California Baptist cut a 26-point lead to six.They won by eight, taking all of those 28 points from Peterson."They say survive and move forward," Bill Self said."And that's what we did."

Virginia needed 18 lead changes to finish off Wright State, and a UCLA kicker had to find Sky Clark's lost tooth, knocked out while looking for a loose ball against UCF.

Friday marked the end of the road for an Oxford Cinderella story.Hoping to make more statements about its viability in March, Miami lost to Tennessee by 22 points.Fellow league player Akron lost by 20 to Texas Tech.It was not a good day for MAC.Still, what a ride for the RedHawks.Road trip 32-2."It doesn't take anything away from our team," Travis Steele said when it was all over."In my opinion, we have everything right in college athletics."

The coach who sent his bodyguard to put an end to this fairy tale thought so too."They were going to win some games in our game," Tennessee's Rick Barnes said."Make no bones about it."

TERRENCE HILL JR 😱 TIE GAME @VCU_Hoops

— A10 Talk (@A10Talk) March 20, 2026

Unrealistic comeback pic.twitter.com/I43unBVsOD

Now that High Point has shocked Wisconsin's veteran backcourt, what have the Panthers left behind for Arkansas' freshman backcourt?No. 12, High Point now carries the flag as the lowest living seed.

Gonzaga missed its first Sweet 16 in 11 years last March.Texas will try to make it two in a row.

Texas A&M gave Saint Mary's 50 points in the first round.Houston allowed just 47 to Idaho. Now they meet, you wonder how many shots anyone gets.

Other matches come with more features.

📺 WATCH: High Point sharpshooter hits her first 2-pointer to beat Wisconsin

St. John's vs.Kansas means Rick Pitino and Bill Self and the Jayhawks hope to bring a fire hose to the Red Storm. John's has won 20 of 21 games and is 9-0 in the last four.8-0,10-0 and 13-0 leads.

Connecticut vs. UCLA is a clash of programs with 17 national championships.

Few teams have outscored their opponents more in scoring average than St. Louis and Michigan, which are ranked No. 4 and 6 in the nation.So what happens when they try to beat each other?

Duke could be vulnerable with its injuries and recent close finishes;TCU will try to find out.

Iowa State lost star Joshua Jefferson three minutes into their first-round game against Tennessee with an ankle injury.The Cyclones continued without him and went on a 23-0 run.But they weren't playing Kentucky.They will be on Sunday.

Vanderbilt plays Nebraska, so something has to give. The Commodores haven't been to the Sweet 16 since 2007, and neither have the Cornhuskers.

Utah State defeated Villanova 86-76 for its third tournament win in 56 years.As a bonus, the Aggies now have Arizona State.Coach Jerrod Calhoun said he will be watching tape of the Arizona State game for at least 10 to 12 hours."The coffee will be flowing tonight. But there are a lot of other coaches out there who would love to be in that position."

Purdue started the season ranked No. 1 in the nation, while Miami (Fla.) was ranked No. 8 in the ACC.They will meet at midnight on Sunday.The Hurricanes moved from 7-24 to 26-8 on the year, a plus-19 mark tied for best in Division I.But the Boilermakers are in resurgent fashion.Since returning to the Big Ten tournament, they've won five straight and gone 9:03 through 200 minutes.On Friday, the artist wore a March Madness button.

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"People don't realize that when you go out to start your studies in June, it's March and April," he said."Everyone feels good in June. Not everyone feels good in March. It's difficult. Everyone is tired. Everyone is injured. And now, can you put it on the line and be able to win or get two wins or three wins? We want to have a long time in the championship, but everyone wants to have a long time. So you have to appreciate it."

Everyone does this, leaving 32. And that number is falling rapidly.