March Madness without the mayhem: NCAA Tournament short on upsets, Cinderellas after first round
The favorites went 16-0 during Friday's slate of NCAA Tournament games for the first time since 1992
Those expecting mayhem and memorable finishes during the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament have to hope the Round of 32 delivers more theatrics than the first two days of March Madness following a chalk-filled slate. The favorites went 16-0 during Friday's schedule for the first time since 1992, and according to CBS Sports' research team, 14 teams won by 20 or more points during the first two days of the tournament -- the most in Round of 64 history.
No. 1 seed Florida set numerous single-game NCAA Tournament records during Friday's 114-55 win over Prairie View A&M, including total points, field goals made (45), field goal percentage (64.3), assists (29) and margin of victory (59). The Gators were one of six teams to eclipse 100 points, the most in any round in NCAA Tournament history.
High Point (12), VCU (11), Texas (11) and Texas A&M (10) were the only double-digit seeds to win in the opening round. High Point's first NCAA Tournament victory in program history came Thursday against fifth-seeded Wisconsin, while VCU upended sixth-seeded North Carolina a few hours later after wiping out a 19-point deficit. VCU's comeback was the largest in the first round ever and the sixth-largest in NCAA Tournament history.
Follow live scores and updates from the second round of 2026 March Madness
Top-seed Duke needed a furious second-half rally to avoid a colossal upset against No. 16 Siena. The NCAA Tournament's top 16 seeds went 16-0 in the Round of 64 for the second straight season and seventh time in history. The Blue Devils' 11-point halftime deficit in their tournament opener was the largest halftime deficit overcome by a No. 1 against a No. 16 all-time.
"Look, I wish it could just be smooth sailing," Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. "These guys, even though we have returners from last year's team, we're all in different spots. You can face a team like Siena. They're incredibly ready to play. We made some mistakes early that they made us pay for. All of a sudden, you want to win very badly. So you can start making plays to try to get back in the game that are probably uncharacteristic of who we've been."
Duke faces ninth-seeded TCU on Saturday afternoon. Entering the tournament, South Florida, Akron and VCU were the most popular upset picks, but those teams went 1-2 this week.
Entering play Saturday, only eight perfect brackets remain in CBS Sports Bracket Games.
First round's standout performances
The most thrilling game of the tournament's first round was Kentucky's overtime win over Santa Clara, highlighted by Otega Oweh's 50-footer at the buzzer in regulation to force the extra session. Oweh's game-high 35 points fueled the Wildcats, who take on second-seeded Iowa State in Sunday's Round of 32.
While it came in a losing effort, BYU star AJ Dybantsa scored the second-most points (35) by a freshman in NCAA Tournament history (2017 De'Aaron Fox, 39) against Texas. He finished the season averaging 25.5 points per game, the most in college basketball, and is the favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft should he declare.
UConn's Tarris Reed Jr. recorded the NCAA Tournament's first 30-25 performance since Elvin Hayes in 1968. Reed finished with 31 points and 27 rebounds during the Huskies' 82-71 win over Furman. Reed connected on 12 of 15 shots from the floor, en route to a season-high point total.
Nebraska's first NCAA Tournament win in school history was also the largest (29 points) since 1971 Fordham for a program charting its first NCAA tourney victory. The fourth-seeded Huskers entered the game as the only current power conference school without an NCAA Tournament win and will play No. 5 Vanderbilt on Saturday evening for a trip to the Sweet 16.
Huskers coach Fred Hoiberg, now in his seventh year at the program, endured three consecutive losing seasons before the turnaround began, and now, Nebraska has a milestone victory to show for it.
"It's almost like a storybook ending in this tournament win," fourth-year Nebraska senior Sam Hoiberg said. "We kind of felt like the last thing that we needed to do to get this program on top. It was tough being on those teams that were not winning games, especially when I was on the bench. ... So just being able to reap the benefit of all the things we've done this season has been unbelievable."
