2026 NCAA Tournament Opening Day

The first day of the 2026 Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament was quite eventful.

The afternoon brought some memorable highlights for teams and their supporters. The University of Nebraska celebrated their first tournament victory in history, while No. 12 High Point stunned No. 5 Wisconsin in a hard-fought battle. Duke, as the top seed, faced a tough challenge from Siena, while No. 9 TCU kicked off the day by narrowly defeating No. 8 Ohio State.

A determined Howard team, coming off a win over UMBC in the inaugural First Four, challenged the top-seeded Michigan in the first half before the Wolverines eventually took control. VCU made a remarkable comeback from a 19-point deficit against UNC to force overtime, ultimately winning that match, and Gonzaga managed to fend off a spirited Kennesaw State squad.

Here are all the scores from Thursday’s games, along with results from Friday and what to anticipate for Saturday.

First up, here’s the latest bracket, provided by the NCAA.

Day 1 Scores

Below are the results from the first day of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

1st Duke 71, 16th Siena 65
3rd Michigan State 92, 14th North Dakota State 67
6th Louisville 83, 11th South Florida 79
9th TCU 66, 8th Ohio State 64

4th Nebraska 76, 13th Troy 47
5th Vanderbilt 78, 12th McNeese 68
11th VCU 82, 6th North Carolina 78 (OT)
10th Texas A&M 63, 7th St. Mary’s 50
3rd Illinois 105, 14th Pennsylvania 70
2nd Houston 78, 15th Idaho 47

12th High Point 83, 5th Wisconsin 82
4th Arkansas 97, 13th Hawaii 78
11th Texas 79, 6th BYU 71
3rd Gonzaga 73, 14th Kennesaw State 64

1st Michigan 101, 16th Howard 80
9th St. Louis 102, 8th Georgia 77

Day 2 Outlook

Here’s the full schedule for Friday.

No. 5 St. John’s vs. No. 12 Northern Iowa, 7:10 p.m. ET
No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 UCF, 7:25 p.m. ET.
No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 13 California Baptist, 9:45 p.m. ET
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 15 Furman, 10 p.m. ET.

No. 8 Clemson vs. No. 9 Iowa, 6:50 p.m. ET
No. 1 Florida vs. No. 16 Prairie View A&M, 9:25 p.m. ET.

No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 16 LIU, 1:35 p.m. ET.
No. 8 Villanova vs. No. 9 Utah State, 4:10 p.m. ET
No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 15 Queens (North Carolina), 7:35 p.m. ET.
No. 7 Miami vs. No. 10 Missouri, 10:10 p.m. ET.

No. 7 Kentucky vs. No. 10 Santa Clara, 12:15 p.m. ET
No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 12 Akron, 12:40 p.m. ET.
No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 14 Wright State, 1:50 p.m. ET.
No. 2 Iowa State vs. No. 15 Tennessee State, 2:50 p.m. ET.
No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 13 Hofstra, 3:15 p.m. ET.
No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 11 Miami (Ohio), 4:25 p.m. ET.

Day 3 Preview

Now, let’s glance ahead to Saturday.

No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 6 Louisville, 2:45 p.m. ET.
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 9 TCU, 5:15 p.m. ET.

No. 2 Houston vs. No. 10 Texas A&M, 6:10 p.m. ET.
No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 11 VCU, 7:50 p.m. ET.
No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 5 Vanderbilt, 8:45 p.m. ET.

No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 11 Texas, 7:10 p.m. ET
No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 12 High Point, 9:45 p.m. ET.

No. 9 St. Louis vs. No. 1 Michigan, 12:10 p.m. ET.