Myron MedcalfMar 21, 2026, 01:00 AM ETClose Covers college basketball Joined ESPN.com in 2011 Graduate of Minnesota State University, MankatoFollow on XMultiple Authors
play1:30TCU set to face Duke in 2nd round of NCAA tournamentCheck out some of the best highlights from TCU and Duke ahead of their round of 32 matchup in the NCAA tournament.
play0:39Braden Smith’s 26 points, 4 treys power Purdue winBraden Smith scored 26 points, including four three-pointers, to help Purdue defeat Queens University.
play0:25Santa Clara-Kentucky trade late 3s in wild sequence to force OTSanta Clara’s Allen Graves and Kentucky’s Otega Oweh hit clutch 3-pointers to send the game to overtime.
play0:35Terrence Hill Jr.’s 3, UNC’s missed FTs lift VCU to upset in OTTerrence Hill Jr. knocks down a huge step-back 3-pointer, then Henri Veesaar misses pivotal free throws as VCU knocks off UNC.
play0:22Edmonds’ late bucket helps TCU hold off Ohio StateXavier Edmonds hits the go-ahead basket with 4.1 seconds left to lead TCU to a 66-64 win over Ohio State.
High Point comes up clutch to stun Wisconsin (0:34)A late layup sets up a grandstand finish as High Point fends of Wisconsin for the upset win. (0:34)
TCU set to face Duke in 2nd round of NCAA tournamentCheck out some of the best highlights from TCU and Duke ahead of their round of 32 matchup in the NCAA tournament.
Check out some of the best highlights from TCU and Duke ahead of their round of 32 matchup in the NCAA tournament.
Braden Smith’s 26 points, 4 treys power Purdue winBraden Smith scored 26 points, including four three-pointers, to help Purdue defeat Queens University.
Braden Smith scored 26 points, including four three-pointers, to help Purdue defeat Queens University.
Santa Clara-Kentucky trade late 3s in wild sequence to force OTSanta Clara’s Allen Graves and Kentucky’s Otega Oweh hit clutch 3-pointers to send the game to overtime.
Santa Clara’s Allen Graves and Kentucky’s Otega Oweh hit clutch 3-pointers to send the game to overtime.
Terrence Hill Jr.’s 3, UNC’s missed FTs lift VCU to upset in OTTerrence Hill Jr. knocks down a huge step-back 3-pointer, then Henri Veesaar misses pivotal free throws as VCU knocks off UNC.
Terrence Hill Jr. knocks down a huge step-back 3-pointer, then Henri Veesaar misses pivotal free throws as VCU knocks off UNC.
Edmonds’ late bucket helps TCU hold off Ohio StateXavier Edmonds hits the go-ahead basket with 4.1 seconds left to lead TCU to a 66-64 win over Ohio State.
Xavier Edmonds hits the go-ahead basket with 4.1 seconds left to lead TCU to a 66-64 win over Ohio State.
In past years, we called this a reseeding, but we’ve scrapped that approach to answer this question: Who are the best remaining teams in the field?
The next round also doesn’t look particularly chalky. The top four seeds in each region went 4-0 in the round of 64 for the second straight year and for the seventh time since expansion in 1985. But all four 9-seeds also advanced — the first time this has happened since 2019, and just the sixth time overall in tournament history. And, we have a handful of double-digit seeds.
Still, based on what we know right now, and looking at the results from the opening round — and mostly the complete body of work for each team — we’ve come up with these rankings.
1. Arizona Wildcats Original seed: No. 1 (West) First-round result: Defeated No. 16 Long Island 92-58 (Friday)
Jaden Bradley, the Big 12 Player of the Year, scored just seven in Friday’s win over Long Island — and the Wildcats still had 92 points. Brayden Burries (18 points) and Koa Peat (15 points), a pair of NBA prospects, were two of five Zona players who had eight or more points, continuing their success as a balanced squad. Also of note: Tommy Lloyd’s squad is 39% from the 3-point line during its current 10-game winning streak.
2. Duke Blue Devils Original seed: No. 1 overall (East) First-round result: Defeated No. 16 Siena 71-65 (Thursday)
TCU set to face Duke in 2nd round of NCAA tournament
3. Florida Gators Original seed: No. 1 (South) First-round result: Defeated No. 16 Prairie View A&M 114-55 (Friday)
4. Michigan Wolverines Original seed: No. 1 (Midwest) First-round result: Defeated No. 16 Howard 101-80 (Thursday)
5. Houston Cougars Original seed: No. 2 (South) First-round result: Defeated No. 15 Idaho 78-47 (Thursday)
6. Iowa State Cyclones Original seed: No. 2 (Midwest) First-round result: Defeated No. 15 Tennessee State 108-74 (Friday)
7. Illinois Fighting Illini Original seed: No. 3 (South) First-round result: Defeated No. 14 Penn 105-70 (Thursday)
8. Purdue Boilermakers Original seed: No. 2 (West) First-round result: Defeated No. 15 Queens University 104-71 (Friday)
9. St. John’s Red Storm Original seed: No. 5 (East) First-round result: Defeated No. 12 Northern Iowa 79-53 (Friday)
10. UConn Huskies Original seed: No. 2 (East) First-round result: Defeated No. 15 Furman 82-71 (Friday)
11. Michigan State Spartans Original seed: No. 2 (East) First-round result: Defeated No. 15 Bryant 92-67 (Thursday)
12. Arkansas Razorbacks Original seed: No. 4 (West) First-round result: Defeated No. 13 Hawai’i 97-78 (Thursday)
13. Nebraska Cornhuskers Original seed: No. 4 (South) First-round result: Defeated No. 13 Troy 76-47 (Thursday)
14. Vanderbilt Commodores Original seed: No. 5 (South) First-round result: Defeated No. 12 McNeese 78-68 (Thursday)
15. Virginia Cavaliers Original seed: No. 3 (Midwest) First-round result: Defeated No. 14 Wright State 82-73 (Friday)
16. Gonzaga Bulldogs Original seed: No. 3 (West) First-round result: Defeated No. 14 Kennesaw State 73-64 (Thursday)
17. Alabama Crimson Tide Original seed: No. 3 (Midwest) First-round result: Defeated No. 13 Hofstra 90-70 (Friday)
18. Texas Tech Red Raiders Original seed: No. 5 (Midwest) First-round result: Defeated No. 12 Akron 91-71 (Friday)
19. Kansas Jayhawks Original seed: No. 4 (East) First-round result: Defeated No. 13 California Baptist 68-60 (Friday)
20. Kentucky Wildcats Original seed: No. 7 (Midwest) First-round result: Defeated No. 10 Santa Clara 89-84 in overtime (Friday)
Santa Clara-Kentucky trade late 3s in wild sequence to force OT
21. Tennessee Volunteers Original seed: No. 6 (Midwest) First-round result: Defeated No. 11 Miami (Ohio) 78-56 (Friday)
22. Louisville Cardinals Original seed: No. 6 (East) First-round result: Defeated No. 11 South Florida 83-79 (Thursday)
23. Miami Hurricanes Original seed: No. 7 (West) First-round result: Defeated No. 10 Missouri 80-66 (Friday)
25. Saint Louis Billikens Original seed: No. 9 (Midwest) First-round result: Defeated No. 8 Georgia 102-77 (Thursday)
26. VCU Rams Original seed: No. 11 (South) First-round result: Defeated No. 6 North Carolina 82-78 in overtime (Thursday)
Terrence Hill Jr.’s 3, UNC’s missed FTs lift VCU to upset in OT
27. Utah State Aggies Original seed: No. 9 (West) First-round result: Defeated No. 8 Villanova 86-76 (Friday)
28. Texas A&M Aggies Original seed: No. 10 (South) First-round result: Defeated No. 7 Saint Mary’s 63-50 (Thursday)
Thursday’s win over Saint Mary’s allowed the Aggies to showcase their ability to play at a slower tempo and still prevail. The 59-possession game was the slowest of the season for the Aggies, who’ve played at a top-20 tempo. Yet, they secured their third victory in four games with a dominant effort inside, outscoring the Gaels 28-12 in the paint. It also helped that Rashaun Agee had his sixth game with at least 20 points and eight rebounds. The Aggies are 5-1 in those matchups.
29. TCU Horned Frogs Original seed: No. 9 (East) First-round result: Defeated No. 8 Ohio State 66-64 (Thursday)
30. Iowa Hawkeyes Original seed: No. 9 (South) First-round result: Defeated No. 8 Clemson 67-61 (Friday)
For a third consecutive season, the Bennett Stirtz-Ben McCollum pairing has resulted in an NCAA tournament win. They did it at Division II Northwest Missouri State in 2024, they did it at Drake last year. And Friday, the 6-foot-4 Stirtz led all scorers with 16 points as he and McCollum did it again. It was a sloppy game against Clemson, but they did it.
31. Texas Longhorns Original seed: No. 11 (West) First-round result: Defeated No. 6 BYU 79-71 (Thursday)
32. High Point Panthers Original seed: No. 12 (West) First-round result: Defeated No. 5 Wisconsin 83-82 (Thursday)
Cameron Boozer and his team were short-handed against Siena, and it showed. The Blue Devils became the first 1-seed in the history of the NCAA tournament to trail a 16-seed by double digits at halftime Thursday, per ESPN Research. They clearly missed Patrick Ngongba II’s defense and Caleb Foster’s 3-point shooting. But Boozer overpowered the Saints, finishing 13-for-14 from the free throw line in the win. The Blue Devils also held Siena to 8-for-34 shooting after halftime, with the same elite defense (second in adjusted efficiency on KenPom) that fueled wins this season over Kansas, Arkansas, Florida, Michigan and Michigan State.
The Gators’ 39-point halftime advantage over Prairie View A&M is tied for the second largest lead at the break in NCAA tournament history, per ESPN Research. Their performance is also an extension of their near-flawless finish to the 2025-26 season. Florida has won 13 of its past 14 games, including 12 straight before a loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament semifinal. Seven of those were won by 19 or more points, including a 100-77 win over Alabama on Feb. 1 and an 111-77 rout of Arkansas on Feb. 28. No team in America is playing better.
The Wolverines’ massive frontcourt was the anchor of a dominant season for Dusty May’s squad, which won the Big Ten regular-season title. On Thursday, those big stars were kept out of the lane by Howard’s zone. Once Michigan figured it out, though — with 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara playing over the top and dominating — it couldn’t be stopped. The Wolverines made 46% of their 3-point attempts. This season, they’ve only lost to a Wisconsin team that made 15 3-pointers, a Duke squad that was led by the national player of the year front-runner and a Purdue unit that made 60% of its shots inside the arc.