March Madness upsets
Opening day of the 2026 NCAA tournament delivered bracket chaos — VCU stunned North Carolina in overtime and No. 1 overall seed Duke narrowly escaped Siena, while Wisconsin and top freshman AJ Dybantsa were knocked out, reshuffling draft chatter and brackets across the board ( ). On the women's side the First Four wrapped with Virginia beating Arizona State to reach the 64-team field as the women’s tournament proper tips off today, March 20 ( ).
VCU erased a 19-point deficit to win 82-78 in overtime, with Terrence Hill Jr. pouring in 34 points and logging 40 minutes in the victory. (espn.com) The Rams’ comeback — down 39-28 late in the first half — is being recorded as the largest first-round rally in men’s NCAA Tournament history. (usatoday.com) No. 1 overall seed Duke survived 71-65 after trailing 43-32 at the half, with Cameron Boozer finishing 22 points and 13 rebounds and Cayden Boozer adding 19 in the comeback. (espn.com) Siena’s Gavin Doty paced the Saints with 21 points and Francis Folefac added 18 as the 16-seed pushed Duke into a sustained second-half rally. (freeplays.com) No. 12 seed High Point stunned No. 5 Wisconsin 83-82 on Chase Johnston’s fast-break layup with 11.7 seconds left; High Point featured five players in double figures, including Rob Martin’s 23. (si.com) BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa scored 35 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 79-71 first-round loss to No. 11 Texas, while Texas’ Matas Vokietaitis posted 23 points and 16 rebounds to propel the upset; Dybantsa played every minute and fell two points shy of BYU’s single-game NCAA tournament record. (espn.com) Kymora Johnson hit a go-ahead 3 with 30.6 seconds left as No. 10 Virginia knocked off No. 10 Arizona State 57-55 in the women’s First Four; Virginia (20-11) will face No. 7 Georgia in the round of 64. (apnews.com)
