Mar 19, 2026, 05:59 PM ET
More than 130 days have passed since the 2025-26 men's college basketball season tipped off. It has been a season of captivating storylines, from the dominance of the freshman class to Miami (Ohio)'s perfect regular-season run -- and it's about to get even better.
The first round of the 2026 NCAA tournament has finally arrived and ESPN reporters are on-site to give you a real-time look at the Madness.
Follow along as they and the rest of the staff track all the live action on Thursday, with more games left to tip:
(11) VCU vs. (6) North Carolina: 6:50 p.m. ET
(16) Howard vs. (1) Michigan: 7:10 p.m. ET
(11) Texas vs. (6) BYU: 7:25 p.m. ET
(10) Texas A&M vs. (7) Saint Mary's: 7:35 p.m. ET
(14) Penn vs. (3) Illinois: 9:25 p.m. ET
(9) Saint Louis vs. (8) Georgia: 9:45 p.m. ET
(14) Kennesaw State vs. (3) Gonzaga: 10 p.m. ET
(15) Idaho vs. (2) Houston: 10:10 p.m. ET
Jump to: Post-game takeaways
Vanderbilt 78, McNeese 68
How Vanderbilt won: There won't be any more aura this March Madness -- at least not from viral McNeese State manager Amir Khan. The 12-seed Cowboys started hot and built an 11-point lead early in the first half, but Vanderbilt held on and rallied to take a three-point lead into halftime with a dominant presence in the post. The Commodores finished the game outscoring McNeese 34-22 in the paint, thanks in large part to a perfect 6-for-6 effort from big man Devin McGlockton. Vanderbilt's size advantage also provided an edge on the glass, outrebounding the Cowboys 37-34, including 28-18 in defensive boards. Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner led all scorers with 25 points -- 17 in the second half -- and three 3-pointers. McNeese kept pace with Vanderbilt, recording 16 fast-break points and 9 steals, but it wasn't enough to pull off the upset. -- Brooke Pryor
Vanderbilt's second-round opponent: Nebraska
How the Commodores can advance to the Sweet 16: Vanderbilt needs Tyler Tanner to excel and to limit Nebraska's shooters in order to advance. The Commodores were a different team in the second half against McNeese on Thursday when Tanner -- a projected first-round NBA draft -- got more comfortable against the pressure from one of America's best defensive teams. He scored 17 of his game-high 26 points after halftime. Overall this season, Vanderbilt is 13-3 when the 6-foot guard scores at least 20 points. Nebraska, which had the best defense in Big Ten play this season, will do all it can to frustrate him. It's not on him alone, though. The Commodores will have to do their best to shut down the Cornhuskers at the 3-point line: They've made 34 3-pointers in their last three games. -- Medcalf
Duke 71, Siena 65
How Duke won: No. 1 overall seed Duke advances to the round of 32. That shouldn't come as much of a surprise, but Siena certainly did all it could to make things interesting, taking the Blue Devils to the limit before falling 71-65. The Saints led by 11 at the half and didn't surrender the lead until the 5:08 mark, but their starters played without a substitution until the final 90 seconds of action. And by late in the second half, it showed. Siena shot just 8-of-34 from the floor over the final 20 minutes, allowing the Blue Devils to claw their way back into the game. Cameron Boozer had 22 points and 13 boards to lead the Blue Devils, while his brother Cayden added 19. -- David Hale
Duke's second-round opponent: TCU
How the Blue Devils can advance to the Sweet 16: Well, it would help if they showed up like the team that dominated in the second half against Siena -- and not the version that played in the first half, when they were down by double digits. Duke's offensive rhythm was clearly disrupted without Caleb Foster, its best 3-point shooter (40.2%), and the Blue Devils' defense was weaker than expected with Patrick Ngongba II out due to injury, too. In the second half, however, they turned to a zone and played with a different defensive intensity. They'll advance if they have the same mojo against TCU. Isaiah Evans was a headache for Siena on fast breaks and off-the-dribble after halftime; Duke has to do more to put him in a position to impact the game. And even though it was ugly, Cameron Boozer was 13-for-14 from the free throw line. Good defense, Evans making plays and Boozer being Boozer are the keys to Duke moving on. -- Medcalf
High Point 83, Wisconsin 82
How High Point won: Wisconsin jumped out to a 15-5 lead over High Point within five minutes -- but the Panthers didn't let that last long. They put together a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 15-12 and played the Badgers close until entering the half down only two points. Wisconsin built another eight-point lead with 7:08 to play, but High Point outscored the Badgers 18-12 to close out the program's first NCAA tournament win on a go-ahead layup from Chase Johnston -- his first 2-point field goal of the season. Johnson entered the game 0-for-4 from 2-point range, earning most of his buckets from beyond the arc on 64-of-132 shooting from the 3 on the season. Three Panthers players finished with double-doubles: Rob Martin (23 points, 10 assists); Terry Anderson (15 points, 11 rebounds); and Cam'Ron Fletcher (14 points, 11 rebounds). -- ESPN Staff
Louisville 83, South Florida 79
How Louisville won: Isaac McKneely led the way for the Cardinals, despite a late comeback push by South Florida to turn what had once been a 23-point lead to within single digits in the final five minutes. But the Bulls were utlimately unable to compete with the Cardinals' 3-pointers, with star guard Wes Enis going 0-for-11 from 3 -- the second-most missed 3-point field goal attempts in an NCAA tournament game since the line was introduced in 1987 (Wofford's Fletcher Magee, 2019, was 0-for-12), per ESPN Research.
McKneely was 7-of-10 from beyond the arc -- tied for most 3s made by a Louisville player in an NCAA tournament game (with Taquan Dean in 2005), per ESPN Research. He scored a team-high 23 points, just his second 20-point game this season. Overall, Pat Kelsey's team finished 13-for-25 (52%) from 3, compared to the Bulls' 5-for-33 effort (15.2%). -- Alaina Getzenberg
Nebraska 76, Troy 47
How Nebraska won: The Cornhuskers made history with their first NCAA tournament win in program history as they throttled Troy with a dominant performance on both ends of the floor; they entered the game as the only program of any power conference without an NCAA tournament win after going 0-8 in their previous appearances. Junior forward Pryce Sandfort erupted with a program-record seven 3-pointers in an NCAA tournament game, one short of his career high set earlier this season. As a team, Nebraska shot 14-of-39 from beyond the arc while holding Troy to 8-of-28 from 3. The Cornhuskers not only dominated the glass, but turned those rebounds into 19 second-chance points -- well over their season average of 9.2. Nebraska also forced Troy to commit 17 turnovers and turned those mistakes into 17 points. -- Brooke Pryor
Nebraska's second-round opponent: Vanderbilt
How the Cornhuskers can advance to the Sweet 16: Nebraska has already made history by winning the first NCAA tournament game in school history; now it can add to that feat with another victory and its first Sweet 16 appearance. How? Its defense has the ability to force Vanderbilt star Tyler Tanner into difficult shots. He was just 2 for 6 against McNeese in the first half on Thursday, struggling against its relentless pressure. Nebraska is bigger and better (top 10 defense nationally) than McNeese, and the Cornhuskers have put the same defensive clamps on elite teams in Big Ten play. Against everyone else, they've been ferocious. But they did hold Troy to just 47 points (77 points per 100 possessions) -- the best defense we've seen in the opening round through the first half of Thursday. Combine that with Pryce Sandfort, Rienk Mast and Sam Hoiberg all hitting big shots in the first round, and Nebraska might be on its way to the Sweet 16 for the first time. -- Medcalf
TCU 66, vs. Ohio State 64
How TCU won: The Horned Frogs led by 15 at the half, looking poised to cruise into the second round; teams with halftime leads of 15 or more points were a perfect 34-0 over the previous three tournaments, according to ESPN Research. But the Buckeyes had no interest in going down without a fight, climbing all the way back to take a 51-50 lead at the 7:24 mark. The two teams traded blows the rest of the way -- until a nifty dish from David Punch to Xavier Edmonds with four seconds to play proved the difference in a TCU victory. Punch was the late-game hero for the Horned Frogs, racking up 13 of his 16 points, seven of his 13 rebounds and two assists in the second half to keep his team dancing. -- David Hale
TCU's second-round opponent: Duke
How the Horned Frogs can advance to the Sweet 16: Siena became the first 16-seed to hold a double-digit halftime lead over a 1-seed in NCAA tournament history, per ESPN Research, because of its early dominance in the paint. Francis Folefac, a 6-foot-7 forward, was the anchor of a Saints squad that scored 22 points in the paint in the first half against the Blue Devils. That has to be the blueprint for TCU, too. The Blue Devils were vulnerable inside without Patrick Ngongba II, their best defensive player who may not be available for the second round. That's how the Horned Frogs can win, attacking inside and defending the rim against Boozer and Co. They will also need 3s to fall again (39% against Ohio State), which only happened on occasion during the season when they were 15th out of 16 teams in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting. -- Medcalf
