Mar 19, 2026, 05:10 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:
(16) Siena vs. (1) Duke: 2:50 p.m. ET
(12) McNeese vs. (5) Vanderbilt: 3:15 p.m. ET
(14) North Dakota State vs. (3) Michigan State: 4:05 p.m. ET
(13) Hawai'i vs. (4) Arkansas: 4:25 p.m. ET
(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
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
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
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
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
