Texas pulls off an upset to be the first double-digit seed to go to the Sweet 16. Here’s what to know from March Madness
By Kyle Feldscher, CNN
(CNN) — The chaos of the opening round of the men’s NCAA tournament is behind us and spots in the Sweet 16 are starting to be booked.
The women’s NCAA tournament is still rolling strong in the opening round after a slate of games that went heavily in favor of the top seeds on Friday, and the nation’s top team is taking the court as UConn looks to repeat as champions.
Texas upsets Gonzaga and becomes the first double-digit seed in the Sweet 16
The first Cinderella in this year’s tournament also happens to be from one of the largest, most successful athletic schools in the nation.
The Texas Longhorns, who had to play their way through the First Four to get an 11-seed in the main tournament, are headed to the Sweet 16 after upsetting 3-seed Gonzaga, 74-68.
The Longhorns and Bulldogs went back and forth the entire game with neither team being able to build a large lead – Gonzaga led by eight at one point, the largest margin of the game. Despite playing their third game in five days, the Longhorns didn’t fade down the stretch despite the Bulldogs’ intense pressure.
Camden Heide sank a 3-pointer after being substituted in with 32 seconds to go, putting a dagger in Gonzaga. He’d only attempted one shot in the game before that moment, playing only 13 minutes, but Texas coach Sean Miller drew the play up for him out of a timeout and Heide didn’t miss from the corner.
It’s hard to really call Texas a Cinderella – it’s Texas, after all – but they are officially the first double-digit seed to make their way into the tourmament’s second weekend. Also, become the first team to feature in the First Four and make the “Big Dance” since Fairleigh Dickinson in 2023.
Nebraska gets a friendly bounce at the end of an epic game
Nebraska had a de facto home court advantage in Oklahoma City, playing in front of thousands of red-clad fans who made the trip to turn OKC into Lincoln South.
It needed every bit of help it could get.
Nebraska and Vanderbilt went back-and-forth for 40 minutes, locked in one of the best games of the tournament that was a veritable slugfest between two schools not exactly known for their basketball prowess.
Each shot was met by a massive roar from one side of the arena or the other. Nebraska led much of the way before Vandy charged in the second half, taking their first lead with 8:26 to go in the game.
The lead changed hands a couple times as the clock ran down, with neither team able to land the knockout blow. The crowd stood through the final minutes and roared again as the Huskers took the lead with two minutes to go. The TNT broadcast showed the crowd noise was registering at 115 decibels as Vandy went back down the floor, but they were quieted fast when AK Okereke drained a 3-pointer to give the Commodores the lead again just 18 seconds later.
It was the coach’s son, Sam Hoiberg, getting the putback layup with 1:20 to go to tie the game and then Tyler Tanner answered, giving Vandy the lead once again. Hoiberg’s layup on the next possession missed but Rienk Mast was there for the putback to once again tie the game.
The Huskers stopped Vandy on the next possession, getting a defensive rebound with 10 seconds left. Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska’s coach, elected to not call time out and let his team go down the court and with 2.2 seconds remaining Braden Frager attacked the rim and laid the ball in to give Nebraska the lead, 74-72.
Vandy called timeout and had one chance left. They had to go the length of the court and managed to get an open shot as star guard Tyler Tanner heaved a shot from half-court.
The ball banked off the glass, hit the front of the rim twice and bounced, agonizingly for the Commodores, out of the bucket and sent the Huskers to their first ever Sweet 16 having won just the second NCAA tournament game in school history.
Michigan State heads to another Sweet 16 under Tom Izzo
It was maybe a little closer than Tom Izzo would have liked, but Michigan State is on to the Sweet 16 after holding off Louisville behind an epic performance by point guard Jeremy Fears Jr.
Fears broke a school record by dishing out 16 assists as his Spartans defeated Louisville 77-69, heading to Izzo’s 17th Sweet 16 appearance.
A key sequence in the game helped the Spartans put away a pesky Cardinals team – the latest ACC team to go out of the tournament in the opening weekend. With a little more than seven minutes to go in the game, MSU’s Carson Cooper was fouled hard by Louisville’s Vandelis Zougris.
The referees upgraded that to a Flagrant 1 foul and Cooper hit both of the free throws. When MSU got the ball as play restarted, Jaxon Kohler hit an open 3-pointer to give the Spartans a five-point possession that provided a cushion that they would never give up.
Izzo, Fears and the rest of the Spartans move on to the Sweet 16 in Washington, D.C.
Michigan looks like the title contender it is
The Michigan Wolverines came into this tournament as one of the favorites to take home the title in Indianapolis, and – after 20 shaky minutes against Howard in the opening game – have looked every bit the part.
The Wolverines cruised against an efficient Saint Louis team on Saturday, easing into the Sweet 16 by a score of 95-72. Once again, the Wolverines had a bit of a slow start as the Billikens kept it close through the first 15 minutes, but when Michigan got going, it was quickly game over.
Yaxel Lendeborg led the Wolverines with 25 points, as he has all year.
The Wolverines move on to await the winner of Texas Tech-Alabama, which is taking place on Sunday.
High Point and VCU’s Cinderella runs end
VCU and High Point came into Saturday as the tournament’s lone true Cinderellas after the first two days after the mid-major teams pulled off the traditional 12-seed over a 5-seed upset on Thursday.
They both had their work cut out for them if they wanted to extend their season for another week.
VCU went up against 3-seed Illinois, and the Illini proved to be too much for the Rams, losing 76-55 in Greenville, South Carolina. Illinois star Andrej Stojakovic finished with a game high 21 points.
The road only will get tougher for the Illini as they will face No. 2 seed Houston in the “Big Dance” next week.
High Point headlined Saturday in the final game of the night against John Calipari’s Arkansas, which cruised over Hawaii on Thursday. Calipari is a Hall of Fame coach who is all too used to this stage, and weathered the tough test and eventually led his squad to a 94-88 win over the Panthers.
The Razorbacks held just a one-point lead heading into halftime and High Point kept their intensity high in the second half to give Arkansas a true test.
Every time it appeared the Razorbacks would take control of the game, the Panthers had an answer until late in the second when star guard Darius Acuff Jr. played hero, scoring a game-high 34 points and willing the team to their second straight Sweet 16 appearance, where they will face the winner of Arizona and Utah State next week.
Southern Cal’s OT win sets up rare USC vs. USC matchup
Clemson was THIS close to a dramatic buzzer beater to set up a Palmetto State showdown against top-seeded South Carolina as Mia Moore’s last-gasp heave found the bottom of the net and the Tigers team rushed the court in elation.
But replay showed that the game clock had hit zero a fraction of a second before she let go of the ball, and the game headed to overtime tied at 61.
From there, No. 9 seed Southern Cal took control and won the game 71-67. Senior guard Kara Dunn led the way with 22 points for the Trojans, who advance to face No. 1 seed South Carolina with a trip to the Sweet 16 and bragging rights as the “real USC” on the line.
UConn starts repeat title bid strong
In the women’s bracket, it’s all about the Huskies.
Undefeated UConn started their tournament quest to repeat as champions with a blowout victory over the University of Texas-San Antonio, winning 90-52 on Saturday.
Led by top scorer Sarah Strong’s 18 points and Blanca Quiñonez’s 15 off the bench, the Huskies proved they are a juggernaut and it’s a real possibility that they might not face a real test until the Final Four in Phoenix early next month.
Huskies star Azzi Fudd added seven points in the win in front of their home fans in Storrs, Connecticut, and will face the winner of Iowa State and Syracuse on Monday in the second round.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 1 seeded South Carolina had no trouble whatsoever getting past Southern University, easily winning 103-34 with the winner of the University of Southern California awaiting next.
Men’s schedule
- Michigan 95, Saint Louis 72
- Michigan State 77, Louisville 69
- Duke 81, TCU 58
- Houston 88, Texas A&M 57
- Texas 74, Gonzaga 68
- Illinois 76, VCU 55
- Nebraska 74, Vanderbilt 72
- Arkansas 94, High Point 88
Women’s schedule
- Ohio State 75, Howard 54
- Louisville 72, Vermont 52
- South Carolina 103, Southern 34
- Virginia 82, Georgia 73
- Notre Dame 79, Fairfield 60
- Kentucky 71, James Madison 56
- Alabama 68, Rhode Island 55
- UConn 90, UTSA 52
- USC 71, Clemson 67
- Iowa 58, Fairleigh Dickinson 48
- West Virginia 82, Miami (Ohio) 54
- Syracuse 72, Iowa State 63
- Vanderbilt 102, High Point 61
- Oklahoma State 82, Princeton 68
- Illinois 66, Colorado 57
- UCLA 96, California Baptist 43
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
