Good morning Bracket Busters!
Day 1 of the 2026 March Madness tournament is officially in the books, and if you’re still breathing, congratulations — you survived the first wave of absolute chaos. I, on the other hand, am already questioning every life choice that led me to fill out three brackets that look like they were picked by a raccoon with a Ouija board.
To our returning Bracket Busters faithful, welcome back. I hope the past year has treated you well. To our returning champions, may your light burn with the intensity of 1,000 suns. For those of you who are new to Bracket Busters, congratulations on making one of the best decisions since they decided to add to cheese to a plain hamburger.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be your captain of the USS March Madness, brining you updates from the previous day’s action, some historical knowledge drops, and plenty of off-color humor. We’ll keep an eye on the standings and make sure everyone puts in their entry fees so our winners get that cold hard cash they deserve.
Let’s run through the carnage of Day 1, shall we?
The Highlights (and Heartbreaks) from Day 1
The Upset That Broke the Internet High Point (yes, the Panthers from the school with dorms nicer than most people’s houses) stunned No. 5 Wisconsin 83-82 on a last-second layup. The hero? Chase Johnston, a player who literally scored his first 2-pointer of the entire season to win the game. One make. One game-winner. That’s not just March magic — that’s the basketball gods laughing at everyone who thought Wisconsin was a lock.
VCU Does VCU Things Again The Rams rallied from down 19 in the second half to beat No. 6 North Carolina 82-78 in overtime. Because of course they did. VCU and March Madness have a standing date for heartbreak, and they showed up right on time. That 19-point comeback is officially the biggest ever in a true first-round March Madness game. This also marks 21 straight years that an 11-seed has won in the first round. And best of all…UNC heads back to Chapel Hill empty handed. Rumor has it every time a Tar Heel sheds a tear, an angel gets their wings. Blessed be thou losers.
TCU Edges Ohio State in a Game Nobody Asked For No. 9 TCU took down No. 8 Ohio State 66-64 in a game that felt like two seals fighting over a grape. No grace or apparent awareness that this tournament is a one-and-done format. Coach Diebler’s seat was a little warm coming into this tournament and is likely now scorching hot as he inexplicably drew up a play included a 3-foot inbounds pass and a desperation half-court prayer from Bruce Thornton. Yuck.
Duke Survives the Siena Scare The No. 1 overall seed Duke barely escaped No. 16 Siena 71-65. It got so close that for about five minutes America was ready to meme the Blue Devils into oblivion. Duke earns the dubious honor of being the first No. 1 seed to trail a No. 16 by 10 points or more at half. Thankfully, they lived to fight another day. Surely Siena’s gameplan wasn’t to play all 5 starters for the full 40 minutes, but Coach McNamara left them all in for the dog fight of their lives. The Saints only substitution of the night came with a mere 2 seconds remaining in the game.
The Rest of the Day’s “Expected” Chaos
- Nebraska 76, Troy 47: Nebraska treated Troy like they owed them money from a bad bet. 76-47 beatdown — the Cornhuskers looked like they actually wanted to be in March for once.
- Michigan State 92, North Dakota State 67: Michigan State rolled North Dakota State like they had something to prove. Coach Izzo continues his March dominance.
- Arkansas 97, Hawai’i 78: Arkansas dropped Hawai’i 97-78. The Razorbacks looked like they were trying to make up for all those years they wasted SEC talent.
- Houston 78, Idaho 47: Houston demolished Idaho 78-47. The Cougars looked like they’re ready to make another deep run — or at least remind everyone they’re still Houston.
- Vanderbilt 78, McNeese 68: Vanderbilt avoided a classic 12-5 upset rallying from a double-digit deficit to beat McNeese and grab their first tournament victory since 2012. Here come the Commodores.
- Louisville 83, South Florida 79: Louisville survived South Florida 83-79 in a game that felt like two teams who both forgot there was a clock until the final minute.
- Michigan 101, Howard 80: Michigan became the first team to put up 100+ this year, shaking off an uninspired first half. But for the Wolverine faithful, giving up 80 to a team who just won their first NCAA tournament game in history on Tuesday night is concerning.
- Texas A&M 63, Saint Mary’s 50: The Aggies simply outplayed the Gaels from the tip. This one wasn’t even as close as the final score indicated.
- Texas 79, BYU 71: BYU superstar AJ Dybantsa tried his best, but the Longhorns exposed the lack of depth on the Cougars bench continuing Lone Star State domination in this year’s big dance.
- Illinois 85, Penn 62: Illinois rolled Penn 85-62. The Illini looked like they remembered they’re supposed to be good at basketball.
- Saint Louis 102, Georgia 77: Saint Louis outclassed the Bulldogs in every aspect of the game. The Billikens make their triumphant return to March Madness after a 12-year drought and look to make some noise going forward.
- Houston 78, Idaho 47: Houston put the screws to Idaho in the late game slot. An outcome as surprising as an angry, middle-aged white woman at a No Kings rally.
- Gonzaga 73, Kennesaw St 64: And finally, Gonzaga held off the Owls who got within 5 late, but a day late and a dollar short for the scrappy team from Cobb County, Georgia.
Standings Update After Day 1
We’ve got a massive 8-way tie at the top with 28 points and 14 correct picks:
- Keith Hart
- Chaz Rice
- Christopher McCaffrey
- Nathan Anderson
- Matt Gamble
- Erich Achtmann
- Jason Cobb
- Tim Beamer
You animals are absolutely cooking right now. Great job!
Blue List Reminder
While I do this purely for the love of the game and interaction with all my good friends from across the country, our top 4 winners expect to get paid when the nets are cut down on April 6. To make sure that happens, we need everyone to pay their entry fees for this year’s Bracket Busters tournament. It’s $10/bracket, and you can get that to me in a variety of ways. Check out the Blue List page to see how you can settle up. For the 74 of you who already did…well done.
Today is another slate chalked full of potential upsets and blue blood dominance. Be a true American hero and take a half-day off to sip a cold beverage with your friends and family. Cheers to you and enjoy the games today! 🍻
Let’s keep this train rolling.
Chris H
Bracket Busters HQ