Good morning Bracket Busters!
Saturday kicked off the Round of 32 with blue blood powerhouses and mid-major spoilers looking to topple everyone’s brackets. Despite a fairly chalky day on the hardwoods, Saturday’s action was not without a little drama and last-minute heroics.
Let’s get rollin!
The Highlights (and Heartbreaks) from Day 1 of the Round of 32
Cornhuskers Continue Dancing: After picking up their first tournament win in school history on Thursday, No. 4 Nebraska continues to ride the winning wave in a thriller against No. 5 Vanderbilt. In an absolute slug fest, the Cornhuskers outlasted Vandy thanks to Braden Frager cutting through several Commodores making a driving layup with 2.2 seconds left to put Big Red up 74-72. Vandy heaved one from half-court+, but it rattled out of the rim as time expired to send Nebraska to the Sweet 16. Thrilling finish!
How Sweet it is to Be a Longhorn: After no upsets Friday, and several favorites moving onto the Sweet 16 earlier in the day, Texas provided the bracket-busting upset that we all crave. And this one came at the expense of Gonzaga, a perennial tournament darling. There’s definitely something in the water in Spokane, WA, but it’s not the good stuff. The Bulldogs make an early exit for the second year in a row after reaching the Sweet 16 nine consecutive times. With a 74-68 victory, No. 11 Texas becomes the 6th play-in team since the tournament expanded in 2011 to advance this far.
Sparty Superman Coen Carr Flies High: If you haven’t seen this kid on a break-away being fed alley-oops from Jeremy Fears Jr. than you are missing out. It’s head above the rim, tongue hanging out, monstrous dunks. No. 3 Michigan State took down No. 6 Louisville 77-69 with Carr recording his first career double-double with 21 points and 10 boards. He can thank his floor captain Jeremy Fears Jr. who recorded 16 assists, most by any Spartan in tournament history (Magic Johnson had 14 in 1979). Coach Izzo continues his March dominance getting the most out of his boys when it actually counts.
Another Slow Start for Duke: The Blue Devils are starting 2026 tournament games slower than a sloth on Ambien. Cameron Boozer had a mere 2 points in the first half giving No. 9 TCU more of a chance than they deserve. Tied at 44 with ~14 minutes to go, Duke went on a 30-8 run in the next 11 minutes to squish the Horned Frogs, 81-58. Boozer finished with 19 and got plenty of help from a healing Duke squad. Patrick Ngongba II returned from an injury giving the Blue Devils some much needed bench strength heading into their 25th Sweet 16.
Favorites Move to the Sweet 16
- Michigan 95, Saint Louis 72: Michigan treated Saint Louis like their practice squad using their depth and size to dominate the Billikens. The Wolverines make their 7th consecutive Sweet 16 appearance in as many attempts.
- Houston 88, Texas A&M 57: The No. 2 Cougars curb-stomped the Aggies, ending the first half with an 18-0 run that dashed Texas A&M’s hopes to upend everyone’s bracket.
- Illinois 76, VCU 55: Illinois finally put VCU out of its misery, erupting in the second half to a blow-out victory.
- Arkansas 81, High Point 88: The popular No. 4 Razorbacks survived a battle with High Point, pulling away late behind a massive 36-point effort from the one of the nation’s leading scorers, Darius Acuff Jr.
Standings Update: Halfway through the Round of 32 and I’ve somehow managed to stay on top of the mountain with 77 points. Gonzaga in the Elite 8 isn’t going to help much though. Correct picks are now worth 3 pts each, so we’ll start to see a little separation heading into the Sweet 16. Lots of basketball to go.
Chris Hendrickson leads the pack with 77 points and a max of 215
Dave Hernly is close behind in 2nd with 74 points and 217 max
We have a pile up at 3rd with 9 Bracket Busters locked up at 73 points including Ann Pelzel, Chrissy Goelz, Karl Lamar, Kyle Hendrickson, Michael Albrecht, Nunya Binnus (twice), Tom Edwards, and Matt Gamble
Blue List Reminder
Several more people came over to the ‘Paid’ side of the house yesterday. For those who are looking to join them, 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.
Another great set of games today tipping off with Miami (FL) and Purdue at 12:10pm ET. The Sweet 16 will be set after today’s action.
Enjoy the games today everyone!
Chris H
Bracket Busters HQ
Loving the recaps, Chris 🙌🏻