March Madness scores, highlights: Upsets, close calls, routs from NCAA Tournament first round

Be sure to follow USA TODAY Sports' live updates keeping track of all of NCAA Tournament's Friday first round games.

It's one of the best days on the sports calendar: Men's NCAA Tournament first round Thursday. (First round Friday is a close second.)

USA TODAY Sports has a team of journalists covering March Madness to keep you up to date with every point scored, rebound grabbed and game won.

Check out all the updates throughout the day, from opening shot to the final shot taken.

∎ No. 12 High Point was the big surprise with its upset over No. 5 Wisconsin, securing the school's first NCAA Tournament win. And its hero was a player who made his first 2-point shot of the season.

∎ Nebraska also got its first March Madness win in program history, snapping its distinction as the only Power conference team yet to win an NCAA Tournament game. The Cornhuskers blitzed Troy, behind Pryce Sandfort's blistering hot shooting.

∎ Duke, the top overall seed, trailed for most of the game against No. 16 seed Siena before asserting itself late to avoid becoming just the third No. 1 seed to lose in the first round.

March Madness games yesterday: NCAA Tournament first round scores

• No. 9 TCU 66, No. 8 Ohio State 64
• No. 4 Nebraska 76, No. 13 Troy 47
• No. 6 Louisville 83, No. 11 South Florida 79
• No. 12 High Point 83, No. 5 Wisconsin 82
• No. 1 Duke 71, No. 16 Siena 65
• No. 5 Vanderbilt 78, No. 12 McNeese State 68
• No. 3 Michigan State 92, No. 14 North Dakota State 67
• No. 4 Arkansas 97, No. 13 Hawaii 78
• No. 11 VCU 82, No. 6 North Carolina 78, OT
• No. 1 Michigan 101, No. 16 Howard 80
• No. 11 Texas 79, No. 6 BYU 71
• No. 10 Texas A&M 63, No. 7 Saint Mary's 50
• No. 3 Illinois 105, No. 14 Penn 70
• No. 9 Saint Louis 102, No. 8 Georgia 77
• No. 3 Gonzaga 73, No. 14 Kennesaw State 64
• No. 2 Houston 78, No. 15 Idaho 47

Saint Louis vs Georgia highlights

Houston vs Idaho highlights

Illinois vs Penn highlights

Texas A&M vs Saint Mary's highlights

Texas vs BYU highlights

Michigan vs Howard highlights

VCU vs North Carolina highlights

High Point vs Wisconsin highlights

Duke vs Siena highlights

Nebraska vs Troy highlights

TCU vs Ohio State highlights

Vanderbilt vs McNeese highlights

Louisville vs South Florida highlights

Michigan State vs North Dakota State highlights

Arkansas vs Hawaii highlights

How many perfect brackets remain?

The vast majority of fans who created their brackets, hoping against hope to beat the impossibly long odds of creating a perfect bracket, have already seen their hopes dashed.

Last updated 7 p.m. ET on March 19

• ESPN: 10,754 perfect brackets remain (beginning with 26,029,409)
• NCAA: 14,000+ perfect brackets remain

Updated March Madness bracket 2026 second round schedule

Saturday, March 21

• MIDWEST: No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 9 Saint Louis, 12:10 p.m., CBS
• EAST: No. 6 Louisville vs. No. 3 Michigan State, 2:45 p.m. CBS
• EAST: No. 9 TCU vs. No. 1 Duke, 5:15 p.m., CBS
• SOUTH: No. 10 Texas A&M vs. No. 2 Houston, 6:10 p.m., TNT
• WEST: No. 11 Texas vs. No. 3 Gonzaga, 7:10, TBS/truTV
• SOUTH: No. 11 VCU vs. No. 3 Illinois, 7:50 p.m., CBS
• SOUTH: No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 5 Vanderbilt, 8:45 p.m., TNT
• WEST: No. 12 High Point vs. No. 4 Arkansas, 9:45 p.m., TBS/truTV

This section will be updated

Houston routs Idaho

Houston knock off Idaho by final score of 78-47 behind five Cougars scoring in double-digits. Houston was led by freshman sensation Kingston Flemings, who scored a game-high 18 points. Emanuel Sharp had 16, Joseph Tugler had 13, Milos Uzan had 12 and Mercy Miller, son of rapper, entrepreneur and former NBA player Percy "Master P" Miller, had 10 points. Idaho was led by Kolton Mitchell with 14. The Cougars' next game is a Southwest Texas battle, as the No. 2-seed Houston will face No. 10-seed Texas A&M Aggies in the second round. — Marcus Smith, USA TODAY

Final: Saint Louis 102, Georgia 77

Saint Louis earned a wire-to-wire victory over Georgia on Thursday. The Bulldogs never led in the game, while the Billikens build a lead as large as 40 in the second half.

Dion Brown went 9-for-10 from the field for a team-high 18 points in the Billikens' victory over the Bulldogs. Amari McCottry nearly produced a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. Jeremiah Wilkinson had 39 points for the Bulldogs in 30 minutes of play. Marcus Millender had 13 points and six assists in the loss. — James Williams, USA TODAY

Illinois wrecks Penn

Fran McCaffery's pseudo-return to the Big Ten went as many 3-versus-14 games do.

Illinois had little trouble with the former Iowa coach's Penn squad, rolling past the Quakers for a 105-70 victory. The Fighting Illini, who outscored Penn 65-40 in the second half, shot 50% from the field and 42% from 3-point range. David Mirkovic had a game-high 29 points and 17 rebounds for coach Brad Underwood's team while freshman superstar Keaton Wagler added 18 points, seven assists and seven rebounds

Vandals no match for Houston

The Vandals have proven to be no match in this game against Houston. Idaho, a No. 15 seed, has only had one player score in double-digits: Kolton Mitchell, with 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting. As a team, Idaho has been held to 25% shooting from the field. The Cougars lead continues to expand, having increased to 59-33 with 11:37 left. — Marcus Smith, USA TODAY

Saint Louis pulling away from Georgia

The Billikens have continued to pull away from the Bulldogs with a 74-47 lead with 11:44 left in the second half. Saint Louis has outscored Georgia 25-15.

Dion Brown has scored 16 points in 17 minutes of play for the Billikens. Jeremiah Wilkinson still leads the Bulldogs with 16 points. He has not scored in the period.

Houston vs Idaho score: Cougars dominating Vandals

Houston looks primed to make a run at the national championship, and they showed that by coming out of the gates in dominant fashion. They took the hearts of the No. 15-seed Vandals with a 48-24 lead after 20 minutes of play. Houston had two players in double-figures after the first half. The Cougars backcourt led the way as freshman guard Kingston Flemings scored 14 in the half and senior guard Emanuel Sharp added 12. — Marcus Smith, USA TODAY

Gonzaga holds slim lead over Kennesaw State

Could we see another upset in Portland?

It hasn’t been easy for No. 3 seed Gonzaga, with No. 14 seed Kennesaw State giving the Bulldogs all they can handle in the first 20 minutes. Gonzaga leads 33-27.

The Zags struggled to score out of the jump and were largely playing catch-up against the Owls, leading by as many as seven points. Gonzaga only took the lead when it used a 12-2 run to end the half.

It hasn’t been a pretty shooting night, and both teams are a combined 3-for-19 from 3-point land. Kennesaw State’s Kaden Rickard leads all scorers with 10 points. — Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY

Halftime: Saint Louis 49, Georgia 32

Dion Brown scored 10 points for Saint Louis in the first half of play. He shot 3-of-4 from the field. Kellen Thames scored nine points. Jeremiah Wilkinson had 16 points in 15  minutes of play for the Bulldogs in the first half. He shot 4-for-12 from the field but made 3-of-8 shots from long range. He was also 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. — James Williams, USA TODAY

Houston doubles up Idaho early in first half

No. 2-seed Houston Cougars came out the gates with intention against the No. 15-seed Idaho Vandals. They've more than doubled them in points and lead 33-15 with 7:24 remaining in the first half. Standout freshman Kingston Flemings has scored 10 points without a miss, shooting 4-for-4 and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. — Marcus Smith, USA TODAY

AJ Dybantsa points vs Texas

If this is AJ Dybantsa's one and only season in college, what a way to go out: He finishes the 2025-26 season with a heroic performance in a 79-71 upset to No. 11 seed Texas in the first round of the Men's NCAA Tournament, scoring nearly half of Texas' 71 points with 35 points on his own on 11-of-25 shooting. He also added 10 rebounds.

UNC basketball vs VCU score: Tar Heels upset in OT

No. 11 VCU upsets No. 6 seed North Carolina 82-78 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 19.

Terrence Hill made another 3-pointer to put the Rams back in front by two points at 80-78. Nyk Lewis also helped secure the victory with a pair of successful free throw attempts.

It capped the largest comeback in first-round history.

Follow our UNC-VCU live blog here.

Texas vs BYU live: AJ Dybantsa has 35 points, but it's not enough for Cougars

Jordan Pope hit a dagger corner three, his first of the game, to extend the Longhorn lead to seven with 1:21 left in the game. No. 11-seed Texas held on for the upset, holding on for a 79-71 win despite 35 points from BYU star freshman AJ Dybantsa.

Texas A&M vs Saint Mary's live: Aggies up big

Texas A&M has a 49-33 lead over Saint Mary's with 11:09 remaining in the game. Barring a massive comeback, the Aggies will keep their dancing shoes on while the Gaels go home early

Arkansas vs Hawaii score: Razorbacks win comfortably

For the blog Arkansas blows past Hawaii, moves on to face High Point

It's a final from Portland, with Arkansas knocking off Hawaii 97-78 after a high-scoring second half in which the teams combined for 85 points.

Four Razorbacks players finished with at least 16 points, led by 24 from Darius Acuff Jr. Meleek Thomas had 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Arkansas while Malique Ewin added 16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

With the victory, coach John Calipari and his team will face No. 12 seed High Point, which upset No. 5 seed Wisconsin earlier in the day, on Saturday.

Michigan State vs NDSU score: Spartans dominate Bison

FINAL: Michigan State 92, North Dakota State 67

A late scare in the last eight minutes didn't last long as the Bison never got to within single digits in the second half.

Michigan State's dominance on the floor was led by center Carson Cooper and guard Jeremy Fears Jr. The former led all scorers with 20 while Fears tallied 11 assists on the night.

The Spartans also shot an incredible 10-of-20 from three-point territory, including 3-of-6 from Jaxon Kohler. The Spartans will face the Louisville Cardinals in the second round.

Arkansas vs Hawaii live: Hogs take 15-point lead into halftime

Arkansas' big early run is the difference, with the Razorbacks taking a 54-36 lead into halftime. Five-star freshman Meleek Thomas leads all scorers with 14 points while Darius Acuff Jr. has 13 while making four of his nine shots.

Arkansas has made 20 of its 25 shots inside the arc against a Rainbow Warriors team over which it has a significant size advantage.— Craig Meyer, USA TODAY Network

Vanderbilt vs McNeese score: Vandy moves on

The Commodores are on to the Round of 32.

Sophomore guard Tyler Tanner got hot down the stretch, finishing Vanderbilt's first game of the tournament with 26 points -- more than half of which he scored in the final 12 minutes.

Conversely, McNeese State got cold. The Cowboys had a nearly six-and-a-half-minute field goal drought in the final eight minutes of the game. McNeese's late scoring prevented the game from finishing up as a blowout, but they were unable to overcome the deficit their scoring drought helped create.

Vanderbilt will play Nebraska for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Final: Vanderbilt 78, McNeese State 68  

Siena vs Duke score: Blue Devils survive

No. 1 seed Duke took all it could in its NCAA first-round matchup against Siena on Thursday, March 19.

The Blue Devils ultimately pulled off the victory despite trailing by as many as 13 points, 71-65 to advance to the second round of the tournament on Saturday. They will play No. 9 TCU.

Cam Boozer led Duke with 22 points and 13 rebounds, while his brother, Cayden Boozer added 19 points and five assists.

Siena led 47-34 with 18:24 left in the game. The Blue Devils did not take their first lead of the second half until there was 3:56 left in the game.

High Point upsets Wisconsin in March Madness first round

A popular upset pick, the Panthers entered the tournament one of the best scoring teams in the country. With Wisconsin another prolific scoring unit with a knack for knocking down 3-pointers, it was expected to be a high-scoring affair.

Read more.

Louisville vs South Florida score: Cards hold on, to 2nd round with win over USF

Isaac McKneely hit seven three-pointers and scored 23 points, and Ryan Conwell scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half as Louisville won its first NCAA tournament game in nine years, holding on for an 83-79 victory over South Florida in the 1st round of the East Region in Buffalo.

The Cardinals (24-10) played without their second-leading scorer, Mikel Brown Jr., who was out with a back injury, but he was not needed on this day.

Louisville, the No. 6 seed, struggled with its shot early but made timely buckets in the first half and dominated the glass to run out to a 37-27 halftime lead. Cardinals shot 54% for the game but let the Bulls back in the game by turning the ball over 22 times, leading to 24 South Florida points.

South Florida started out ice cold, missing 20 of its first 24 field goal attempts, and that continued in the second half as the Cardinals led by as many as 23 in the second half, led by Conwell, as the Cardinals hit 13-25 from 3-point land, to offset the Bulls, who made only five of their 33 long distance attempts.

Izaiyah Nelson, the American Conference player of the year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year, had 20 points and eight rebounds before fouling out, and Joseph Pinion added 27 points, six assists and six rebounds for South Florida (25-9).

Wes Enis, the Bulls’ leading scorer at 16.8 points a game, was held to four points and went 2-15 from the field, and missed all 11 of his 3-point attempts.

Nebraska gets first March Madness win vs Troy

Maybe you've heard by now, but Nebraska basketball began March Madness as the only Power conference team without an Men's NCAA Tournament win.

On Thursday, that distinction vanished beneath a barrage of 3-pointers in front of a loud Cornhusker contingent in Oklahoma City. No. 4 seed Nebraska beat No. 13 seed Troy, 76-47, in its South region first-round game for the first NCAA Tournament win in program history.

TCU defeats Ohio State to advance in NCAA bracket

TCU escapes with a 66-64 win over Ohio State to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Xavier Edmonds hit the game-winning layup with 4.3 seconds left, while Bruce Thornton misses a potential game-winning 3-pointer.

The Horned Frogs will play the winner of No. 1 Duke-No. 16 Siena in the second round on Saturday.

Charles Barkley says this is 'greatest freshman class ever'

Charles Barkley didn't waste anytime getting this out of the way: "This is the greatest freshman class ever. Ever."

That list includes AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Cameron Boozer (Duke), Darryn Peterson (Kansas), Darius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas), Kingston Flemings (Houston), Brayden Burries (Arizona) and Caleb Wilson (North Carolina, injured). You'll hear plenty of those names in NBA draft lottery.

Kenny Smith retorted that he's not ready to crown them: "You make your name in the regular season, you make your fame in the tournament."

March Madness printable bracket

Get your bracket printed out and filled to keep track of NCAA Tournament action.

Men's March Madness championship live odds

At the start of the 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament, Duke (+300) was the favorite to cut down the nets followed by Michigan (+360) , Arizona (+400) and Florida (+750). Here's where things stand on March 19:

See more odds here

March Madness predictions: Picks for every NCAA first round game today

Here is Thursday's full First Round March Madness expert picks from reporters across the USA TODAY Sports Network.

2026 Men's NCAA Tournament full schedule

• March 17-18: First Four
• March 19-20: First Round
• March 21-22: Second Round
• March 26-27: Sweet 16
• March 28-29: Elite 8
• April 4: Final Four
• April 6: National Championship

Where is men's March Madness this year?

• First Four: UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio
• First & Second Rounds: Buffalo, NY., Greenville, SC., Oklahoma City, OK., Portland, OR., Tampa, FL., Philadelphia, PA., San Diego, CA., and St. Louis, MO.
• Sweet 16 & Elite 8: Houston, TX., San Jose, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
• Final Four & National Championship: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN