The first round of this year’s NCAA men’s tournament was one of the most lopsided on record.
Thirteen of 32 first-round games were decided by at least 20 points, the most on record according to CBS Sports. Just one top-five seed lost (Wisconsin, which fell to High Point), and while there were a few scares like Siena’s upset bid against No. 1 overall seed Duke, plenty of top seeds pulverized their first-round foes. Defending champion Florida’s 59-point win over Prairie View A&M was the largest margin of victory in the Big Dance since 1969. And all this comes on the heels of a 2025 tournament in which the Final Four featured all four No. 1 seeds, no No. 13 or worse seeds won games and no double-digit seeds made the Sweet 16.
