The first round of March Madness is in the books, and we’re already been on quite a journey. Cinderellas have both danced and seen the clock strike midnight. Some games have gone down to the wire, while others have seen one side dominate and send a message to the rest of the tournament field.
Friday saw the last 16 games of the first round help settle the field of 32 that will play this weekend. Just as we did yesterday, below we take a look at the winners and losers from another stacked day of men’s basketball.
WINNER: Otega Oweh
There’s really no other player we can start with. On Friday, Otega Oweh hit the shot that kids grow up dreaming of hitting. When No. 10 Santa Clara hit a three to take the lead against No. 7 Kentucky with fewer than three seconds to play, it felt like we’d just seen the shot that would define the game.
Instead, Oweh took the ball, spotted up from just past midcourt, and was fortunate to find that the bank was open.
THIS
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 20, 2026
IS
MARCH pic.twitter.com/OcAKNgerqm
Kentucky won, 89–84, in overtime in what was one of the most thrilling games of the tournament thus far, with Oweh leading the charge with 35 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Those 35 points tied with BYU’s AJ Dybantsa for the most in the tournament thus far, and Oweh got the perk of his team winning as well.
LOSER: Refs that miss a clearly called timeout
Every time a buzzer beater brings joy to one set of fans, it also brings misery to another. Such was the case for Santa Clara supporters, who went from elation to disbelief in record time on Friday.
That disbelief would soon turn to fury as it became clear that coach Herb Sendek had signaled for a timeout as soon as Santa Clara took the lead. The officials missed Sendek’s signal, and the Wildcats hit a stunner to send the game to overtime.
“I unequivocally called timeout, but they didn’t grant it,” Sendek said. “I think the video evidence is clear and anybody is able to pull that up. [Calling a timeout] is a likely response after Allen hits the three that the coach would be calling timeout to set the defense, which I tried to do, and I was successful in doing, other than it wasn’t acknowledged or recognized. That’s what happened.”
If the Broncos had been able to set their defense, it’s a safe bet that Oweh would have had to work a little bit harder to get off his game-changing shot. This one is going to sting for a while.
WINNER: Nine-seeds
With Utah State taking down Villanova and Iowa holding off Clemson, the nine-seeds completed their sweep of the eight-seeds in this year’s tournament.
While the No. 9 vs. No. 8 upset is hardly the most exciting, a sweep still feels notable. But as it turns out, the nine-seeds are actually way, way up in recent tournament history. Going back to 2018, nine-seeds are an astounding 24–8 in the first round. Something to remember when you build next year’s bracket.
The real test starts now though, as out of those 24 teams, just three—FAU in 2023 and Kansas State and Florida State in ’18—were able to reach the Sweet 16, and two of those came against a No. 16 seed that did the hard work of upsetting the No. 1 seed in the first round. Meanwhile, three eight-seeds have also reached the Sweet 16 in that span, with all of their wins coming against their region’s top seed.
LOSER: Upset watch
Elsewhere on the bracket, it was a big day for oh-so-close upset efforts.
No. 14 Wright State took a 43–38 lead into halftime over No. 3 Virginia before the Cavaliers came battling back to win. No. 13 Hofstra put up a heck of a fight against No. 4 Alabama before the Crimson Tide broke things open in the final few minutes.
And No. 12 Akron kept things close with No. 5 Texas Tech until late in the second half. No. 13 Cal Baptist battled back in the second half to make No. 4 Kansas sweat far more than expected.
While there’s a gulf of basketball between almost-upset and Cinderella story, these lower seeds put on a show worth celebrating even if they’re going home early. But let’s just say the day was not as cruel to our brackets as it could have been.
WINNER: Arizona iced tea
No. 1 Arizona was up against No. 16 Long Island University in a first-round matchup for the right to claim iced tea supremacy. Anyone who has had both an Arizona iced tea and a Long Island iced tea knew that Arizona was winning this one in a walk, and the Wildcats backed it up on the court en route to a 92–58 win.
there’s no i in team but there is tea https://t.co/u0dTjGYIG2 pic.twitter.com/60euXCG6Am
— AriZona Iced Tea (@DrinkAriZona) March 20, 2026
Price is on the can. It’s a winning recipe.
WINNER: Inclement weather
It was a good day to be bad weather. The Red Storm and Cyclones both scored big wins over No. 12 Northern Iowa and No. 15 Tennessee State, respectively. The Hurricanes of Miami held off No. 10 Missouri late night. The Crimson Tide (that’s inclement weather right? You would be unsettled if the tide came in one day and it was a deep red, right?) also took home the win over Hofstra.
I don’t know if there’s a historic favorite mascot in college basketball—feels like the Wildcats would have to be up there—but could this be the year of the weather warning?
LOSER: Public dogs
Just before the games tipped off on Friday, I saw an extremely nerve-racking tweet. It would appear that the betting public had found quite a few underdogs to support during the day’s basketball slate.
Five most-bet March Madness spreads (by total wagers) among Friday's 16 games at @BetMGM:
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) March 20, 2026
1. Akron +7.5
2. Santa Clara +2.5
3. Miami (OH) +11.5
4. Hofstra +11.5
5. Northern Iowa +9.5
For those unattuned to the trends of gambling, public underdogs are a dangerous thing to play with. When the betting public loves an underdog, it means a not insignificant amount of bettors think they see something in a plucky dog that Las Vegas missed.
Spoiler alert: You are never ahead of Vegas. Let’s just check in on how these games wound up.
1. Akron +7.5—lost by 20
2. Santa Clara +2.5—lost by five
3. Miami (OH) +11.5—lost by 22
4. Hofstra +11.5—lost by 20
5. Northern Iowa +9.5—lost by 26
That’s an 0–5 day for the most popular bets of the day. When in doubt, fade the public dog.
WINNER: The Tooth Fairy
UCLA guard Skyy Clark proved himself one tough cookie on Friday, eating a shot to the face while diving for a loose ball that knocked a good chunk of his tooth out.
He lost part of his TOOTH on this play 😬 pic.twitter.com/6KU0HrjP1y
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 21, 2026
Luckily his teammate Jack Seidler was there for the rebound.
Jack Seidler picked up his teammate Skyy Clark's tooth after it got knocked out 🤝 @UCLAMBB pic.twitter.com/xjMrL79kwf
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 21, 2026
Some enterprising dental health brand should have a commercial on this by next weekend, or the NIL system is failing.
LOSER: Sweater weather
All right folks, I try to be a lover of bold fashion, and I appreciate the valiant effort that Queens University coach Grant Leonard put into his choice on Friday. Leonard is simply a sweater guy, often rocking holiday-related sweaters on game days.
Grant Leonard's sweater game is off the charts 🔥 @queensMBB pic.twitter.com/bTxBEu40TI
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 21, 2026
Now, I appreciate the branding effort here of a smaller school making a splash on the national stage. If you’re going to play one televised basketball game all year, becoming “The Sweater Guy” is a sticky angle, and that can only help on the recruiting trail.
But man I am simply not a sweater person. Maybe he can consult with Kim Mulkey ahead of debuting next season’s courtside attire.
More March Madness From Sports Illustrated
- Watch Charles Barkley Speak to a Talking Basketball in Horrifying March Madness Segment
- Purdue’s Matt Painter Explains Why There’s No Easy Fix to the Mid-Majors Scheduling Problem
- March Madness 2026: Game Times, TV Channels for the Second Round of the Men’s NCAA Tournament
- March Madness Live Bracket Scores: Michigan Punches Sweet 16 Ticket in Men’s NCAA Tournament
- Road to the Final Four: March Madness Predictions, Picks for Saturday's 2nd-Round Games
This article was originally published on www.si.com as March Madness Day 2 Winners and Losers: Cinderellas Are Hard to Find, but Nine-Seeds Run the Show.
