No. 12 High Point Delivers Stunner Over No. 5 Wisconsin for First Tournament Win in School History

It didn’t take long for the madness of March to take over the men’s NCAA tournament on Thursday. In the very first game of the tournament, No. 9 TCU bested No. 8 Ohio State in a thriller to start the hype for the lower seeds, but no one comes to March Madness looking for an 8–9 upset.

Enter: No. 12 High Point.

Facing off against No. 5 Wisconsin in the early afternoon, the Panthers got off to a rough start shooting from the field, ceding an early 15–5 lead to the Badgers. But High Point refused to fold, battling back and keeping things close in a game that was moving at 100 miles per hour right from the opening tip.

At halftime, High Point trailed by just two points, 41–39, despite shooting a dismal 6-of-23 from beyond the arc. They would flip that number in the second half, with sharpshooters Rob Martin and Chase Johnston playing hero for the Panthers.

Martin got things going with a three that tied the game 58–58 with 11 minutes to play, refusing to let the Panthers allow the game to get away from them.

Rob Martin AGAIN 👀@HPUMBB #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/eRYIVUvjUF
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2026

After another run from Wisconsin tried to put some distance between the team, it was Johnston spotting up from the logo to keep High Point at pace and get the crowd going.

CHASE JOHNSTON FROM THE LOGO 🎯 pic.twitter.com/BW4gGNkHW2
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2026

After shooting 6-of-23 from three in the first half, High Point went 9-of-17 from beyond the arc in the second half, including Johnston making three of his four attempts. Johnston plays a Duncan Robinson-esque role for the Panthers—heading into the game, he had attempted just four two-pointers all season, and missed them all, but was 64-of-132 from three, connecting at an astounding clip of 48.5%.

With just over a minute to play, Johnston hit another three keep High Point right in the hunt.

NICK BOYD CAN'T BE STOPPED AND NEITHER CAN CHASE JOHNSTON 🤯#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/UEGfU57pex
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2026

But in the closing moments of the game, Johnston picked the perfect time to make the first two-point shot of his season. With High Point trailing 82–81, the Panthers got the stop they needed on defense and Martin saw Johnston running free down the court, hitting him in stride to set up a layup that didn’t need a dribble.

FIRST 2-POINTER OF THE YEAR FOR CHASE JOHNSTON 😱

HIGH POINT LEADS!!! pic.twitter.com/N2ZWYSb9Dz
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2026

Wisconsin put the ball in the hands of Nick Boyd, but he was stuffed, and a late Hail Mary attempt fell short for the Badgers. The High Point Panthers had officially secured their first NCAA tournament win.

After the win, High Point coach Flynn Clayman offered a fiery challenge, saying it was time for high-majors to start scheduling more mid-major programs. “They said we ain’t played nobody. We played somebody now.”

High Point’s win was a product of the new NIL era

As Sports Illustrated’s Kevin Sweeney noted in our live blog following the Day 1 action of March Madness, High Point’s success is the result of an extremely aggressive in recruiting transfers and making the most of a healthy NIL war chest.

Per Sweeney:

You can see the impact of the Panthers’ massive war chest in their roster’s pedigree: Star PG Rob Martin, who had 23 points and 10 assists today, had averaged 15 points per game at Southeast Missouri State last year, while fellow key pieces like Owen Aquino (a starter at Liberty) and Cam’Ron Fletcher (a former Kentucky recruit with stops at Florida State and Xavier) were also highly touted additions that are hard to come by at High Point’s level.

That investment all paid off on the biggest stage in the sport today. And you can certainly bet that lots of coaches and ADs will bring High Point’s success story to their presidents and boards as evidence for why it’s worth pushing the chips in during the revenue share era to give their schools a chance at a moment like this.

All of those investments paid off on Thursday, with the program’s first NCAA tournament victory. The Panthers will face either Arkansas or Hawaii on Saturday with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.