Every March, college basketball teams heat up, and get crazier than ever. Teams start banking shots like never before, and low seeds start to upset no.1 seeds.
The men’s NCAA March Madness started on March 17, 2026 featuring the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) playing Howard, and Texas playing NC State. Howard upset UMBC by three points with a score of 83-86, and Texas upset NC State by just two points, ending with a score of 66-68. These teams were known as what is called a “bubble team,” which simply just means they were on the verge of qualifying for the tournament as a whole, but had to play in the first four games to determine who would play BYU and who would play Michigan.
The teams that play in March Madness, do not necessarily make the tournament just because they have a specific record, but as an article from ESPN shares, “Thirty-one teams automatically qualify by winning their respective postseason conference tournament. The remaining 37 teams must earn an at-large bid, determined by the selection committee.” An at-large bid consists of multiple committees voting to evaluate each team to help determine the tournament field that they will be put in.
Let’s start with the“Cinderella” teams, the term refers to an underdog team that somehow manages to win multiple games against higher seeds. Khloe Lopez, a sophomore on girls varsity basketball at CCHS, when asked what’s been the most exciting or surprising part for her so far, shares, “Just watching all the teams go on the type of Cinderella story runs you see, especially on the men’s side. On the women’s side, it’s been really exciting to see the teams that have been progressing all year start doing well now, like UConn or UCLA.”
Similarly, Tyler Vosburgh, a senior on boys varsity basketball at CCHS when asked the same question, says, “I’d say High Point beating Wisconsin, because that was kind of the only big upset in the first round, and the Iowa beating Florida, because it was the first one seed to lose.” Staying in the same category of Cinderella teams, and/or Cinderella players, Vosburgh talks about Chase Johnston who plays for High Point, he shared, “He made his first two point shot to win the game.”
On the women’s side, Lopez shares, “Watching Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd do their thing is really neat this year.”
In the first round, a big upset almost happened. Many were confident that the Duke Blue Devils were going to take the easy win against the Siena Saints. However, this was not the case, as Siena put up a fight, leading by 11 at halftime. In the end,the Blue Devils pulled through, and won by 6.
In round 2, the biggest upset was between the Florida Gators and the Iowa Hawkeyes. At the end of the first half, there was still hope for the Florida Gators with the Iowa Hawkeyes leading by just two points, but as the final buzzer went off, the Iowa Hawkeyes took the win, beating the Gators barely with a score of 73-72.
So far, March Madness 2026, has been nothing short of crazy and entertaining. So, will this year’s tournament have some of the biggest upsets in March Madness history, or will it all go according to brackets? Stay tuned in to find out!
