Your bracket is busted. Don't feel bad about it — so is almost everyone else's.
The 2026 NCAA Tournament, the 87th edition of March Madness, has delivered the kind of chaotic second round that makes this event one of the few truly unpredictable spectacles left in American sports. Sixty-eight teams started on March 17th. By Sunday night, the Sweet 16 was set — and the list of survivors included names that nobody outside their home arenas expected to see there.
The biggest upset: No. 9 Iowa over No. 1 Florida. The defending national champion Gators were supposed to cruise. Instead, they went toe-to-toe with the Hawkeyes for 39-plus minutes before Alvaro Folgueiras buried an open corner three with less than five seconds remaining. Iowa hadn't reached the Sweet 16 since 1999. The celebration was justified.
“Instead, they went toe-to-toe with the Hawkeyes for 39-plus minutes before Alvaro Folgueiras buried an open corner three with less than five seconds remaining.”
Nebraska made history too. The Cornhuskers, a program that has spent most of its basketball existence in football's shadow, beat No. 5 seed Vanderbilt on a Braden Frager layup with two seconds left. First Sweet 16 appearance ever. Let that sink in.
Key Takeaways
- →March Madness: The biggest upset was No.
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- →NCAA Tournament: The biggest upset was No.
No. 6 Tennessee knocked off No. 3 Virginia 79-72, which is the result that officially ended every remaining perfect bracket in ESPN's Challenge — except four. Yes, there are still four perfect brackets out of roughly 20 million entries. Those people should either be studied or feared.
Duke, the No. 1 overall seed, survived an uncomfortably close call against Siena in the first round before pulling away. Michigan State advanced behind a Coen Carr eruption. Purdue cruised past Miami behind Fletcher Loyer's 24 points and is heading to its third consecutive Sweet 16.
The Sweet 16 tips off Thursday, March 26th. The Final Four is scheduled for April 4th at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, with the championship game on April 6th.
If your bracket is dead, switch to watching for the stories. That's always been the real point of March Madness anyway.