March Madness upsets so far: Wins for Iowa, High Point among biggest upsets in 2026 NCAA Tournament

The most exciting part of the NCAA Tournament is that small programs are given the chance to play against big schools on a national stage. It gives smaller schools a chance to show they can hang with the best of the best, especially since the tournament is single-elimination.

The NCAA Tournament field comprises 68 teams, with four teams having to win play-in games to secure their spots in the bracket. The field is broken down into four regions of 16 teams each. Given that teams are ranked in descending order, there is a "favorite" and an "underdog" in every matchup. Some are close, like the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game, while others are far apart in terms of seeding and expected talent, like a No. 1 seed facing a No. 16 seed.

In the history of the NCAA Tournament since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, the Final Four has been made up entirely of No. 1 seeds just twice. That means in all but two of the last 41 tournaments, there has been at least one upset.

The 2026 NCAA Tournament began with No. 8 Ohio State taking on No. 9 TCU. It was the Horned Frogs that emerged victorious with a 68-66 win, marking the first upset of this year’s tournament. As things played out, all four No. 9 seeds beat the No. 8 seeds.

Here is more on all of the upsets that have happened so far in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. 

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March Madness upsets so far

Here is a look at the upsets in 2026 March Madness so far. 

No. 9 TCU beat No. 8 Ohio State

The Horned Frogs in Buckeyes met in the first game of the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. TCU came to play and went into halftime 39-24. Ohio State battled back throughout the second half, though, and nearly completed the full comeback. The Buckeyes scored 40 points in the second half compared to the Horned Frogs' 27, but they came just shy of the win and TCU advanced. 

The Horned Frogs were led by Micah Robinson, who had 18 points, and David Punch, who had a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. 

No. 11 VCU beat No. 6 North Carolina

No. 10 Texas A&M beat No. 7 Saint Mary's

Texas A&M got out to an early lead over Saint Mary's and never looked back. The Aggies went into halftime up 11 points and maintained their lead throughout the second half. When the dust settled, Texas A&M cruised to the 63-50 victory. 

The Aggies were led by Rashaun Agee, who finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and three assists. 

No. 9 Saint Louis beat No. 8 Georgia

Saint Louis was matched up with Georgia in the first round, pitting an Atlantic-10 at-large team against an at-large team from the SEC. The Billikens took the opportunity to ball out for the mid-majors and took some frustrations out on Georgia. Saint Louis took a 17-point lead into halftime and didn't take its foot off the gas. 

No. 11 Texas beat No. 6 BYU

Texas was one of the last at-large teams in the NCAA Tournament, which meant it had to play in for its spot as an 11-seed. The Longhorns beat NC State in the play-in game, which may have helped them build momentum. Texas was then matched up with BYU in the first round. The Longhorns led by nine at halftime but were outscored by the Cougars in the second half, 34-33.

Texas still hung on for the eight-point win. The Longhorns were led in scoring by Matas Vokietatis, who recorded a double-double with 23 points and 16 rebounds in 33 minutes of action.

No. 12 High Point beat No. 5 Wisconsin

High Point had the biggest upset win on the first day of the first round. The Panthers entered the tournament as the Big South Champions and were given a No. 12 seed to take on Wisconsin, an at-large team from the Big Ten. High Point hung with Wisconsin throughout the game, keeping the game close. Chase Johnston, infamously known for only making three pointers during the regular season, hit his first two of the year and it ended up being the two points the Panthers needed to clinch the win. 

MORE: High Point joins list of 12 seeds to beat a 5 seed in NCAA Tournament

No. 9 Utah State beat No. 8 Villanova

Despite having a 10-point lead early in the second half, the Villanova Wildcats were unable to hold on against Utah State. The Cougars never believed they were out of the running to win this game, and their determination showed. The team shot just 12.6% (2/16) from beyond the arc today, compared to Villanova's 46.7% (14/30), so the Cougars had to adapt. Utah's guards were what pulled them away from Villanova, and helped lead the team on a 20-6 run to close out the game, largely thanks to MJ Collins Jr.

No. 9 Iowa beat No. 8 Clemson

Iowa confirmed that every No. 9 seed would advance in this year's bracket. The Hawkeyes took down Clemson, 67-61, fending off some late Tigers pushes to move forward in the South Region. Even on a day where star guard Bennett Stirtz shot just 4 of 17 from the field, Iowa built a halftime lead and held on thanks to 14 points from Alvaro Folgueiras off the bench, plus an efficient 15-point night for Kael Combs. The Hawkeyes took 31 trips to the free-throw line and out-rebounded Clemson 40-27 in the first-round matchup.

No. 11 Texas beat No. 3 Gonzaga

Texas entered the tournament as one of the last four in. After besting AJ Dybantsa and BYU in Round of 64, the Longhorns did one better in the second round, slipping past Mark Few and Gonzaga, 74-68. The Zags fell victim to Matas Vokietaitis starring showcase -- the Lithuanian led the way for Texas with 17 points and nine rebounds.

No. 5 St. John's beat No. 4 Kansas

St. John's win over Kansas can hardly be considered an upset, at least as far sportsbooks are concerned. The Red Storm entered the game as 2.5-point favorites. Still, their ranking reveals that the committee thought the Jayhawks were well-equipped to handle St. John's threat.

For a moment, that seemed to be the case. After falling behind by as many as 14 in the second half, Kansas rallied, bringing the score level at 65 points apiece with 3.9 seconds left. Overtime looked likely, at least until Dylan Darling slipped beyond his marker, lifted the ball past outstretched arms and caromed his effort off the backboard and into the basket to deliver a memorable win for Rick Pitino's bunch.

No. 9 Iowa beat No. 1 Florida

Iowa notched its second upset in as many tournament games, outgunning Florida with a game-winning triple from Alvaro Folgueiras.

The Hawkeyes led by as many as 12 during the contest, surging to the top of the leaderboard with a barrage of baskets at the rim. The Gators whittled their advantage down, benefitting from Alex Condon's scoring outburst. But Folgueiras came up clutch in the game's waning moments, collecting a Bennett Stirtz bounce pass before firing an effort towards the target with five seconds left.

It fell through, lifting the Hawkeyes to their first Sweet 16 since 1999.

Any upsets in college basketball today?

There have been two upsets in the March 22 slate of games. No. 5 St. John's bested No. 4 Kansas in the early afternoon games via a buzzer-beater. A few hours later, No. 9 Iowa claimed a win over defending national champion Florida, surging out in front after a last-second three-pointer.

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Why are there so many upsets in March Madness?

The NBA conducts its playoffs in a series format. After a single elimination play-in tournament for the final two spots, the rest of the playoffs are four best-of-seven series. 

The NCAA playoff system is extremely exciting because it is a single-elimination tournament. The No. 1 team in the field could beat the No. 16 team 99 times out of 100. But the excitement comes from the fact that it has now been proven that the No. 16 team has a chance to pull off a miraculous win, and that 100th time the two would've played, and the upset would've occurred, just happens to be in the tournament.