A couple of thrilling, down-to-the-wire finishes helped cap off the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament in riveting fashion. No. 5 seed St. John’s advanced past No. 4 seed Kansas with a 67-65 victory when Dylan Darling banked home a buzzer-beating layup after being held scoreless all game.

That one could not be topped, but Iowa’s Alvaro Folgueiras tried his best. The Hawkeyes’ versatile forward drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer from the right corner with 4.5 seconds left that ultimately lifted Iowa to a 73-72 upset of reigning national champion Florida. The No. 1 seed Gators had one final possession, but they couldn’t get a shot attempt up as their hopes of a repeat flamed out in stunning fashion.

In a distant third-place for best finish of the day were Tennessee and Virginia, as the No. 6 seed Volunteers outlasted the No. 3 seed Cavaliers 79-72 in a game that was tight until the end. Virginia’s Thijs De Ridder put UVa ahead 71-70 with a 3-pointer at the 2:03 mark. Tennessee outscored Virginia 9-1 from there with all nine of those points coming at the free-throw line.

Here’s a rundown of things to know from Sunday as the NCAA Tournament field got chopped down to just 16 teams.

We followed all the action here as the first weekend of the 2026 NCAA Tournament came to a close.  

2026 NCAA Tournament scores

All times Eastern | NCAA Tournament schedule | LIVE bracket

12:10 PMSt. Louis(2) Purdue 79, (7) Miami (FL) 69CBSHighlights2:45 PMSt. Louis(2) Iowa State 82, (7) Kentucky 63CBSHighlights5:15 PMSan Diego(5) St. John’s 67, (4) Kansas 65CBSHighlights6:10 PMPhiladelphia(6) Tennessee 79, (3) Virginia 72TNTHighlights7:10 PMTampa(9) Iowa 73, (1) Florida 72TBSHighlights7:50 PMSan Diego (1) Arizona 78, (9) Utah State 66truTVHighlights 8:45 PMPhiladelphia(2) UConn 73, (7) UCLA 57TNTHighlights 9:45 PMTampa(4) Alabama 90, (5) Texas Tech 65TBSHighlights Gators go down

Eight of the past nine defending NCAA Tournament champions have now failed to reach the Sweet 16 after Florida became the first No. 1 seed to exit the bracket. The lone exception on the list is UConn in 2024, which followed up a 2023 national title by winning another. The Gators looked like legitimate contenders to do the same as they ran through the SEC and won the league outright by three games. But the Gators met their match on the boards against Iowa amid an uncharacteristically quiet performance from Florida star big man Rueben Chinyelu. 

Alex Karaban stays hot

No. 2 seed UConn’s 73-57 win over No. 7 seed UCLA wasn’t as lopsided as the final score suggests. The Bruins were within 58-54 with under six minutes to play before the Huskies pulled away. Though he didn’t play a starring role in the finishing stretch, senior forward Alex Karaban did plenty to ensure that UConn advanced to the Sweet 16 after getting eliminated in the second round last season. His game-high 27 points came on 9-of-16 shooting and followed a 22-point showing in the Huskies’ first round victory. This is the version of Karaban UConn will need to scare No. 3 seed Michigan State in the Sweet 16.

Alabama destroys Texas Tech

Alabama’s dominant 90-65 win over Texas Tech will go down as one of the weekend’s most surprising scores. The Crimson Tide absolutely rolled, even while playing without suspended starting point guard Aden Holloway. Whether Bama has the size to contend with Michigan in the Sweet 16 is an entirely different question, but this weekend proved the Crimson Tide shouldn’t be written off on account of Holloway’s absence. Labaron Philon is looking plenty capable of handling a greater share of the lead guard duties after dishing out 12 assists against the Red Raiders.