The first round of March Madness was full of moments that lived up to the hype.
Editor’s Tips
1 relative
A handful of programs made the most of their March Madness debuts or earned their first NCAA Tournament victories. Howard won its First Four game and stayed close to Michigan in the first half of their first-round matchup. Siena was close to angering Duke. High Point had bragging rights with its upset win over Wisconsin.
But as important as the results are, other highlights from the first round didn’t necessarily have an impact on the box score but still deserve recognition.
Here are our unusual and personality-based superlatives from the first round.
No. 12 High Point’s surprising 83-82 win over Wisconsin wouldn’t have happened without Johnston. The senior guard, who scored 14 points in 22 minutes of play, came up big with a finger roll in the final seconds to win the game for High Point.
FIRST 2-POINTER OF THE YEAR FOR CHASE JOHNSTON 😱
HIGH POINT TOURS!!! pic.twitter.com/N2ZWYSb9Dz
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2026
Why is this unique, you may ask?
The layup marked Johnston’s first 2-point field goal all season.
In Thursday’s game, Johnston had seven field goal attempts, six of them from long range. Of the seven attempts, he made five, four 3-pointers… and the layup.
During the regular season, Johnston made 143 field goals; 138 of them were 3-point shots, where he shot the ball quite efficiently with a hit rate of 49.3%.
The most likely person to go platinum in a post-game interview is Flynn Clayman
High Point picked up its first NCAA Tournament win in school history with a win over Wisconsin — and head coach Flynn Clayman had a lot to say in the immediate aftermath.
In a postgame interview, Clayman expressed confidence that mid-majors can compete with any Power 4 program.
“It looks pretty obvious to me that high majors have to play mid-majors during the season. They said we’re not playing nobody – we’ve played nobody now. Nobody would play us, just like nobody would play Miami (Ohio). But they have to play us in this tournament,” Clayman said.
Most committed to the starting five: Siena
Siena put pressure on Duke from the moment the ball was tipped. Heading into the first round, Indiana was the only major conference team the Saints played all season – they didn’t lead once in that game, according to ESPN Research. But Siena threw that out the window when it faced Duke.
The Blue Devils trailed Siena 43-32 at halftime, becoming the first No. 1 seed to trail by double digits at halftime in the men’s NCAA Tournament. But Siena didn’t make a single change in the entire first half.
Although Duke eventually outscored Siena 39-22 in the second half to escape the upset and claim a 71-65 victory, Siena kept the same five players on the field for almost the entire 40 minutes. The first change didn’t happen until there were 10 seconds left in the game.
Three Saints players finished in double figures, led by Gavin Doty with 21 points, followed by Francis Folefac with 18 points and Brendan Coyle with 12 points.
Most likely to spill the tea: Long Island University vs. Arizona
Widely known for its student section’s “Fins Up” movement, No. 16 seed Long Island University faced No. 1 seed Arizona on Friday. But it was about more than just advancing to the second round of the tournament – both teams shared a unique connection to a “form” of iced tea.
The Wildcats share the same name as Arizona, the New York-based beverage company known for its iced teas, juices and energy drinks. The Sharks, on the other hand, are associated with Long Island Iced Tea, an alcoholic beverage flavored with cola to mimic the appearance of iced tea.
During the “Battle of the Teas,” the Arizona beverage maker weighed in on the match on social media after the Wildcats jumped out to a quick 15-4 lead in the first half, writing, “Guys I think I’m winning.”
Guys, I think I win https://t.co/QNlnyv7kRr
– AriZona Iced Tea (@DrinkAriZona) March 20, 2026
Arizona ultimately defeated Long Island University 92-58, celebrating the win with a shot of “tea.”
There is no I in the team, but there is tea https://t.co/u0dTjGYIG2 pic.twitter.com/60euXCG6Am
– AriZona Iced Tea (@DrinkAriZona) March 20, 2026
Most likely to cause a surprise: North Carolina
North Carolina got off to a hot start against VCU, which might make it seem like the Tar Heels have the win in the bag.
Until North Carolina’s halftime tweet was posted.
currently up by 19. pic.twitter.com/8cKopjUFa1
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 20, 2026
VCU’s Terrence Hill Jr. erupted in the second half, helping erase a 19-point halftime deficit and forcing overtime.
According to ESPN Research, Hill scored 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting in the final 15 minutes of play, compared to North Carolina’s 14 points as a team, helping secure VCU’s 82-78 upset victory over the Tar Heels.
The win also improved VCU to 2-4 in overtime men’s NCAA Tournament games and was its first such win since 2011, when it beat Florida State 72-71 in the Sweet 16.
Most sentimental bucket: Eddie Munyak
Entering the first round, Munyak, the Long Island guard, had spent just two minutes on the floor all season and only appeared at the end of the Sharks’ 83-61 win over Le Moyne in January.
In the final minute against Arizona, Munyak came into the ball game. With 53 seconds left, he caught the ball deep on the wing and made a contested 3-pointer. The ball hit the backboard and fell through the net, earning Munyak his first points of the entire 2025–26 season.
