2026 NCAA Basketball Tournament Highlights: UCLA Escapes, More

The first full day of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament was an absolute thriller, and we're back with more March Madness on Friday with 16 more games!

Kicking the day off, No. 7 seed Kentucky beat No. 10 seed Santa Clara in an overtime thriller, No. 5 seed Texas Tech took care of business against No. 12 seed Akron and top-seeded Arizona dominated No. 16 seed LIU. Elsewhere, No. 3 seed Virginia narrowly avoided an upset at the hands of No. 14 seed Wright State, No. 2 seed Iowa State crushed No. 15 seed Tennessee State and No. 4 seed Alabama cruised past No. 13 seed Hofstra. Then, No. 8 seed Villanova fell to No. 9 seed Utah State and No. 6 seed Tennessee blew past No. 11 seed Miami (OH) with ease.

In the evening slate, No. 9 seed Iowa took down No. 8 seed Clemson, No. 5 seed St. John's crushed No. 12 seed Northern Illinois, No. 2 seed Purdue dominated No. 15 seed Queens and No. 7 seed UCLA escaped No. 10 seed UCF.

Here are the highlights and top moments from Friday's action!