The 2026 men’s NCAA tournament was always going to be defined by the heavy hitters holding down a top-seed. Indeed, the start of March Madness has gone mostly chalk so far: three No. 1 seeds and all four No. 2 seeds are still alive entering the Sweet 16, and the closest thing to a Cinderella is either No. 11 seed Texas or No. 9 seed Iowa.
There were still plenty of exciting moments in the first weekend, like Otega Oweh’s buzzer-beater for Kentucky in the first round, and Tyler Tanner just missing out on an iconic March Madness moment for Vanderbilt in the round of 32. St. John’s beat Kansas
