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Fourplay
Texas, Howard opened the First Four with a couple of dramatic victories. Maybe this sets the stage for a great tourney? Plus: Syracuse still looking for a coach, transfer portal news, the most likely Round of 64 upsets, and the mid-major players most likely to become March stars.
Sean Paul
March 18, 2026
Good morning! You’ve got one more day to fill out your bracket. And once you’re done, sign up for our $100K Survivor Madness contest and you could win big.
Let’s get to Tuesday’s news and those opening NCAA Tournament games.
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1. Two thrillers tip off the First Four
If the first two March Madness games are any indication, we're in for a doozy of an NCAA Tournament.
Texas snagged a 68-66 win over NC State to advance to the Round of 64 where it’ll face BYU.
The final seconds saw Tramon Mark hit the go-ahead shot with 1.1 seconds left, then Quadir Copeland tossed a 60-foot pass to Darrion Williams, who had his shot blocked.
This was a rematch of when these two played in Maui earlier this season (Texas won a 102-97 shootout), and the final minutes had their moments. NC State trailed by nine with 1:42 left, but used pressure defense and 3-pointers to make things close.
"We played these guys in Maui," Texas coach Sean Miller said, "And the score was like 100-100, and today was very slow, very different. One thing about the tournament, it can bring some anxiety to both teams. But I thought we missed a few easy shots and we weren't who we've been all season on offense."
Mark led Texas (19-14) with 17 points. Darrion Williams had 21 to lead all scorers.
The earlier First Four game also was dramatic in the final minutes. Howard’s 86-83 win over UMBC gave the Bison their first-ever NCAA Tournament win.
Howard (24-10) shot 52% from the field, 40% from 3, and scored 1.24 points per possession. It also had a surprising leading scorer in Ose Okojie, who went for 21 points, double his 10.5 ppg average. Bryce Harris, the MEAC POY, scored 19 points with 14 rebounds and five assists.
UMBC (24-9) trailed throughout, and even by as many as 14 points. But it had its chances at the end. It just couldn’t get all the way there.
Howard will now be a 31.5-point underdog to Michigan.
2. ‘Cuse won’t be hiring Hodgson + more coaching news
Much of the coaching attention this month has focused on South Florida coach Bryan Hodgson — a Buffalo, N.Y. native — and the likelihood of him taking one of the available jobs in the Northeast. Well, scratch one off the list.
