2 hours ago
2
Mar 20, 2026, 03:07 PM ET
The first round of the 2026 men's NCAA tournament continues on Friday -- and we're tracking how every game was decided.
As every winner's second-round matchup is set, ESPN's reporters will also break down each team's keys for advancing to the Sweet 16.
Go to: Live tracker
(5) Texas Tech 91, (12) Akron 71
How Texas Tech won: Akron closed the gap to four points midway through the second half, but Texas Tech -- playing without All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin -- shot better than 75% in the second half to run away with it. (Forward LeJuan Watts, who led with 6 rebounds, also fouled out with under 10 minutes to go.) Freshman guard Jaylen Petty put up a career-best 24 points (5 of 7 from 3), and the Raiders held the Zips' top-10 scoring offense that had averaged 88.4 points per game during the regular season to just 71 points. -- Jenna Laine
(7) Kentucky 89, (10) Santa Clara 84
How Kentucky won: Add what Otega Oweh did to the list of great performances in Kentucky's tournament history. Oweh scored a career-high 35 points to send the 7-seed Wildcats to the next round. Oweh's midcourt prayer that banked through the net at the buzzer sent the game into overtime and helped the Wildcats avoid the upset. Oweh fueled Kentucky's offense and held off a balanced Santa Clara attack that was led by Elijah Mahi and Allen Graves. Graves thought he had the game winner with two seconds left. But Oweh made sure he and the Wildcats had the last word. -- Ben Baby
