PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Chase Johnston made his first 2-point basket of the season, a fast-break layup with 11.7 seconds remaining that gave No. 12 seed High Point an 83-82 victory over fifth-seeded Wisconsin on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Johnston finished with 14 points, including four 3-pointers for the Panthers, who were 10 1/2-point underdogs, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. He came in shooting 64 of 136 (47.1%) from 3-point range but 0 of 4 inside the arc, and he had played more minutes (406) and scored more points (196) without making a 2-point shot than any player in the country.
“I wasn’t really thinking whether it was a 2 or a 3, I was just trying to put it in and win the game,” Johnston said.
Rob Martin had 23 points and 10 assists for the Panthers, who will face either 13th-seeded Hawaii or No. 4 seed Arkansas in the second round of the Midwest Region on Saturday.
Nick Boyd finished with 27 points and John Blackwell added 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Badgers (24-11), who have lost to a lower-seeded team in each of their last four NCAA Tournament appearances. They fell to No. 11 seed Iowa State in 2022 and No. 12 seed James Madison in 2024 and lost in the second round last year as a 3 seed to sixth-seeded BYU.
This latest upset was responsible for ending the hopes of the vast majority of entrants who tried to complete a perfect 2026 bracket.
“You get sent home when you don’t take care of the things you need to take care of,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said.
After Johnston’s bucket gave High Point the lead, Owen Aquino blocked a driving layup by Boyd. The Panthers’ Cam’Ron Fletcher was fouled and missed a free throw, giving the Badgers a chance with 1 second left, but Andrew Rohde’s long pass was stolen by Terry Anderson and the celebration was on for High Point and first-year coach Flynn Clayman.
High Point earned a spot in the tournament by winning the Big South title for the second straight season. This was the first March Madness win for the Panthers, who lost to Purdue in the first round last year.
EAST REGION
NO. 1 DUKE 71, NO. 16 SIENA 65
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Duke barely avoided a shocking upset to open the NCAA Tournament, with the No. 1 overall seed having to rally from 13 points down and going ahead for good in the final 5 minutes to beat Siena.
Cameron Boozer had 22 points and 13 rebounds for the East Region’s headliner, which hit its first four shots yet need a comeback against a fearless upstart playing just five players right up to the final seconds.
And yet, the Saints took it to the Blue Devils (33-2) at every turn.
The No. 1 seeds entered the week with a 158-2 record against 16 seeds in the tournament, the outliers being Virginia’s loss to UMBC in 2018 and Purdue’s loss to Fairleigh Dickinson in 2023.
And Duke — a blueblood with five NCAA titles — spent much of Thursday in serious danger of being added to that list before finally wrestling away control of the game in the last 8 minutes.
Gavin Doty scored 21 points to lead the Saints (23-12), with his third 3 giving Siena a 61-56 lead with 7:53 left. But Duke ran off 11 unanswered points to finally push ahead for good, securing a date against TCU in the second round.
NO. 3 MICHIGAN STATE 92, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 67
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Carson Cooper matched his career-high with 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Michigan State routed North Dakota State to reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 22nd time in 28 consecutive appearances under coach Tom Izzo.
Coen Carr added 17 points for the third-seeded Spartans. Cam Ward scored 13 points and Kaxon Kohler had 12 points and nine rebounds. Leading scorer Jeremy Fears Jr. managed only seven points, but had 11 assists, exceeding his season average of 9.2 that ranks first in the country.
Michigan State (26-7) advances to play Louisville (24-10) in the second round Saturday after the No. 6 seed in the Midwest held on to beat South Florida 83-79. It will be the fifth NCAA Tournament matchup between the schools and first since 2015, when the Spartans beat the Cardinal in overtime to reach the Final Four.
Damari Wheeler-Thomas scored 16 points to lead 14th-seeded North Dakota State (27-8). The Summit League champions qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in 18 seasons and first since the 2020 tournament that was canceled.
NO. 6 LOUISVILLE 83, NO. 11 SOUTH FLORIDA 79
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Isaac McKneely scored 23 points, and Louisville hung on to beat South Florida to win its first NCAA Tournament game since Rick Pitino’s final season as coach.
Ryan Conwell scored 11 of his 18 points in the second half and backup forward Sananda Fru had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Cardinals.
Louisville (24-10) showed signs of struggling without starting point guard Mikel Brown Jr., who missed his fifth straight game with back issues. It was evident in the Cardinals’ issues against South Florida’s press in nearly squandering a 22-point lead over the final 11:25.
Brown is not expected to return for the second round on Saturday. That’s when the East Region’s sixth seed Louisville plays the winner of the game between third-seeded Michigan State (25-7) and North Dakota State (27-7).
Joseph Pinion scored 27 points for South Florida (25-9) in a game in which the Bulls missed 20 of their first 21 3-point attempts. The Bulls were making just their fourth tournament appearance and first since reaching the Sweet 16 in 2012.
Louisville had lost three straight tournament games since an 89-75 first-round win over Jacksonville State in 2017.
Recommended for you
NO. 9 TCU 66, NO. 8 OHIO ST. 64
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Xavier Edmonds converted a layup to beat the shot clock with 4.3 seconds left, and TCU held off a furious second-half rally by Ohio State for a victory to open the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Bruce Thornton’s half-court heave at the buzzer hit all backboard, and the Buckeyes’ standout senior leaned forward and put his hands on his knees in dismay near midcourt as TCU began its celebration.
Micah Robinson scored 18 points for TCU, Edmonds finished with 16 and David Punch had 16 points and 13 rebounds. The Horned Frogs (23-11) will play Saturday against either No. 16 seed Siena or Duke, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament.
John Mobley. Jr. scored 15 points to lead Ohio State (21-13), which was making its first March Madness appearance since 2022.
TCU built a 15-point halftime lead and appeared in control, only to miss 18 of its first 22 shots to start the second half and fall behind 55-50 with seven minutes left.
SOUTH REGION
NO. 4 NEBRASKA 76, NO. 13 TROY 47
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Pryce Sandfort scored 23 points and Nebraska rolled to its long-awaited first NCAA Tournament victory, beating Troy.
The Cornhuskers (27-6), the No. 4 seed in the South Region, entered March Madness as the only school from a power conference without a tournament win — they were 0-8, with many of the losses coming as the higher seed. Sandfort helped the Huskers end the drought by making seven 3-pointers.
Braden Frager and Jamarques Lawrence each scored 13 points and Rienk Mast added 11 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Huskers, who will play either No. 5 seed Vanderbilt or 12th-seeded McNeese in the second round on Saturday.
Victor Valdes scored 14 points for 13th-seeded Troy (22-12), the Sun Belt Tournament champion.
Nebraska opened this season on a 20-game win streak and was ranked as high as No. 5 in the AP Top 25, giving fans hope that this would be the year for a breakthrough. Paycom Center, which seats 18,203 for Oklahoma City Thunder games, was filled with boisterous Nebraska fans. The Lincoln campus is a 6-hour drive away.
NO. 5 VANDERBILT 78, NO. 12 MCNEESE ST. 68
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Tyler Tanner had 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Vanderbilt rallied to beat McNeese in an NCAA Tournament game.
The Commodores (27-8), the No. 5 seed in the South Region, will play No. 4 seed Nebraska in the second round on Saturday.
Duke Miles scored 13 points and Devin McGlockton and Tyler Nickel each added 12 for Vanderbilt, which trailed by 12 points in the first half and then took control after the break.
The Commodores shot 51% (26 of 51) from the field and made 17 of 20 free throws.
Garwey Dual scored 16 points and Larry Johnson added 15 for No. 12 seed McNeese, which was trying to knock off a No. 5 seed for the second straight year. The Cowboys beat Clemson in the first round last year under Will Wade, who then left for N.C. State.
McNeese led for much of the first half before Vanderbilt, which lost to Arkansas in the SEC Tournament championship game, got untracked. Nickel’s 3-pointer with 4:09 left in the half gave the Commodores a 30-28 lead, their first since it was 3-2.
WEST
NO. 4 ARKANSAS 97, HAWAII 78
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Darius Acuff Jr. had 24 points and seven assists, and No. 4 seed Arkansas continued its strong play after winning the Southeastern Conference Tournament, beating No. 13 seed Hawaii.
Arkansas (27-8) moves on to face No. 12 High Point in the second round of the West Region. The Panthers knocked off No. 5 Wisconsin 83-82 in the first game in Portland.
Meleek Thomas had 21 points and eight rebounds for coach John Calipari’s Razorbacks, Trevon Brazile added 19 points and three blocks, and Malique Ewin had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Dre Bullock finished with 21 points and eight rebounds for Hawaii (24-9), the Big West Conference champion, and Isaac Johnson scored 15.
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.