March Madness live updates: Kentucky beats Santa Clara in overtime, tips off a loaded Friday slate

The RedHawks went undefeated in the regular season, before losing in their first game of the Mid-American Conference tournament. Miami (Ohio) was one of the last teams to make the NCAA Tournament, and had to play in Dayton, Ohio, in one of the First Four games on Wednesday.

Miami has already hit two 3-pointers, to take an early 6-4 lead.

With former Villanova coach Jay Wright, who led the school to two national championships, watching from the stands, the eighth-seeded Wildcats are trailing Utah State, 18-13, seven minutes into the first half. The Winner of this matchup will face Arizona on Sunday.

Utah State is getting it done inside, scoring 12 of their points inside the paint, including on this poster dunk.

Sixth-seeded Baylor held on to beat Nebraska, 67-62, and avoid what would have been a surprising upset, considering the Huskers had played in the "First Four" round earlier this week.

Washington had a much easier time, in contrast, while blowing out South Dakota State, 72-54, also in the Sacramento region.

There are other lopsided games still taking place. Fifth-seeded Ole Miss is leading Gonzaga, 39-23, at halftime, and top-seeded Texas is up 17-3 near the end of the first quarter against Missouri State.

Hofstra has largely met the moment so far, but it's the Alabama Crimson Tide who take a 37-35 lead into the halftime break. Shooting and rebounds are just about even for each team.

We've got all of the indictions of a good one brewing in Tampa.

Late in the Arizona-Long Island blowout, both teams emptied their benches -- and that gave Long Island's Eddie Munyak a shot at glory.

Munyak, a 6-foot-1 sophomore guard from Huntington, NY, only appeared in one game all season, and had not scored a point. Today, he banked in a 3-pointer against Arizona in the NCAA Tournament. Take a bow, Eddie.

The Cyclones appear to be cruising to an easy win over Tennessee State, as they lead 55-29 at halftime. But Iowa State's best player -- Joshua Jefferson, who averages 16.9 points and 7.6 rebounds -- left the game after only a few minutes due to an apparent ankle injury.

Jefferson appeared to land awkwardly on his ankle during a layup attempt, and he stayed on the ground writhing in pain. He had to be helped off the court and did not appear to be putting weight on the ankle.

No. 13 seed Hofstra looks awfully comfortable for a program that has never won an NCAA Tournament game. Hofstra is shooting 46% and playing stellar interior defense against Alabama, one of the country's superior offensive teams.

The Pride lead 30-25 with 3:15 to go in the first half.

After a back-and-forth game that saw the lead change between No. 3 Virginia and 14th-seeded Wright State nearly 20 times, the Cavaliers broke their first-round matchup open by scoring 11 unanswered points to lead, 78-70, with just over a minute to play, as Wright State missed six straight shots.

That was enough to help Virginia hold on for an 82-73 win.

Both teams made 13 3-pointers to shoot well above their average from deep. Six of Virginia's 3-pointers were made by Jacari White, who led all scorers with 26 points to help the Cavaliers win their first tournament game since 2019.

After 16 points in the first half, Wright State's Solomon Callaghan scored just two in the second half while he was used lightly.

The Cavaliers went on a run to seize control of this game against Wright State, capped by a 3-pointer by Jacari Wright and then a layup by White. He has 26 points off the bench for Virginia.

The ball just bounced Virginia's way. On a broke play, in the Cavaliers' offensive end, the ball seemed up for grabs until it fortuitously bounced to Dallin Hall, who flipped a pass to a teammate for a layup.

Virginia leads Wright State 73-70 with 2:59 remaining.

We've got some action in Tampa!

The Pride of Hempstead, New York, have used an 8-0 run to take a 20-16 lead against Alabama, who haven't scored in nearly three minutes. There is 11:05 remaining in the first half.

The raiders just went on a 7-0 run to take a 68-67 lead with under six minutes to play. Wright State has three players who've scored at least 15 points.

The Wildcats won this game easily, 92-58. No. 1 seed Arizona had four players score in double-digits, led by Brayden Burries, who had 18 points, five rebounds, and two assists.

The Wildcats will play on Sunday, against the winner of today's game between No. 8 Villanova and No. 9 Utah State.

About 12 minutes into the first half, the Cyclones have a commanding lead. Milan Momcilovic and Nate Heise have combined for 20 points for Iowa State.

Iowa State is winning 36-9. This one could be over by halftime.

The Crimson Tide are out to an early 13-9 lead as the Pride turned the ball over in three of their first six possessions. Still early though for those pulling for one of the more popular upset picks today.

The Ducks, seeded eighth, handled No. 9 Virginia Tech, 70-60, to advance to the second round. The Hokies went nearly six minutes without scoring in the first quarter and from there could never overcome the double-digit deficit that grew out of that scoring drought.

In the round of 32, Oregon will face the winner of top-seeded Texas and No. 16 Missouri State on Sunday.

In other women's games:

--No. 6 Washington leads No. 11 South Dakota State, 38-24, at halftime

--No. 5 Maryland is up on Murray State, 28-19 at the end of the first quarter

--And No. 11 Nebraska is keeping its upset hopes alive by leading Baylor, 40-37

The Cavaliers have developed a bit of a reputation for being upset early in the NCAA Tournament. Take a look at their recent history:

2023: No. 4 seed Virginia loses to No. 13 Furman

2021: No. 4 seed Virginia loses to No. 13 Ohio

2018: No. 1 seed Virginia loses to No. 16 UMBC

This year, No. 3 Virginia currently trails No. 14 seed Wright State, 60-58, with about 11 minutes remaining.

The Crimson Tide have 26 NCAA Tournament wins. The Pride have zero. That's the history facing Speedy Claxton's Hofstra team this afternoon.

Claxton has already helmed his alma mater to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in two decades, not far off from when he was a player at the school under then-coach Jay Wright.

Wright State is in position to stun Virginia because it made eight 3-pointers in the first half, one more than they averaged all game this season.

Six minutes into the second half, however, Virginia has pulled ahead, 51-50, after Wright State has made just one more 3-pointer. The upset-minded No. 14 seed is 9-for-23 from deep today. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are 10-of-18 on threes.

The Wildcats feature two freshmen who could be potential first-round picks in the coming NBA draft: Brayden Burries and Koa Peat.

Burries has 18 points so far, and has connected on 4-of-5 shots from 3-point range, while Peat has 13 points, six rebounds, and two assists.

With about 11 minutes remaining, Arizona leads 67-43. The Long Island fans are having fun at least:

The Cyclones are headlined by two talented forwards: Milan Momcilovic and Joshua Jefferson, who combine to average 34 points and 10.7 rebounds a game.

The Tigers are coached by Nolan Smith, the former Duke point guard.

Could blowouts be giving way to suspense in the women's tournament?

After easy wins by TCU and Duke to begin the day, and with Oregon leading Virginia Tech, 55-40, entering the fourth quarter, there has been little drama to speak of.

But that could soon change, with No. 6 Washington and No. 11 South Dakota State tied, 15-all, early in the second quarter, and Nebraska leading No. 6 Baylor, 28-27, at halftime elsewhere in the bracket.

Third-seeded Virginia entered today's game as one of the country's best shot-blocking teams, but it hasn't been able to fully deny No. 14 Wright State at halftime of their first-round game in the Midwest region. The Cavaliers trail, 43-38.

Wright State's Solomon Callaghan leads all scorers with 16 points.

Akron fought to cut the lead to five, but since that point, it was all Texas Tech, which used a 18-6 run late in the second half to dispel any threat of an upset. It was a wire-to-wire 91-71 win for the Red Raiders.

Led by a 24-point performance from Jaylen Petty, Texas Tech shot a scorching 65% from the field.

Next up for Texas Tech will be Alabama or Hofstra on Sunday.

Moments after Kentucky's overtime win against Santa Clara, the Wildcats' hero Otega Oweh was interviewed on the telecast. After Santa Clara hit a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining, Oweh responded with a heave from just inside half court to send the game to overtime. Kentucky then outscored Santa Clara 16-11 in the extra frame.

"That's what March is," Oweh said on the telecast. "All the best games happen at this time of the year. It was a blast. I'm just glad we got to pull it out."

Asked about his mindset, down three with 2.4 seconds left, Oweh said, "I was trying to get as close as possible to make the shot. I don't know, it just went in. It's March Madness."

The Wildcats lead Long Island 53-29 at the half. Brayden Burries has 14 points, on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range, while Koa Peat has added nine points.

If Arizona advances, it would play the winner of No. 8 Villanova and No. 9 Utah State.

Kentucky's Otega Oweh forced overtime with his heave just inside halfcourt, and Brandon Garrison provided a key boost with less than a minute to play in extra time to help the seventh-seeded Wildcats escape with an 89-84 victory over Santa Clara.

Garrison blocked a 3-point attempt on one end, then turned it into a dunk on the other for an 83-79 lead. Garrison later added another huge defensive play when he blocked a second 3-pointer by Sash Gavalyugov with 35 seconds to play, a stop that led to free throws for Kentucky.

Those sequences were critical for the Wildcats as they eventually held off 10th-seeded Santa Clara, which had looked ready to spring the upset all day. The Broncos were making their first appearance since 1996, only to lose in agonizing fashion.

Oweh was the star even before his game-tying shot at the end of regulation. He scored 35 points, with eight rebounds and seven assists.

The Wildcats went on a 8-0 scoring run late in overtime to take a lead over Santa Clara. The Broncos just hit a 3-pointer to pull within three points. But Kentucky has the ball and is leading 85-82 with under 20 seconds to play.

Akron's on a little 10-5 run. Tech's LeJuan Watts, who has 14 points today, has fouled out. The crowd in Tampa has woken up.

The Zips, who have never won a Division 1 NCAA Tournament game, are only down six points with eight minutes to go.

Remember, the Red Raiders are already without injured star JT Toppin. They will be down two of their top players the rest of the way.

Midway through overtime, Sash Gavalyugov made a deep 3-pointer for Santa Clara, and then Kentucky responded with a layup inside.

Kentucky leads 81-79 with about a minute left in OT.

Wow! Santa Clara's Allen Graves made a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left, to give the Broncos a three-point lead. Then Otega Oweh, Kentucky's star player, made a halfcourt heave to send this game to overtime, tied 73-73.

Oweh had 29 points in regulation, with seven rebounds and six assists.

Since Kentucky's Otega Oweh scored on a layup with 4:48 to play in the second half, Kentucky has scored just one point, and that has put the Wildcats in a difficult position, trailing Santa Clara, 70-68, with 24 seconds left.

Outside of a few brief moments, Akron has managed to keep the Red Raiders' lead in the single-digits. The Mid-American Conference champions trail by eight points with 12 minutes to play.

If the Zips have an upset run in them, they'll need to make it soon. Maybe star guard Tavari Johnson, who has struggled today, will have something down the stretch.

Tenth-seeded Santa Clara holds a narrow 70-68 lead with 38 seconds left in regulation and just grabbed an offensive rebound to hold onto the possession. Seventh-seeded Kentucky is on upset alert.

No. 14 seed Wright State is beating No. 3 Virginia 16-13 about eight minutes into the game.

Solomon Callaghan has 11 points for the Raiders and is shooting 3-of-4 from 3-point range. The 3-point shot ... the great equalizer.

Texas Tech has slightly extended its lead out of half, leading 52-43 with 15:07 to play. The Red Raiders are shooting 8-for-14 from 3-point range. If that continues, it's hard to see the No. 12 seeded Zips keeping pace.

Santa Clara had scored just three points in nearly three minutes until Allen Graves scored his second field goal of the game to put the Broncos ahead, 64-63, with less than 6 minutes to play in the second half. But ever since, Kentucky has gone on a 4-0 run to take back a 67-64 lead.

As expected, the third-seeded TCU Horned Frogs crushed UC San Diego in the first round, 86-40, to move into the round of 32.

Elsewhere in the bracket, eight-seeded Oregon is already up on Virginia Tech, 26-14. The Ducks have won their opening game of the tournament five of their previous six appearances.

The Wildcats are already up 24-12, and Brayden Burries, Arizona's dynamic freshman guard has 9 points on 3-for-3 shooting from 3-point range.

Somehow, the Cavaliers haven't won an NCAA Tournament game since 2019, when they won the whole tournament. Here are their last three trips to the Big Dance:

2024: lost in First Four

2023: lost in Round of 64

2021: lost in Round of 64

The Cavaliers are led by Thijs De Ridder, a 6-foot-9 freshman forward from Belgium, who averages 15.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.

Tenth-seeded Santa Clara led Kentucky at halftime and has taken back the lead again, at 54-53, with 9:07 to play in the second half. These teams have the same number of points in the paint and field goals, with barely any separation between them in most other categories.

Elijah Mahi just hit another 3-pointer, giving him three for the day and 17 points total for the Broncos. Santa Clara is only down 53-52 with about 10 minutes remaining.

The Broncos haven't been in the NCAA Tournament in about 30 years, not since Steve Nash played there.

Check out this dunk:

NBC News' Steve Kornacki picked the Wildcats as his winner of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. So did NBC Sports' Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, and Carmelo Anthony. Arizona just tipped off against No. 16 Long Island.

You might've seen this joke on the internet yesterday.

The third-seeded Blue Devils were never really threatened while pulling away to beat Charleston, 81-64, in the opening game of the women's NCAA tournament. Duke now advances to face the winner of No. 6 Baylor/No. 11 Nebraska, which tips off in 30 minutes.

The Red Raiders used 3-point shooting and stellar rebounding to keep the Zips at arm's length — but not much further than that.

Jaylen Petty leads Texas Tech with 10 points. Akron star Tavari Johnson has been unusually quiet with only 2 points on 1-7 shooting.

The Red Raiders lead Akron 40-35 at the half.

Texas Tech is starting to impose its will on the Mid-American Conference champs. Akron still can't score from close and is also losing the rebounding battle.

The Red Raiders lead 37-25 with four minutes remaining in the first half.

The Zips' Shammah Scott has 10 points off the bench. Texas Tech leads 31-25 with under five minutes remaining in the first half.

Big Blue will have to overcome a slight halftime deficit to avoid a first-round upset.

Seventh-seeded Kentucky trails, 31-29, to 10th-seeded Santa Clara at the break in St. Louis, where the Broncos' Elijah Mahi has 10 points and the Wildcats have taken just three free-throw attempts. Right now, this game is a coin flip.

Heavy favorites are having their way to begin the NCAA women's tournament as the day's first two games move into the second half.

At halftime in Fort Worth, third-seeded TCU leads UC San Diego, 48-25.

Meanwhile, No. 3 Duke continues to crush Charleston with 2 minutes left in the third quarter, leading 60-36.

Santa Clara is the fourth school that Herb Sendek has coached to the NCAA tournament in a head coaching career that began in 1993 at Miami (Ohio), and continued at NC State and Arizona State. But it was his four years on staff as an assistant at Kentucky, under coach Rick Pitino, that left him reminiscing this week as Santa Clara prepared to play the Wildcats.

While at Kentucky, Sendek recruited the current Kentucky coach, Mark Pope, but couldn't land his commitment.

"That four years was just, I mean, it was magic. Coach Pitino often refers to Kentucky as Camelot," Sendek told reporters this week. "And there’s a lot of truth to that. It is not like that everywhere else, you know."

The Broncos trail Kentucky, 26-23, with four minutes to play in the first half.

The two teams are a combined 4-13 from the field to start. Akron particularly has missed a handful of close-range layups. It's 6-3 Red Raiders with 15 minutes remaining in the first half.

The second men's game of the day features the No. 12 Akron Zips and No. 5 Texas Tech Red Raiders, who are missing star player JT Toppin to a season-ending injury suffered last month.

Akron has been a trendy upset pick but Texas Tech still has plenty of firepower, despite Toppin's absence. And keep your eyes peeled for senior Akron guard Tavari Johnson, who averages 20 points per game.

The No. 3 Horned Frogs lead UC San Diego, 30-12, early in the second quarter of their first-round game in the Sacramento region. TCU is a remarkable example of a program that has undergone a major transformation.

The program won 14 games combined in the two seasons before Mark Campbell was hired in 2023, and since then the team has averaged 28 wins each of the last three seasons, including an Elite Eight run a year ago. I covered Mark Campbell when he was an assistant at Oregon, where he was critical to recruiting Sabrina Ionescu.

At the break of the first women's game of the day, No. 3 Duke is leading Charleston, 45-26, after holding the Cougars to just 19% shooting in the first half. Charleston has actually taken more shots than Duke (36 to 32) but made 10 fewer attempts.

The Blue Devils have led by as many as 24 points.

The second day of the round of 64 in the men's tournament begins with a matchup between a blueblood program and a team with little tournament history.

It's seventh-seeded Kentucky, making its 63rd tournament appearance, against 10th-seeded Santa Clara, in its first March Madness berth since 1996. These teams are in the Midwest region, with the winner facing the winner of Iowa State-Tennessee State on Sunday.

You're not alone.

Jay Croucher and Drew Dinsick discuss the underdogs that could make waves on Friday at the men's NCAA Tournament.

One of the big headlines from the tournament's first day on Thursday was Nebraska breaking a 40-year drought and winning its first tournament game. One day later, another Big Ten team is trying to put an end to a different kind of streak.

The Iowa Hawkeyes haven't made the Sweet 16 since ... 1999.

The first step to getting to the tournament's second weekend begins today when the ninth-seeded Hawkeyes face eight-seeded Clemson in Tampa, Florida. Both the Tigers and Hawkeyes rank 192nd or worst in scoring average, meaning this could be a defensive battle.

The women's NCAA tournament has tipped off, with third-seeded Duke facing Charleston in the first game of a busy day. Duke holds an early three-point lead. Today will also feature such notable teams including No. 1 seed Texas and second-seeded LSU and Michigan.

Ali Farokhmanesh, remember that name? In 2010, he helped Northern Iowa upset Kansas, in a nine-seed over one-seed upset. Both teams happen to be in action today. How fitting.

No. 12 seed Northern Iowa plays No. 5 St. John's at 7:10 p.m., and No. 4 Kansas plays No. 13 California Baptist at 9:45 p.m., in a potential upset watch, according to NBC News' Steve Kornacki. Can the Panthers replicate their March magic? Can the Jayhawks avoid repeating history?

Over the last half-century, only a few handful Division 1 basketball teams have finished the regular season undefeated. The list includes some of the most memorable teams in the history of the sport — Larry Bird’s 1979 Indiana State team, the 1991 Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV and John Calipari’s 2015 Kentucky team full of future NBA stars.

This year, they were joined by ... Miami (Ohio), a midsized public school in Oxford, tucked in the southwest corner of the state. The RedHawks play in the Mid-American Conference, with schools such as Bowling Green and Ball State. Their roster is not stocked with high-profile recruits or players with NBA upside.

But Miami finished the regular season a perfect 31-0, jumped into the Top 25 rankings and became the talk of college basketball. Despite losing in their conference tournament, they made the NCAA Tournament and face No. 6 seed Tennessee at 4:25 p.m. ET.

The Florida Gators, the reigning national champion, looked like a contender to repeat while winning the SEC regular-season title by going 16-2 in conference play this season. That included an 11-game winning streak.

And yet, there is some question about this roster's ability to repeat after it was routed, 91-74, in the SEC tournament by Vanderbilt. It wasn't enough to drop the Gators below a No. 1 seed, but it will dampen some of the enthusiasm about their title chances.

Prairie View A&M earned the 16 seed by beating Lehigh on Wednesday in the "First Four" round.

Drew Dinsick chats with Jay Croucher about the favorites he likes the most on Friday at the men's NCAA Tournament.

The Huskies are one of only 12 high-major teams this season with all five starters averaging double-digit points on the season. It helped UConn win 18 consecutive games in one stretch and earn a No. 2 seed entering today's NCAA tournament first round against 15th-seeded Furman.

The Huskies have won their tournament opener each of the last three years. This is Furman's first tournament berth since 2023.

NBA Showtime makes their official Final Four predictions ahead of the NCAA Tournament.

Peterson, a guard that has NBA fans (and teams) salivating, is expected to be the top pick in the upcoming draft. His No. 4 Jayhawks tip off at 9:45 p.m. ET against California Baptist. What makes him so special? Here's what Jeremy Woo of ESPN told NBC News earlier this week:

“When he’s at his best, there’s no better scorer in college,” Woo said. “His shooting, his ability to get to his shot off the dribble, he’s good at everything when he has it going. He’s also an underrated defender at this point.”

Woo added: “He’s one of the most talented guards we’ve seen in the last decade or so in terms of skill or scoring ability.”

How about Santa Clara, perhaps? The Broncos were last in the NCAA tournament in 1996, when a freshman point guard from Canada named Steve Nash beat Maryland in a first-round upset.

Santa Clara plays in the West Coast Conference, which sent three teams to the Big Dance this year — joining Gonzaga and Saint Mary's — for only the fourth time in the conference's history.

Drew Dinsick and Jay Croucher discuss the best ways to go about betting the Most Outstanding Player in the men's NCAA Tournament.