The NBA Panel covered the 2026 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Championship First and Second Rounds at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Game 1 of the First round matchups featured Wright State Raiders (23-11) vs Virginia Cavaliers (29-5). Virginia held on to defeat Wright State 82-73 to advance to the Second Round. The Cavaliers were led in scoring by Jacari White’s 26 points. Wright States leading scorer was Michael Imariagbe who finished with 19 points.
Game 2 of the day featured Miami RedHawks (32-1) vs Tennessee Volunteers (22-11). Tennessee used a strong second half to pull away defeating Miami 78-56 to advance to the second round. The Volunteers were led in scoring by Ja’Kobi Gillespie finishing with 29 points. Miami’s leading scorer was Peter Suder with 27 points.
Game 3 of the First round featured the UCF Knights (21-11) vs UCLA Bruins (23-11). The Bruins defeated UCF 75-71 to advance to the second round behind 20 points from Eric Dailey Jr. UCF was led in scoring by Jordan Burkes with 22 points.
Game 4 of the First round featured Furman Paladins (22-13) vs UConn Huskies (30-5). UConn pulled away to advance to the second round with a 82-71 win over Furnan. The Huskies were led by an impressive performance by Tarris Reed with 37 points and 27 rebounds. UCF was led in scoring by Alex Wilkins, and Tom House who both scored 21 points.
Game 1 of the Second round featured Tennessee Volunteers (23-11) vs Virginia Cavaliers (30-5). Tennessee held on to defeat Virginia 79-72 and advance to the Sweet 16. The Volunteers were led in scoring by Ja’Kobi Gillespie with 21 points. Virginia’s leading scorer was Thijs De Ridder who finished with 22 points.
Game 2 of the Second round featured the UCLA Bruins (24-11) vs UConn Huskies (30-5). UCONN pulled away in the second half to secure a spot in the Sweet 16 with a 73-57 win over UCLA. Connecticut was led in scoring by Alex Karaban with 27 points. The Bruins leading scorer was Xavier Booker who had 13 points. The opening rounds of the 2026 NCAA tournament didn’t disappoint, and has the makings of one of the best NCAA postseasons in recent history.
