What you need to know and how to watch Saturday's second-round action in the 2026 NCAA Tournament
By Cameron Salerno Mar 21, 2026 at 12:28 pm ET • 3 min read 
Imagn Images The 2026 NCAA Tournament continues on Saturday with the first batch of second-round games that will decide half of next week's Sweet 16 field. After a handful of upsets on Day 1 of the first round and other top teams taking care of business, the stage is set for some epic matchups.
The biggest upset of the first round saw No. 12 seed High Point eliminate Wisconsin for its first NCAA Tournament win. The Panthers will face No. 4 seed Arkansas with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. Another double-digit seed that advanced was No. 11 VCU, after pulling off a stunning comeback win over North Carolina. The Rams will face No. 3 seed Gonzaga next.
No. 1 overall seed Duke was pushed to the limit by No. 16 Siena, but the Blue Devils managed to escape from disaster to advance. Duke will face No. 9 seed TCU next after it opened the first round with a thrilling win over Ohio State.
Follow live scores and updates from the second round of 2026 March Madness
Like High Point, No. 4 seed Nebraska will be making its first appearance in the second round. The Cornhuskers face No. 5 seed Vanderbilt in a marquee showdown. Let's get into some of the big storylines to know for Saturday's second-round action.
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How will Duke respond after its first-round scare?
Duke trailed by as many as 13 points against No. 16 seed Siena before using a second-half surge to hang on. The 13 points Duke trailed by marked its largest deficit of the entire season. The Blue Devils tied their largest halftime comeback win (11 points) in an NCAA Tournament game. The Blue Devils trailed by 11 points in the 2001 Final Four against Maryland. Still, the first round should serve as a wake-up call for the national title-hopeful because the road is only going to get tougher from here.
The Blue Devils have been playing with fire this month. Duke nearly lost in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament against Florida State. It took a missed shot at the buzzer for the Blue Devils to advance to the semifinals. In the ACC title game against Virginia, the Blue Devils trailed in the second half before exiting with a slim win. Notably, Duke is playing without guard Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II. Still, that kind of performance won't cut it moving forward, especially against a dangerous No. 9 seed like TCU.
Will double-digit seeds keep the party going?
One of the biggest storylines of last year's tournament was the lack of upsets. Well, after Day 1, four double-digit seeds (High Point, VCU, Texas, and Texas A&M) advanced. A popular upset pick by many in bracket pools was No. 11 South Florida taking down No. 6 Louisville, but that didn't happen. The Cardinals advanced with a win over USF and will face No. 3 seed Michigan State.
The game that stands out immediately is High Point against Arkansas. The Razorbacks have two of the most dynamic guards in the country in Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas, while the Panthers have the 3-point shooting that already sent one high-major team home. Texas continued the trend of a team from the First Four winning at least one game in the NCAA Tournament. A team from the First Four has gone on to win a first-round game in 13 of 15 NCAA Tournaments since the round began in 2011.
Vanderbilt vs. Nebraska is the game to watch on Saturday
When you think of college basketball powerhouses, Vanderbilt and Nebraska don't necessarily come to mind. However, this game might go down as one of the best matchups of the second round. The Cornhuskers are coming off their first NCAA Tournament win in program history, while Vanderbilt won its first game in the Big Dance since 2012. Nebraska was the only high-major team entering the tournament that had never won an NCAA Tournament game.
The hot shooting of Pryce Sandfort helped Nebraska advance. The star forward knocked down seven 3-pointers and finished with 23 points. Vanderbilt has a very strong backcourt in Tyler Tanner and Duke Miles that will look to play spoiler. Bottom line: This is an untraditional matchup with a whole lot of intrigue.
Saturday's NCAA Tournament streaming schedule
Games played at KeyBank Center (Buffalo), Bon Secours Wellness Arena (Greenville), Paycom Center (Oklahoma City) and Moda Center (Portland)
Time (ET)GameTV / Stream12:10 p.m.(9) Saint Louis vs (1) MichiganCBS (watch live)2:45 p.m.(6) Louisville vs. (3) Michigan State CBS (watch live)5:15 p.m.(9) TCU vs. (1) Duke CBS (watch live)6:10 p.m.(10) Texas A&M vs. (2) Houston TNT (watch live)7:10 p.m.(11) Texas vs. (3) Gonzaga TBS (watch live)7:50 p.m.(11) VCU vs. (3) Illinois CBS (watch live)8:45 p.m.(5) Vanderbilt vs. (4) Nebraska TNT (watch live)9:45 p.m.(12) High Point vs. (4) Arkansas TBS (watch live) Join the Conversation comments
