If you wanted some surprise and drama to start the 2026 NCAA Tournament, there wasn’t much of any provided on Friday. All of the top seeds won their games, and only a few games were decided by single digits.
While the results went as expected, that doesn’t mean the games weren’t worth watching or without meaning. Here are the most important moments from Friday’s action.
Texas, LSU, Duke and Oklahoma played like contenders
In the first round, the best teams should look like it.
So far, No. 1-seed Texas, No. 2-seed LSU, No. 3-seed Duke, and No. 4-seed Oklahoma
fit the bill. Each team destroyed its opponent, winning in blowout fashion.
Texas defeated No. 16-seed Missouri State, 87-45. Jordan Lee led the Longhorns with 19 points, and All-American Madison Booker just need to score 14 points as Texas cruised to victory.
LSU is notorious for putting their foot on the gas and never letting up against weaker teams. They did precisely that in their contest against No. 15-seed Jacksonville. The Tigers beat the Dolphins 116-58, with every starter scoring in double figures and MiLaysia Fulwiley leading the bench in scoring with 13 points.
If LSU continues to play like this, they’ll be destined to face No. 1-seed UCLA in the Elite Eight.
Duke has been one of the hottest teams in the nation, and they’ve kept their form up to start their tournament run.
The Blue Devils won 81-64 over No. 14-seed Charleston. Toby Fournier was Duke’s leading scorer during the regular season, and she led the way in this win with a team-high 24 points on 11-for-18 shooting. From the bench, Jordan Wood was literally perfect, shooting 6-for-6 from the field, including knocking down five 3s..
Oklahoma beat No. 13-seed Idaho 89-59 with a balanced attack featuring four players in double figures. Raegan Beers led the way with 18 points. Aaliyah Chavez also looked good in her tourney debut. She had 15 points six rebounds and five assists in the win.
Michigan State, Baylor avoid upsets
While no underdogs won, a couple of teams fought hard and nearly pulled off the upset.
No. 12-sed Colorado State lost to No. 5-seed Michigan State, 65-62. The Rams led for most of the third quarter, and the contest was even at 47 entering the fourth.
Michigan State started the final frame on a 7-4 run, establishing some breathing room. Inés Sotelo knocked down a pair of free throws, and after an Emma Shumate tip-in basket, the Spartans were comfortably ahead by six. Brooke Carlson then hit a 3-pointer for Colorado State during the final minute to make it a three-point game, and after they forced the Spartans into a 24-second violation, the Rams had one more shot at extending the contest.
However, Hannah Ronsiek missed a great look from the corner, sealing the Rams’ fate.
Kennedy Blair and Grace VanSlooten each scored 18 points for the Spartans in the win. For Colorado State, Carlson scored 26.
No. 6-seed Baylor beat No. 11-seed Nebraska 67-62, but entering the fourth, it looked like the Cornhuskers were going to win. They were ahead by six, and Britt Prince kicked off the final quarter with a 3. Baylor went on a 7-0 run immediately after and got the game back to a one-possession affair.
Nebraska held on until Taliah Scott knocked down a pair of free throws with 3:48 left in the game, giving Baylor the lead. After that, they pulled away thanks to big-time baskets from Scott and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs.
Scott was Baylor’s leading scorer with 15 points and Littlepage-Buggs ended the game with 13. For Nebraska, Prince had 27 points in the loss.
