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The first day of the NCAA tournament is in the books, and 16 teams have officially secured a spot in the second round. Both top-ranked teams who played on Thursday made it out of the opening round, though Duke just barely snuck past Siena after a scare.

AJ Dybantsa's enthralling stop in college basketball likely came to an end Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, as No. 6 seed BYU fell 79-71 to No. 11 seed Texas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The 2026 NCAA Tournament begins this month and the tournament features some elite March Madness names as the 64-team college basketball field competes. Every school is chasing Florida as the Gators aim to win another national championship.

The NCAA Tournament's first upset of note took place on March 19 during the first afternoon segment of games, with 12-seed High Point outlasting 5-seed Wisconsin in Portland, Oregon. Duke trailed for most of its first-round game before beating 16-seed Siena in Greenville.

UNC collapsed. Wisconsin was upset. Duke nearly fell. March Madness first round never disappoints. Check out 2026 NCAA Tournament first round updates:

The Horned Frogs delivered a thrilling win in the opening game to down the Buckeyes. Follow along with SI’s team of experts all day long.

March Madness tips off Thursday with 16 NCAA Tournament games. Here is the full schedule and where to watch the action. The post March Madness Day 1: Full NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament Schedule for Thursday,