The first weekend of the NCAA tournament is in the books, and there are, of course, distinct winners and losers.
Among the large winners are the Big Ten and John Calipari, who has guided Arkansas to its second Sweet 16 in his second season as head coach. Kentucky, in the meantime, is headed house.
Advertisement
As for future lottery choose Darryn Peterson, he didn’t precisely make the ultimate impression at Kansas that NBA executives had been hoping to see. Let’s check out the largest winners and losers from the first two rounds of tournament play:
Winner: John Calipari
John Calipari’s exit from Kentucky marked a seismic shift in the school basketball panorama.
The recreation’s winningest program parted with one of the most profitable coaches of his his period, who’d opened up a pipeline of elite expertise to Lexington and led the Wildcats to a nationwide championship.
But a chronic lack of tournament success that included a nine-year Final Four drought made the relationship untenable. And the two parted methods after a first-round exit in the 2024 NCAA tournament.
With Darius Acuff Jr., John Calipari and the Razorbacks are a risk in the Sweet 16.
(Wesley Hitt through Getty Images)
Fast-forward two years, and Calipari’s profitable the breakup. Calipari took some of his expertise with him to his new job with SEC rival Arkansas and led the Razorbacks to the Sweet 16 in Year 1. Now he’s received Arkansas again in the Sweet 16 with a star level guard in Darius Acuff Jr. main the manner as arguably the finest participant in the tournament via two video games.
Advertisement
Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2026 MLB season
A future NBA lottery choose with top-five upside who was named first-team All-America as a freshman, Acuff goes scorched earth in tournament play. In wins over Hawaii and High Point, Acuff’s averaged 30 factors, 6.5 assists and 1 steal per recreation. He’s taking pictures 49% from the ground and 5 of 11 (45.5%) from 3. He’s the sort of expertise Kentucky got here to take as a right throughout Calipari’s reign.
Now he’s at Arkansas in the tournament’s second weekend. And Kentucky is headed home after a listless second-round loss to Iowa State that can have head coach Mark Pope on the hot seat coming into his third season teaching his alma mater.
Advertisement
-Jason Owens
Loser: Darryn Peterson
Presumptive lottery choose Darryn Peterson entered the tournament with an opportunity to cement his spot atop NBA Draft boards and reply the questions which have dogged him all through his freshman marketing campaign at Kansas.
With Kansas’ underwhelming loss to St. John’s in the second spherical, the questions surrounding Peterson stay intact, and his spot at the high of the draft is something however sure.
Peterson’s tournament was a microcosm of his turbulent common season at Kansas. In the first spherical, he reeled off 10 straight factors and flashed his prowess as an elite three-level scorer as Kansas opened a 26-point lead in opposition to Cal Baptist.
Darryn Peterson’s time at Kansas is nearly actually completed. Will he be the No. 1 choose in June’s NBA Draft?
(The San Diego Union-Tribune through Getty Images)
But as Cal Bapist reduce that result in 6 factors late in the second half, Peterson disappeared down the stretch. He hit a floater with 5:43 remaining for his twenty eighth level and didn’t rating once more. In reality, he was barely concerned in KU’s offense and didn’t contact the ball on repeated journeys down the ground as Cal Baptist reduce its 66-52 deficit to 66-60 in the ultimate minutes.
Advertisement
Kansas survived the upset bid, establishing Sunday’s recreation in opposition to St. John’s. Peterson as soon as once more led the JayHawks with 21 factors. But there have been occasions in the recreation the place he wasn’t concerned in KU’s offense. And then got here the ultimate play, the place Peterson, a robust defender, didn’t assist as Dylan Darling knifed via the Kansas protection just about unchallenged for a game-winning layup at the buzzer.
That’s seemingly the ultimate picture of Peterson’s school profession. And it’s not a flattering look.
-Jason Owens
Winner: Betting favorites
A scarcity of upsets in the NCAA tournament has been excellent enterprise for folks betting the favorites.
Advertisement
Favorites went 16-0 in the first spherical on Friday, and that luck continued into the second spherical. Yes, No. 11 Texas beat No. 3 Gonzaga to present us a real upset, however even some video games that regarded like upsets actually weren’t.
No. 6 Tennessee closed as a slight favourite over No. 3 Virginia. The identical might be stated for No. 5 St. John’s, which was a 3.5-point favourite over No. 4 Kansas.
There are myriad theories for why favorites have completed so properly this yr — with NIL budgets being a number one thought. Will that run proceed in the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight? We’re not so positive. The gaps between groups in the subsequent rounds shall be considerably smaller.
-Nick Bromberg
Advertisement
Loser: West Coast Conference
The days of the West Coast Conference getting three NCAA tournament bids are most likely over. And they’re disappearing with none of the three WCC groups in the tournament making it previous the second spherical. Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara all made the 2026 males’s tournament.
But the Gaels misplaced to No. 10 Texas A&M in the first spherical, and No. 10 Santa Clara was overwhelmed in time beyond regulation by No. 7 Kentucky on Friday after Otega Oweh’s incredible buzzer-beater to ship the recreation to time beyond regulation. The No. 3 Zags scuffled a bit in opposition to No. 14 Kennesaw State, however that’s the solely win the WCC received.
Gonzaga coach Mark Few’s final NCAA tournament representing the WCC resulted in an upset second-round loss.
(Soobum Im through Getty Images)
Saturday evening, Gonzaga was upset by a No. 11 Texas crew that began its NCAA tournament in the First Four. That was the ultimate recreation that Gonzaga will play as a West Coast Conference crew.
Advertisement
The Bulldogs are off to affix the transformed Pac-12 in 2026-27. And a lot of the WCC’s luster will go together with them. Gonzaga being one of school basketball’s preeminent powers has completed a ton for the convention over the final 20 years. 2026 was simply the fourth time ever that the league received three NCAA tournament groups. And all 4 of these cases got here in the 2000s.
-Nick Bromberg
Winner: Big Ten
The Big Ten entered Sunday with the state of its NCAA tournament already assured, having secured 4 of the bids out there in the Sweet 16.
Then it added two extra, together with one with the largest upset of the tournament. Purdue secured the convention’s fifth Sweet 16 berth with a 79-69 win over Miami early Sunday. And 9 seed Iowa roared into the tournament’s second weekend with a stunning upset of 1 seed and reigning champion Florida.
Alvaro Folgueiras’ 3 with 4.2 seconds remaining secured the upset win.
Advertisement
UCLA couldn’t make it 7 for 7 for the Big Ten on Sunday evening as UConn delivered the convention its solely second-round defeat.
But Iowa and Purdue will be a part of Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska and Illinois in a Big Ten occasion in the Sweet 16.
-Jason Owens
Loser: Blue Bloods
North Carolina, Kansas and Kentucky, particularly.
None of the lauded packages survived the first weekend as North Carolina blew a 19-point lead in opposition to VCU in the first spherical, Kentucky collapsed in the second spherical in opposition to Iowa State and Kansas looked listless before St. John’s thwarted a second-half rally with a buzzer-beater at the rim in opposition to a less-than-inspired Jayhawks protection.
Hubert Davis’ days as North Carolina’s head coach could also be numbered.
(IMAGN IMAGES through Reuters Connect / REUTERS)
Not solely will none of the three packages add to their mixed tally of 18 NCAA championships. But they’ll every go away the tournament with some stage of uncertainty round their head coaches.
Advertisement
There’s chatter that North Carolina could part with Hubert Davis as quickly as this week. Mark Pope’s seat in Kentucky isn’t almost as scorching, however he’ll enter his third season coaching his alma mater under intense pressure.
And Hall of Fame Kansas coach Bill Self said after Sunday’s loss that “I haven’t decided” if he’ll return to educate the Jayhawks for a twenty fourth season. His legacy that options two NCAA titles is safe, and Self — 63 and battling ongoing well being issues — desires to seek the advice of along with his household earlier than deciding his basketball future.
It’s a important juncture for all three packages and one the place the choices of the coming days and season will dictate their futures.
-Jason Owens
Advertisement
Winner: Texas
By most accounts, the Longhorns weren’t alleged to nonetheless be right here.
Texas snuck into the NCAA tournament as an 11 seed and was relegated to the First Four as one of the final 4 at-large groups chosen for the tournament discipline. Three wins in 5 days later, and Texas has crashed the Sweet 16 as the solely double-digit seed remaining in the discipline.
An influence program with loads of backing, it’s a stretch to name Texas a Cinderella. But it’s actually an sudden arrival to the tournament’s second weekend.
No. 2 seed Purdue could be sensible to not take the Longhorns frivolously subsequent weekend. Gonzaga, a 3 seed, found out the hard way that Texas is hitting its stride at the proper time.
Advertisement
-Jason Owens