2026 Men’s March Madness First Four: Howard Gets First Tourney W, Texas Wins Late

The opening First Four contests of the 2026 Men’s College Basketball Tournament were played on Tuesday night, officially kicking off March Madness and bringing us closer to a complete picture of the round of 64. Howard earns first-ever March Madness victory Bryce Harris had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and he sank a turnaround jumper with 13 seconds remaining that sent Howard to its first NCAA Tournament victory in program history, 86-83 over UMBC in the First Four on Tuesday night. Ose Okojie scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Bison (24-10), who entered with an 0-4 record in March Madness and had to hold off a late rally by the Retrievers (24-9). “We’ve done a lot of things in our program, but let’s check off the box of winning an NCAA game today,” Howard coach Kenneth Blakeney said. DJ Armstrong Jr.‘s 3-pointer with 43 seconds left got UMBC within 83-81. After Harris’ jumper as the shot clock expired gave Howard a four-point lead, Jah’Likah King made a layup to make it 85-83. [MEN’S TOURNEY: 1 Thing To Know About Every Men’s Team] Isaiah Brown made one of two free throws and Armstrong couldn’t convert a 3 at the buzzer, sealing a trip to Buffalo, New York, for the Bison, who enter the Midwest Region bracket as the No. 16 seed and will face top-seeded Michigan on Thursday. “Run, clock, run,” Blakeney said of his thoughts in the final moments. “We went from, I want to say, a three-possession game to a two-possession game to a one-possession game.” Blakeney also led Howard, one of the country’s premier historically Black universities, to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2023 and ’24. UMBC was seeking its first March Madness win since it shocked top overall seed Virginia in 2018, becoming the first No. 16 seed to knock off a No. 1. The Retrievers lost in the second round that year and this was the first NCAA Tournament appearance since for the suburban Baltimore school, located 31 miles north of the Howard campus in Washington. King led UMBC with 19 points, Armstrong had 17 and Caden Diggs scored 15. Cedric Taylor III scored 16 points for Howard, going 9 of 10 at the free-throw line before fouling out in the final minute. The Bison led for all but the first 1:21 and took a 13-point lead in the first half. Okojie scored 16 points before halftime, helping the Bison to a 49-41 advantage at the break. “I said, ‘Guys, this is the worst we’ve played all year,’ for whatever the reason,” UMBC coach Jim Ferry said of his halftime message. Harris, the MEAC player of the year who averaged 17.4 points, hit his second 3-pointer of the night to give Howard a 61-48 lead early in the second half before UMBC rallied. “We’ve been in games like this before,” Okojie said. “At this big stage, there’s no time for fear. There’s no time for worry.” Okojie stays disciplined amid foul trouble Okojie picked up his fourth foul with 12:33 left and the Retrievers started putting the squeeze on the Bison, setting up the tense finish. “My teammates need me,” Okojie said. “So to be solid and play those 12 minutes with not fouling is discipline, truly discipline, and trusting in my abilities.” Flight delay may have hindered UMBC UMBC’s flight to Dayton, originally scheduled for noon on Monday, was delayed more than four hours due to severe weather. The team eventually arrived shortly before 6 p.m. “I’m not going to blame anything,” Ferry said. “But obviously the day we had (Monday) and not being able to really practice and eat and — I thought it hurt us. We couldn’t move.” Up next Howard faces a formidable opponent in Michigan, which spent time at No. 1 in the AP poll this season and is expected to contend for the title. Texas hits late shot to secure First Four W Tramon Mark hit a fadeaway jumper from just inside the 3-point line with 1.1 seconds left, and Texas survived a late rally to beat N.C. State 68-66 on Tuesday night in a First Four matchup of power conference teams that limped into March Madness. Mark scored 17 points to lead the Longhorns (19-14), who had lost five of six entering the NCAA Tournament. Texas moved into the bracket as the No. 11 seed in the West region and will face sixth-seeded BYU on Thursday night in Portland, Oregon. “When you lose the last couple, what you don’t want is a continuation of holding on to those negative feelings,” Longhorns coach Sean Miller said. “It was not easy. We practiced a couple days not knowing if we were in the tournament, took a couple days off. We came up here with a clear mind, a good spirit.” The Longhorns led 62-53 on Chendall Weaver’s two free throws with 2:56 left, but the Wolfpack (20-14) — who also lost five of six before getting sent to Dayton — scored 10 points in a span of 1:12. Paul McNeil Jr. hit two 3s before Mark beat the shot clock with a fadeaway. [MEN’S BRACKET: NCAA Tournament Bracket, Leaders & Stats] Darrion Williams connected from deep to get N.C. State within one. The Wolfpack then forced a turnover by Dailyn Swain, and Tre Holloman made one of two free throws to tie it at 66-all. Texas ran down most of the game clock before Mark connected from 19 feet, and N.C. State couldn’t get a shot off before the buzzer. “This one is definitely a first for me, just the way the game was going, the way the game felt,” Mark said. “We had a big lead; they started making some shots. Then I was able to silence the crowd with a big shot like that.” Mark finished with 17 points, Matas Vokietaitis scored 15 and Swain added 13 for the Longhorns. Weaver had his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Williams led the Wolfpack with 21 points. Quadir Copeland scored 16 and McNeil finished with 11. “You are who you are in pressure moments,” Wolfpack coach Will Wade said. “We tried to mask some stuff and we couldn’t do it. That’s why we’re here, and that’s why we’re heading home.” It was the second meeting this season between the schools. Texas beat N.C. State 102-97 on Nov. 26 to claim fifth place in the Maui Invitational. Tuesday night’s game was more of a defensive struggle. The Longhorns built a 25-15 lead but then went scoreless over the final 4:06 of the first half. The Wolfpack finished the half on a 14-5 run to cut their deficit to 30-29 at halftime. Deja vu Swain played for Xavier under Miller in last year’s First Four when the Musketeers beat the Longhorns in a similarly tight game, 86-80. Miller took the Texas job five days later and Swain followed him to Austin. “Same feeling, two great games, two games I also didn’t play my best in,” Swain said. “I don’t know if it’s the arena or what, but we all kept our composure. They hit really tough shots and Coach Miller calmed us down like, hey, we’re going to win this game.” Retool N.C. State is facing another offseason rebuild via the transfer portal with seven seniors on the roster. “Well, they’re disappointed, and we’ll certainly help them as they move forward,” Wade said. “Our focus is going to turn to making sure we get the right guys to come in and help us win in the future.” Up next Texas is the third school Miller has taken to March Madness, and he’ll have to devise a plan to contain one of the best players in the country, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa. The Remaining First Four 16-seed Prairie View A&M (18-17) takes on 16-seed Lehigh (18-16) at 6:40 p.m. ET on Wednesday, while 11-seed Miami (OH) (31-1) faces 11-seed SMU (20-13) at 9:15 p.m. ET. The Associated Press contributed to this report.