TheNCAA Tournament brings jubilationfor some. For others, it results in devastation.
WhileHigh Pointfans are enjoying the ride after the Panthers upset No. 5 seed Wisconsin in the first round to earn the first NCAA Tournament win in program history, others like North Carolina are left searching for answers after blowing a 19-point lead to No. 11 VCU.
REQUIRED READING:BYU envisioned success with AJ Dybantsa. It ended with early March Madness exit
Will the Tar Heels move on from Hubert Davis?If so, would North Carolina hire a coach outside the family for the first time?
The NCAA Tournament giveth and taketh.
Here's a look at our five worst moments from the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament:
North Carolina collapses
The most obvious loser of the NCAA Tournament's first round is North Carolina, which has gone one-and-done in March Madness for the second consecutive seasons.
It's been a rough for years for the Tar Heels, one of, if not college basketball's most iconic brand. Davis led North Carolina to an unlikely national championship runner-up finish as a first-year coach in 2021-22, and has since declined an NIT invite, made the Sweet 16 once and been knocked off in the first round twice.
To make matters worse, North Carolina was in the driver's seat against No. 11 seed VCU on March 19. It blew a 19-point lead, the sixth largest in NCAA Tournament history and the biggest since Nevada's comeback against Cincinnati in 2022.
UNC was playing without star freshman Caleb Wilson, a likely top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, but the excuses are starting to run out, especially for the Tar Heels' national-championship-or-bust standards.
AJ Dybantsa's career comes to an end
College basketball fans were robbed offreshman phenom AJ Dybantsamaking a run at the 2026 NCAA Tournament after No. 6 seed BYU was upset Texas 79-71 in the first round, with his college career likely ending as a result.
Dybantsa played his best ball of the season as the Cougars limped into March Madness following the loss of Richie Saunders to a season-ending injury. The projected No. 1 overall pick of the 2026 NBA Draft scored 35 points against the Longhorns, which succeeding a 26-point performance vs. Houston in the Big 12 tournament and a pair of 27- and 40-point showings against West Virginia and Kansas State, respectively.
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BYU lost eight of its last 12 regular season games, despite Dybantsa leading the country averaging 25.5 points per game. His career is likely over, and Cougars coach Kevin Young said postgame it's pretty clear he's a bit different than others on the floor.
"There were moments in tonight's game where he just looked like that Portland Trailblazer floor should have been down there," Young said. "Just look like an NBA player, the stuff he's able to do on the court."
Joshua Jefferson leaves Iowa State game with injury
Iowa State forward Joshua Jefferson, a second-team All-American this season, only played three minutes in the Cyclones' huge 108-74 win over East Tennessee State in the first rounddue to injury.
It's unclear the severity, but losing Jefferson would be a huge loss for Iowa State, a team capable of making a Final Four run. Coach T.J. Otzelberger said he sprained his ankle and that x-rays were negative but added he was unsure of his status for the second round against Kentucky.
"We'll continue to reevaluate over the next day or two and just see where things are when we get to Sunday and we figure out what time we play," Otzelberger said.
Wisconsin exits in first weekend again
For the third consecutive season, Wisconsin failed to advance past the first weekend despite being the higher seed in all three of its losses.
The Badgers lost to No. 12 seed High Point in the first round on March 19, which marks its second loss to a No. 12 seed in three seasons after falling to James Madison in 2024. Wisconsin won its first-round game over No. 14 seed Montana last season, before falling to No. 6 seed BYU in the second round.
It's an unfortunate series of trips to the NCAA Tournament for longtime coach Greg Gard and Co. Gard hasn't led Wisconsin to a Sweet 16 appearance since his first two seasons at the helm in 2016 and 2017, despite having made the NCAA Tournament, despite reaching the big dance in six of his eight eligible seasons since.
Kevin Willard's "jokes"
Kevin Willard joked he wasgoing to fire his coaching staffafter Villanova's slow start against No. 9 seed Utah State on March 20 during an in-game interview with TNT's Lauren Shehadi.
After Villanova's eventual loss to the Aggies, he made the joke again in his postgame press conference but had to clarify he was joking after his intentions were a bit unclear originally.
"It's a joke, god bless," Willard said after the game. "I don't care. Welcome to my life. It's a joke."
It was an odd sequence for the first-year Villanova coach, who led the Wildcats to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since reaching the Final Four in 2022.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:March Madness worst moments of 2026 NCAA Tournament first round