How 2026 NCAA Tournament First Four Results Impact Last-Minute Bracket Changes
The final buzzer has sounded on the latest edition of the First Four, and the men's 2026 NCAA tournament is headed to the opening round.
And history has taught us not to overlook the results in Dayton.
Though none of the 2025 winners advanced again, we've seen plenty of success from First Four programs. VCU (2011) and UCLA (2021) both reached the Final Four, and Fairleigh Dickinson (2023) orchestrated one of the most iconic upsets in March Madness history. Several others have made the Sweet 16, too.
The winners in 2026—Howard, Texas, Prairie View A&M and Miami (Ohio)—have varying degrees of expectations from here. We've assigned a number on a 1-10 scale of how meaningful you should consider these First Four results.
Howard 86, UMBC 83
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Impact Rating: 1
Fun story? Absolutely.
Making its third March Madness appearance in the last four seasons, Howard finally found the win column. The program had dropped its initial game during the 1981, 1992, 2023 and 2024 tournaments.
Ose Okojie put up 23 points and propelled the 16th-seeded Bison to an 86-83 victory over UMBC. Bryce Harris notched 19 points and 14 rebounds, and Cedric Taylor III chipped in 16 points, and Howard advanced to an opening-round date against top-seeded Michigan in the Midwest Region.
And, well, hopefully Howard stole a bit of historical magic from UMBC.
Back in 2018, UMBC became the first 16-seed to ever defeat a No. 1 in the first round when it stunned Virginia.
Michigan, for good reason, is an overwhelming favorite. Howard's win is fantastic for the program, but it shouldn't influence your bracket.
Texas 68, North Carolina State 66
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Impact Rating: 6
On the other hand, the 11th-seed clash between Texas and North Carolina State carried more notable stakes.
Awaiting in the opening round is BYU, a roster with superstar freshman AJ Dybantsa—the nation's leading scorer—but down a key veteran. Richie Saunders, the Cougars' most prolific three-point option, is sidelined with an ACL injury.
BYU already had been slumping prior to Saunders' setback, but it didn't get much better without him. Although the Cougars won at home against Iowa State, they stumbled to a 5-5 record in his absence.
So, either way, Texas or NC State would be a threat to BYU.
Texas formally secured that label when Tramon Mark buried a contested, last-second jumper to break a 66-66 tie. Mark netted a team-high 17 points for the Longhorns, and three others—Dailyn Swain, Matas Vokietaitis and Chendall Weaver—each registered at least 11 points and eight rebounds.
Overall, the Horns corralled 45 misses to NC State's 33. BYU is 2-8 when it loses the rebounding battle, and both victories happened in the 2025 calendar year.
Texas has a clear chance to topple BYU and reach the second round.
Prairie View A&M 67, Lehigh 55
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Impact Rating: 1
Lehigh entered the Patriot League tournament with a losing record but caught a heater and snatched the league's automatic bid. Having such a tremendous scorer in Nasir Whitlock made the Mountain Hawks an intriguing team, too.
Unfortunately for Lehigh, this matchup went the other way.
Whitlock—who averaged 21 points this season—only hit 2-of-15 shots, and Lehigh connected on just 25 percent of its three-pointers.
Prairie View A&M capitalized on that quiet performance behind a 25-point effort from Dontae Horne. Cory Wells also filled the stat sheet at 19 points, 11 rebounds and a combined six blocks and steals.
Nevertheless, as with Howard, this is still a 16-seed fighting an uphill battle. The next matchup for PVAMU is Florida, the reigning national champions.
If the upset happens, it's legendary. I would not suggest altering your bracket.
Miami 89, SMU 79
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Impact Rating: 7
You're absolutely not going to believe this, but the program that won 31 games this season is actually pretty good!
How shocking.
Sarcasm aside, Miami lit up the scoreboard with a tremendous effort from the perimeter. Eian Elmer drained six threes, Brant Byers hit four and the RedHawks set a First Four record with 16 trifectas in the victory over No. 11 SMU.
If sixth-seeded Tennessee wasn't already on high alert, that should do it. Miami backed up its position as one of the nation's most dangerous offenses.
Yes, Tennessee holds a top-30 ranking in three-point defense. For the RedHawks to spring a first-round upset, they'll need another hot-shooting effort—and more production from first-team All-MAC guard Peter Suder, too.
But there's no question the RedHawks are a menace.
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