The first weekend of the NCAA tournament is in the books, and there are, of course, distinct winners and losers.

Among the big winners are the Big Ten and John Calipari, who’s guided Arkansas to its second Sweet 16 in his second season as head coach. Kentucky, meanwhile, is headed home.

As for future lottery pick Darryn Peterson, he didn’t exactly make the final impression at Kansas that NBA executives were hoping to see. Let’s take a look at the biggest 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 college basketball landscape.

The game’s winningest program parted with one of the most successful coaches of his his era, who’d opened up a pipeline of elite talent to Lexington and led the Wildcats to a national championship.

But a prolonged lack of tournament success that included a nine-year Final Four drought made the relationship untenable. And the two parted ways after a first-round exit in the 2024 NCAA tournament.

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Fast-forward two years, and Calipari’s winning the breakup. Calipari took some of his talent with him to his new job with SEC rival Arkansas and led the Razorbacks to the Sweet 16 in Year 1. Now he’s got Arkansas back in the Sweet 16 with a star point guard in Darius Acuff Jr. leading the way as arguably the best player in the tournament through two games.

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A future NBA lottery pick with top-5 upside who was named first-team All-America as a freshman, Acuff is going scorched earth in tournament play. In wins over Hawaii and High Point, Acuff’s averaged 30 points, 6.5 assists and 1 steal per game. He’s shooting 49% from the floor and 5 of 11 (45.5%) from 3. He’s the kind of talent Kentucky came to take for granted during Calipari’s reign.

Now he’s at Arkansas in the tournament’s second weekend. And Kentucky’s gone home after a listless second-round loss to Iowa State that will have head coach Mark Pope on the hot seat entering his third season coaching his alma mater.

-Jason Owens

Loser: Darryn Peterson

Presumptive lottery pick Darryn Peterson entered the tournament with a chance to cement his spot atop NBA Draft boards and answer the questions that have dogged him throughout his freshman campaign at Kansas.

With Kansas’ underwhelming loss to St. John’s in the second round, the questions surrounding Peterson remain intact, and his spot at the top of the draft is anything but certain.

Peterson’s tournament was a microcosm of his turbulent regular season at Kansas. In the first round, he reeled off 10 straight points and flashed his prowess as an elite three-level scorer as Kansas opened a 26-point lead against Cal Baptist.

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But as Cal Bapist cut that lead to 6 points late in the second half, Peterson disappeared down the stretch. He hit a floater with 5:43 remaining for his 28th point and didn’t score again. In fact, he was barely involved in KU’s offense and didn’t touch the ball on repeated trips down the floor as Cal Baptist cut its 66-52 deficit to 66-60 in the final minutes.

Kansas survived the upset bid, setting up Sunday’s game against St. John’s. Peterson once again led the JayHawks with 21 points. But there were times in the game where he wasn’t involved in KU’s offense. And then came the final play, where Peterson, a strong defender, didn’t help as Dylan Darling knifed through the Kansas defense virtually unchallenged for a game-winning layup at the buzzer.

That’s likely the final image of Peterson’s college career. And it’s not a flattering look.

-Jason Owens

Winner: Betting favorites

A lack of upsets in the NCAA tournament has been very good business for people betting the favorites.

Favorites went 16-0 in the first round on Friday, and that luck continued into the second round. Yes, No. 11 Texas beat No. 3 Gonzaga to give us a true upset, but even some games that looked like upsets really weren’t.

No. 6 Tennessee closed as a slight favorite over No. 3 Virginia. The same can be said for No. 5 St. John’s, which was a 3.5-point favorite over No. 4 Kansas.

There are myriad theories for why favorites have done so well this year — with NIL budgets being a leading thought. Will that run continue in the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight? We’re not so sure. The gaps between teams in the next rounds will be significantly smaller.

-Nick Bromberg

Loser: West Coast Conference

The days of the West Coast Conference getting three NCAA tournament bids are probably over. And they’re disappearing with none of the three WCC teams in the tournament making it past the second round. Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara all made the 2026 men’s tournament.

But the Gaels lost to No. 10 Texas A&M in the first round, and No. 10 Santa Clara was beaten in overtime by No. 7 Kentucky on Friday after Otega Oweh’s incredible buzzer-beater to send the game to overtime. The No. 3 Zags scuffled a bit against No. 14 Kennesaw State, but that’s the only win the WCC got.

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Saturday night, Gonzaga was upset by a No. 11 Texas team that started its NCAA tournament in the First Four. That was the final game that Gonzaga will play as a West Coast Conference team.

The Bulldogs are off to join the remodeled Pac-12 in 2026-27. And much of the WCC’s luster will go with them. Gonzaga being one of college basketball’s preeminent powers has done a ton for the conference over the last two decades. 2026 was just the fourth time ever that the league got three NCAA tournament teams. And all four of those instances came in the 2000s.

-Nick Bromberg

Winner: Big Ten

The Big Ten entered Sunday with the state of its NCAA tournament already assured, having secured four of the bids available in the Sweet 16.

Then it added two more, including one with the biggest upset of the tournament. Purdue secured the conference’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’s 3 with 4.2 seconds remaining secured the upset win.

UCLA couldn’t make it 7 for 7 for the Big Ten Sunday night as UConn delivered the conference its only second-round defeat.

But Iowa and Purdue will join Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska and Illinois in a Big Ten party in the Sweet 16.

-Jason Owens

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Loser: Blue Bloods

North Carolina, Kansas and Kentucky, specifically.

None of the lauded programs survived the first weekend as North Carolina blew a 19-point lead against VCU in the first round, Kentucky collapsed in the second round against Iowa State and Kansas looked listless before St. John’s thwarted a second-half rally with a buzzer-beater at the rim against a less-than-inspired Jayhawks defense.

Not only will none of the three programs add to their combined tally of 18 NCAA championships. But they’ll each leave the tournament with some level of uncertainty around their head coaches.

There’s chatter that North Carolina could part with Hubert Davis as soon this week. Mark Pope’s seat in Kentucky isn’t nearly as hot, but he’ll enter his third season coaching his alma mater under intense pressure to produce.

And Hall of Fame Kansas coach Bill Self said after Sunday’s loss that “I haven’t decided” if he’ll return to coach the Jayhawks for a 24th season. His legacy that features two NCAA titles is secure, and Self — 63 and battling ongoing health concerns — wants to consult with his family before deciding his basketball future.

It’s a critical juncture for all three programs and one where the decisions of the coming days and season will dictate their futures.

-Jason Owens

Winner: Texas

By most accounts, the Longhorns weren’t supposed to still be here.

Texas snuck into the NCAA tournament as an 11 seed and was relegated to the First Four as one of the last four at-large teams selected for the tournament field. Three wins in five days later, and Texas has crashed the Sweet 16 as the only double-digit seed remaining in the field.

A power program with plenty of backing, it’s a stretch to call Texas a Cinderella. But it’s certainly an unexpected arrival to the tournament’s second weekend.

No. 2 seed Purdue would be wise to not take the Longhorns lightly next weekend. Gonzaga, a 3 seed, found out the hard way that Texas is hitting its stride at the right time.

-Jason Owens

Arizona is in the Sweet 16 for a third straight season after a 78-66 win over No. 9 Utah State.

The Aggies made multiple attempts to put serious pressure on the Wildcats in the second half. But No. 1 Arizona had an answer each time. Even after going almost eight minutes without a field goal.

The Wildcats went 7:40 without making a basket yet Utah State couldn’t get close. Jaden Bradley’s layup with 6:55 to go broke that streak and Arizona’s lead had only been cut from 18 to five before his basket.

Just over a minute later, Bradley did this.

Utah State got the deficit down to six with 2:51 to go, but star freshman guard Brayden Burries ended any chance of the upset with a 3-pointer to extend the lead back to three possessions with 2:18 to go.

Bradley had a team-high 18 points, while Burries had 16 points to go along with nine rebounds. Koa Peat had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Motiejus Krivas had 11 points and 14 boards. 

It was an all-around performance that showed why Arizona entered the tournament as one of the main favorites to win it all. The Wildcats may be the most well-rounded team in college basketball. They have star guards in Bradley and Burries, and a frontcourt with Peat and Krivas that can match up with anyone in college basketball. 

Dylan Raiola is not wearing No. 15 at Oregon.

The former Nebraska quarterback has switched his number to No. 8 with the Ducks. The two-year starter with the Cornhuskers joined the Ducks after the 2025 season. The man whose mannerisms can look a lot like Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes wore the same number Mahomes wears in the NFL at Nebraska. Now, he’s wearing the same number as two famous Oregon QBs.

Raiola said he spent nearly 10 years of his life in Hawaii and as he was debating wearing No. 8, he called two Hawaiians who have been starters for the Ducks. 

Raiola said in a video released by Oregon on Saturday:

“The last two people ,if you look at it, who wore it was Dillon Gabriel and Marcus Mariota, so before I even thought about wearing it, I called Dillon and I asked him, and then I actually asked him if I could have Marcus’ number and I called Marcus. I was blessed with the opportunity to wear it.”

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Mariota won the 2014 Heisman Trophy at Oregon before he was the No. 2 overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans. Gabriel, who transferred to Oregon for the 2024 season after two seasons at Oklahoma, finished third in the Heisman voting that season and was a third-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in the 2025 NFL Draft. 

Raiola will likely redshirt in 2026 as he prepares to take over as Oregon’s starter in 2027 in an unusual move.

Raiola committed to Oregon before starter Dante Moore had made his draft decision. However, Raiola’s commitment wasn’t contingent on Moore’s departure, and Moore announced that he would be back at Oregon for his fourth season of college football in 2026. 

Purdue is back in the Sweet 16.

The No. 2 Boilermakers advanced to the second week of the NCAA tournament for the third straight season with a 79-69 win over No. 7 Miami on Sunday. Purdue went on an 11-3 run with less than 10 minutes to go to turn a 57-54 lead into a 68-57 advantage with 5:32 to go.

That 11-point advantage was Purdue’s largest lead of the game. 

Guard Fletcher Loyer missed just one shot all game. Loyer scored 24 points as he was 6-of-7 from the field, 4-of-4 from behind the arc, and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. 

As a team, Purdue made its first 15 free throws before Oscar Cluff’s miss with less than three minutes to go.

Miami got Purdue’s lead to four with less than a minute to go, but the Hurricanes were never able to get it to a one-possession game thanks in part to that free-throw shooting. Purdue finished 21-of-22 from the line and was 8-of-14 from behind the arc.

Putting the 2023 NCAA tournament further in the rear-view mirror

Purdue does not look like a program haunted by one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history. The Boilermakers became the second No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed three seasons ago. But they’ve now won at least two NCAA tournament games in each of the past three NCAA tournaments. 

The year after losing to St. Peter’s, Purdue made the national title game before losing to UConn. A season ago, the Boilermakers fell to eventual national title game participant Houston 62-60 in the Sweet 16 as a No. 4 seed.

This season, the Boilermakers will be heavily favored to make the Elite Eight against either No. 1 Arizona or No. 4 Arkansas. Purdue will play No. 11 Texas in the Sweet 16 after the Longhorns won three games in five days. Texas beat NC State in the First Four before beating No. 6 BYU in the first round and upsetting No. 3 Gonzaga on Saturday night.

C.J. Cox’s injury scare

The guard suffered an apparent right knee injury on a fast break early in the second half. As Cox was going to the rim, his leg bent awkwardly and he immediately grabbed his knee while shouting multiple expletives in pain.

After a couple moments on the court, Cox was able to gingerly walk to the Purdue locker room and eventually returned to the bench, though he didn’t return to the game. Before the injury, Cox had 11 points and was 3-of-4 from behind the arc in 18 minutes.

If Cox avoided a serious injury and is available for the rest of the tournament, Purdue will be fortunate. The Boilermakes got just five points from their bench on Sunday after its bench players combined to score just 19 points in a 104-71 first-round blowout win over Queens University in the first round. 

Braden Smith ties a career-high with eight turnovers

Against Queens, guard Braden Smith became the NCAA’s all-time assists leader. On Sunday, Smith dished out eight assists and had 12 points. But he also tied a career-high he didn’t want.

Smith turned the ball over eight times for the second time in his career. And, coincidentally, Smith’s first eight-turnover game came exactly a year ago in a second-round win. Smith had eight turnovers in the Boilermakers’ 76-62 win over McNeese a season ago. 

South Carolina had one of the biggest blowout wins in women’s NCAA tournament history on Saturday.

The No. 1 Gamecocks beat No. 16 Southern 103-34 in the first round. It’s the largest margin of victory for South Carolina in NCAA history and only six women’s NCAA tournament games have had a larger point differential.

Joyce Edwards had 27 points and missed just three shots from the field as all nine players who took the court for the Gamecocks scored at least one point and played at least 14 minutes. The Gamecocks were up by 25 at halftime and really blew the game open in the third quarter when they outscored Southern 32-2. 

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The Jaguars were just 1-of-15 in the quarter and missed eight shots in the paint as the margin grew to 55.

South Carolina’s win came exactly a year after it last set the record for its biggest NCAA tournament win. On March 21, 2025, the Gamecocks beat No. 16 Tennessee Tech 108-48 in the first round. In 2022, South Carolina beat Howard 79-21 in the first round of the tournament. 

Biggest NCAA tournament blowout is 89 points

For as staggering as South Carolina’s margin of victory was against Southern, it’s still not close to the biggest blowout in women’s NCAA tournament history. That game happened nine years ago, when Baylor beat Texas Southern 119-30 in the first round. That game eclipsed the previous record by one point as UConn had beaten Saint Francis (PA) 140-52 in 2018.

Oddly enough, none of the winning teams in the five biggest blowouts in women’s tournament history went on to win the national title. The national champion with the biggest blowout in the same tournament is UConn in 2000. The Huskies, who are the overwhelming favorites to win the 2026 tournament, beat Hampton 116-45 on their way to the title 26 years ago.