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March Madness second-round schedule: How to watch, follow Sunday's women's NCAA tournament action

The opening day of the women’s NCAA tournament went pretty much like they were supposed to.

Not a single upset occurred on Friday to kick off this year’s NCAA tournament, though Colorado State came within three points of knocking off Michigan State. Otherwise, it was a very straightforward day.

Top-ranked Texas, the only No. 1 seed in action, had no issue getting into the second round. No. 2 seeds Michigan and LSU followed suit, too. Olivia Miles had a historic triple-double to kick off the day for No. 3 TCU, too. It marked her sixth of the season, and she’s now just the third player to have an NCAA tournament triple-double for two different teams.

Saturday’s slate will feature the other three top-ranked teams, and the rest of the second round will start to take shape.

But for now, here’s everything you need to keep up with Sunday’s second-round NCAA tournament action.

NCAA tournament Saturday second round schedule, how to watch

All times ET

No. 5 Maryland vs. No. 4 North Carolina
When: 12 p.m.
Where: Chapel Hill, NC
TV: ESPN

No. 7 NC State vs. No. 2 Michigan
When: 1 p.m.
Where: Ann Arbor, MI
TV: ABC

No. 5 Ole Miss vs. No. 4 Minnesota
When: 2 p.m.
Where: Minneapolis, MN
TV: ESPN

No. 7 Texas Tech vs. No. 2 LSU
When: 3 p.m.
Where: Baton Rogue, LA
TV: ABC

No. 6 Baylor vs. No. 3 Duke
When: 4 p.m.
Where: Durham, NC
TV: ESPN

No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 1 Texas
When: 6 p.m.
Where: Austin, TX
TV: ESPN

No. 5 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Oklahoma
When: 8 p.m.
Where: Norman, OK
TV: ESPN

No. 6 Washington vs. No. 3 TCU
When: 10 p.m.
Where: Fort Worth, TX
TV: ESPN

March Madness second-round schedule: How to watch, follow Sunday's men's NCAA tournament action

The first round of the NCAA tournament is now behind us.

Another 16 teams punched their tickets into the next round on Friday, and both No. 1 teams who played didn’t have any issue whatsoever. Both Florida and Michigan cruised into the second round with blowout wins, unlike the scare that Duke had the day before.

There weren’t really any major upsets early on, either, other than No. 9 Utah State and No. 9 Iowa both advancing. In fact, betting favorites went a perfect 16-0 on Friday in something that the NCAA tournament hasn’t seen since 1992.

Darryn Peterson and No. 4 Kansas survived a late push to put Cal Baptist away late on Friday night and reach the second round. UConn finally pulled away from Furman in the last game of the day, too, thanks to a monster outing from Tarris Reed Jr. He had 31 points and 27 rebounds in the 11-point win.

We did get our first true buzzer-beater of the tournament early on, though, after Otega Oweh banked one in to force overtime and eventually lift Kentucky past Santa Clara.

Here’s everything you need to know to keep up with Sunday’s second-round action.

NCAA tournament Sunday second round schedule, how to watch

All times ET

No. 7 Miami vs. No. 2 Purdue
When: 12:10 p.m.
Where: St. Louis, MO
TV: CBS

No. 7 Kentucky vs. No. 2 Iowa State
When: 2:45 p.m.
Where: St. Louis, MO
TV: CBS

No. 5 St. John’s vs. No. 4 Kansas
When: 5:15 p.m.
Where: San Diego, CA
TV: CBS

No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 3 Virginia
When: 6:10 p.m.
Where: Philadelphia, PA
TV: TNT

No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 1 Florida
When: 7:10 p.m.
Where: Tampa, FL
TV: TBS

No. 9 Utah State vs. No. 1 Arizona
When: 7:50 p.m.
Where: San Diego, CA
TV: TRUTV

No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 2 UConn
When: 8:45 p.m.
Where: Philadelphia, PA
TV: TNT

No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 4 Alabama
When: 9:45 p.m.
Where: Tampa, FL
TV: TBS

Purdue star Braden Smith breaks Bobby Hurley's all-time assist record early in NCAA tournament matchup vs. Queens

Braden Smith is college basketball’s new assist leader.

The Boilermakers star recorded his second assist of the night early in No. 2 Purdue’s opening-round NCAA tournament matchup with No. 15 Queens on Friday in St. Louis. That marked the 1,077th assist in Smith’s career, which broke longtime Duke star and former Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley's NCAA record. 

Smith’s first assist came in the opening minutes, when he hit Oscar Cluff for an easy layup to cap an 11-4 start. He then broke the record a few minutes later when he snuck a pass into the middle of the lane to Trey Kaufman-Renn, who fought threw contact to make a layup and draw a foul. That sparked a pretty big ovation from the fans sitting behind the Purdue bench before the game continued on.

CONGRATS TO BRADEN SMITH 👏#MarchMadnesshttps://t.co/QOD4ei9qTYpic.twitter.com/mX8sx2kIPC

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2026

Smith entered the NCAA tournament just one assist shy of matching Hurley’s record after he had 11 assists in Purdue’s win over Michigan in the Big Ten tournament championship game last week. He ripped his jersey out of frustration early in that contest, too, and had to switch. 

Smith has spent his entire career at Purdue. Friday’s game was the 146th of his career with the Boilermakers. 

“He was able to stay and keep growing and keep getting better,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said before the tournament, via The Associated Press. “Now he’s chasing history from an individual standpoint. It’s also something that we share with him because these are passes that other people have to make shots. ... You can’t get the record if people can’t make baskets.

“Just because you’re a good passer, you pass to a bunch of bozos that can’t shoot, you’re not getting that award.”

Hurley, by comparison, appeared in 140 career games for Duke from 1989-1993. The former consensus All-American and NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player award winner helped lead the Blue Devils to back-to-back national championships. He was eventually selected by the Sacramento Kings with the No. 7 overall pick in the draft in 1993. 

Hurley has spent the last 11 seasons as the head coach at Arizona State. The program split with him earlier this month after his contract expired.

There are only five players in history who have eclipsed the 1,000-assist mark. Former NC State star Chris Corchiani is third on the all-time list with 1,038 assists. North Carolina guard Ed Cota was close behind with 1,030 in his career, and Jason Brickman of LIU is fifth with 1,009. He was the most recent to join the group before Smith, having finished his playing career in 2014.

Smith has averaged 14 points and a career-high 9.1 assists per game this season. He won All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year honors last season, and he set the conference’s tournament assist record with 46 last week in Chicago. 

Purdue is the No. 2 seed in the West region. Assuming they can close out Queens on Friday, the Boilermakers will then take on either Miami or Missouri in the next round. Arizona is the top seed in the region.

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