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. 

The biggest college basketball tournament is here, bringing plenty of excitement and storylines. Will we see Cinderellas pull upsets, or will the bluebloods keep their grip on the tournament? With the power of a reliable connection always important during a successful tournament run, we’re keeping you connected to the can’t-miss headlines and standout moments from every round.

The first eight teams in the NCAA tournament Sweet 16 will be crowned on Saturday.

After 32 games across Thursday and Friday, Saturday and Sunday brings us 16 games. The afternoons are more spread out while the evenings are jam-packed. Will we see more upsets on Saturday, too? Four double-digit seeds scored wins on Thursday. At least one will make the Sweet 16, right?

Here’s the complete schedule for Saturday’s men’s second round. All times are Eastern. 

Saturday channel guide

• 12:10 p.m. — No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 9 Saint Louis (CBS)

• 2:45 p.m. — No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 6 Louisville (CBS)

• 5:15 p.m. — No. 1 Duke vs. No. 9 TCU (CBS)

• 6:10 p..m. — No. 2 Houston vs. No. 10 Texas A&M (TNT)

• 7:10 p.m. — No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 11 Texas (TruTV/TBS)

• 7:50 p.m. — No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 11 VCU (CBS)

• 8:50 p.m. — No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 5 Vanderbilt (TNT)

• 9:45 p.m. — No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 12 High Point (TruTV/TBS)

Must-see: The second-round TV schedule always leaves a lot to be desired if you’re a college basketball junkie wanting to watch games all day. It’s great if you have things to do in the morning and early afternoon; you can still see most of the action in the evening on the East Coast. 

Given the first two games have no competition, they’re ineligible for this category. And besides, the most intriguing game of the day is in the evening, anyway.

Nebraska got its first NCAA tournament win ever on Thursday over Troy. Right after that, Vanderbilt won its first March Madness game since 2012 with a win over McNeese. Before 2026, Nebraska had made eight NCAA tournament appearances and never made it this far. Vanderbilt hasn’t made it to the Sweet 16 since 2007, when the Commodores advanced there as a No. 6 seed. Both teams spent time ranked in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 this season and look incredibly evenly matched. Vanderbilt is just a 1.5-point favorite. 

Must-skip: There are five games with double-digit spreads on Saturday and we’re not sure that most of the favorites are going to cover in them. We think you’re safe not worrying too much about Illinois against VCU. The No. 11 Rams upset No. 6 North Carolina on Thursday as the Tar Heels missed their final eight shots of regulation and scored just three points in overtime. Illinois has one of the best offenses in college basketball. The Illini probably won’t go on a drought like that.

Houston is a 10.5-point favorite over Texas A&M. The Aggies are an interesting matchup for Houston, but we think the Cougars will be too much for A&M. 

Most likely upset:Duke cannot play anything like it did Thursday against Siena and hope to beat TCU. The Horned Frogs are capable of hanging with anyone in college basketball and are much deeper than a Siena team that played its starters for all but two seconds against the Blue Devils. We think Duke will have a much better showing, but the Blue Devils only played seven players in the first round thanks to Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II’s absences. 

Keep an eye on Texas against Gonzaga, too. The Zags are without Braden Huff — he averages 18 points a game — and were pushed by Kennesaw State late Thursday night. Texas forward Dailyn Swain also could be ready for a big game. He averages almost 18 points per contest but scored 13 against NC State and 14 against BYU on Thursday night. 

Player to watch: Michigan State center Carson Cooper has emerged in March. He’s averaging just 11 points per game this season but has topped that number in each of his last four games. He had 19 points the Spartans’ regular-season loss to Michigan and had 20 points and 10 rebounds while going 7-of-9 from the field in MSU’s first-round win over North Dakota State on Thursday.

Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr. looks unlikely to play on Saturday after missing Thursday’s game along with the ACC tournament. With or without Brown in the lineup, Louisville is a guard-dominant team. Another big game from Cooper will probably put the Spartans in the Sweet 16 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2014 and 2015.

Iowa State star Joshua Jefferson was helped off the court straight to the Cyclones’ locker room less than three minutes into No. 2 ISU’s first-round game against No. 15 Tennessee State on Friday.

Jefferson went down after making a layup when he turned his left ankle severely as soon as he landed. He immediately writhed in pain when he hit the floor and stayed there before he was tended to by Iowa State’s training staff.

As Jefferson was helped to his feet, he was unable to put any weight on his left ankle as he left the court. Per the CBS broadcast, Jefferson was immediately taken in for X-rays. 

The senior forward was an all-Big 12 performer this season as Iowa State was one of the pre-tournament favorites to win the national title. Jefferson is averaging 17 points, 7.6 rebounds and nearly five assists a game this season and has two triple-doubles. He’s considered a possible second-round NBA Draft prospect.