March Madness officially tips off Tuesday evening with the First Four, which will determine the last four teams in the 64-team first-round field.
The No. 16 seeds got the action started early Tuesday as Howard held off a furious late rally by UMBC in the final minutes to win 86-83. The Retrievers had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but the shot glanced off the rim.
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It was the first-ever NCAA tournament win for Howard.
[Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem: Make your picks for $50K in total prizes]
On tap in the second matchup of the night is a game between No. 11 seeds Texas Longhorns (18-14, 9-9) and NC State Wolfpack (20-13, 10-8). The winner will advance to play AJ Dybantsa and No. 6 BYU.
In case you were wondering, we did, in fact, have AI predict every March Madness game … and our good friend Claude got the first game of the night wrong by picking UMBC. NC State is a slight favorite in the second game, and Claude likes the Wolfpack.
Texas vs. NC State start time: 9:15 p.m. ET
TV channel/live stream: TruTV
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for the latest out of the men’s NCAA tournament, tipping off with the First Four on Tuesday.
Live41 updates
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 6:31 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 8:32 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
With just over 5 minutes left in the game, the Longhorns are hanging on to a one-possession lead.
Which team will close this one out and lock up a Round of 64 matchup with BYU?
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 8:30 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
It hasn’t been the prettiest game. So the broadcast played NC State’s title-winning play where Dereck Whittenburg put up an airball in the final seconds and Lorenzo Charles bailed him out and won the Wolfpack the title.
This was Chuck’s reaction:
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 8:24 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
The Wolfpack have turned the ball over just three times themselves. But their inability to capitalize on Texas’ mistakes is a big reason the Longhorns still have a five-point lead at the under-8 timeout.
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 8:17 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
The Longhorns have 40 rebounds to NC State’s 28 with 9:31 to go.
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 8:11 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The lead change was temporary. The Longhorns are back on top.
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 8:05 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
NC State is shooting 34% while Texas is at 32%
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 7:59 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
We are back for the second half and the Wolfpack has their first lead since the opening minutes of the game.
It’s 34-32 with just over 16 minutes left to play.
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 7:43 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 7:24 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
The Longhorns started hot and ended the first half ice cold.
Texas is now shooting 29% from the field. NC State is at 35%. Not the prettiest half of basketball you’ll ever see.
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 7:24 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Longhorns led by double digits at one point in the first half, but it’s just a one-point game as we head to halftime.
NC State’s Darrion Williams is leading all scorers at the break with 14 points.
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 7:20 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Wolfpack have closed the gap late in the first half and it’s a one-point game with just under a minute left.
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 7:05 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Longhorns are still in control of this one as the first half ticks down inside the 5-minute mark. They are controlling the boards (21 to 10).
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 6:53 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Longhorns are up 19-14 as we hit the 10-minute mark in the first half. NC State’s Darrion Williams had 10 of his team’s first 12 points.
Texas is 5-for-7 shooting from 3-point range so far.
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 6:51 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The former Texas Tech player has 10 of the Wolfpack’s 12 points.
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 6:42 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
This game should have an entertaining production for those who are fans of Chuck and Dickie V. They’re joining play-by-play announcer Brian Anderson for the duration of this one.
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 6:38 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
The Longhorns enter the first TV timeout on a 9-0 run after NC State took a 2-0 lead to open the game. All of those points are on 3-pointers by three different players.
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 6:36 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
We are underway with the No. 11 seed matchup between Texas and NC State and the Wolfpack is on the board first.
NC State was a 1.5-point favorite coming into the game and is led by a four-pronged attack of Paul McNeil Jr., Quadir Copeland, Ven-Allen Lubin and Darrion Williams. The first 3 average 13.9 ppg. Williams averages 13.8.
Dailyn Swain buoys the Longhorns with team-high averages of 17.8 ppg, 7.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.7 steals.
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 5:56 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
2026 is the Bison’s fifth NCAA tournament appearance. They’ve always been a No. 16 in those tournaments and lost in the First Four in 2024.
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Tue, March 17, 2026 at 5:55 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
Well, the comeback fell just short. UMBC had a clean 3-point look that would’ve tied the game at the buzzer but missed the mark.
Ose Okojie led the way for the Bison with 23 points. Harris had 19 points, 14 boards and 5 assists.
So Howard will advance to face No. 1 seed Michigan in Buffalo on Thursday.
