2026 men's March Madness: Superlatives from the first round - ESPN

The first round of March Madness has been full of moments that lived up to the hype.

A handful of programs made the most of their March Madness debuts or earned their first NCAA tournament victories. Howard won its First Four game and hung close with Michigan in the opening half of their first-round matchup. Siena was on the cusp of upsetting Duke. High Point gained bragging rights with its upset victory against Wisconsin.

But as much as the results matter, other highlights from the first round didn't necessarily have an effect on the box score but still deserve recognition.

Here are our off-the-stat-sheet and personality-powered superlatives from the first round.

No. 12 High Point's 83-82 upset victory over Wisconsin wouldn't have happened without Johnston. The senior guard, who finished with 14 points in 22 minutes of play, came up huge with a finger roll in the final seconds to win the game for High Point.

FIRST 2-POINTER OF THE YEAR FOR CHASE JOHNSTON