21 Reasons Why March Madness Is Already Living Up to the Hype After Two Rounds
The first two rounds of March Madness gave basketball fans plenty to talk about.
From game-winning buzzer-beaters to quote-worthy press conferences, high-flying dunks and one very enthusiastic cowbell guy, March Madness 2026 has lived up to the hype so far.
With the Sweet 16 scheduled to begin Thursday, March 26 (for men) and Friday, March 27 (for women), here’s a look back at some of the most viral moments from the first 48 games of the tournament.
1. The High Point Cowbell Guy
March Madness fans had a fever, and the only prescription was more cowbell. One member of High Point University’s pep band delivered that prescription when he was spotted emphatically hitting a cowbell on camera. No. 12 High Point was eliminated on March 21 after a loss to No. 4 Arkansas, but the cowbell guy won the internet.
2. VCU’s Band Director Trolls North Carolina
No. 11 VCU overcame a 19-point deficit in the first round to defeat No. 6 UNC 82-78. During their second round matchup vs. No. 3 Illinois, VCU’s band director donned Michael Jordan’s No. 23 UNC jersey while directing the band. “That’s a little bit of a troll job,” announcer Ian Eagle said halfway through the first half. VCU lost the game 76-55.
3. Olivier Rioux Towers Over Everyone
Olivier Rioux is the world’s tallest teenager and the tallest college basketball player ever. The 7-foot-9 center for Florida only played two minutes in the first round, but it resulted in a viral moment caught on camera. In a video shared by CBS Sports, Rioux was waiting for an inbounds play when Prairie View A&M’s 6-foot-8 Hassane Diallo stood next to him. Rioux made him look tiny. Cameras caught Diallo calling him a “big boy.”
4. Rioux Goes Viral Again
In another video shared by CBS Sports, the Florida team had their arms around each other during pre-game introductions. Rioux’s teammate AJ Brown, a 6-foot-4 guard, was standing next to him and was struggling to get his arm on Rioux’s shoulder. The two teammates shared a laugh.
5. Miami’s Malik Reneau Just Wanted Some Chicken Strips
No. 7 Miami lost to No. 2 Purdue on March 22, and Miami’s best player, Malik Reneau, was hungry after the game and didn’t feel like waiting. Several photos surfaced online of him standing in line at a chicken strip vendor. “I should probably mention he was great to everyone that approached him. Even the Purdue fans,” PU Boiling Points, who took the photo, wrote on X.
6. LSU’s Coach Threatens to Bench Flau’jae Johnson
After beating No. 7 Texas Tech 101-47 in the second round, No. 2 LSU star Flau’jae Johnson was asked to share her thoughts about coach Kim Mulkey calling her one of the greatest players in LSU history. “I mean, it’s an honor. Because you’ve been coaching for like 100 years,” Johnson said of her coach. Mulkey jokingly responded: “You just lost your starting job.”
7. Big Z’s High-Flying, Posterizing Dunk
Zvonimir Ivisic is a 7-foot-2 center for No. 3 Illinois, who played No. 11 VCU on March 21. With roughly 15 minutes left in the second half, VCU’s Lazar Djokovic leaped up for a poster dunk but was denied by Ivisic. Illinois grabbed the rebound and started a fast break. Ivisic made his way down the floor, got the ball at the three point line, and didn’t need to dribble — he took two steps before delivering a poster dunk of his own. Illinois’ bench went absolutely nuts.
8. Vanderbilt (Almost) Hit a Buzzer-Beater
The No. 5 Vanderbilt vs. No. 4 Nebraska game was tied until Braden Frager hit a layup with two seconds left, giving Nebraska a two-point lead. Vandy guard Tyler Tanner shot a 49-foot buzzer beater that was halfway through the basket before bouncing out. Nebraska won 74-72.
“Yeah, it hurts pretty bad being that close,” Tanner said after the game.
“My heart sank as that ball went in the hoop and then it went out. I think it took me a half second to register that it didn’t go in and then I just screamed,” Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg said.
“I just about died,” Nebraska forward Pryce Sandfort added.
9. Nebraska Women’s Volleyball Team Goes Crazy
The Nebraska win was the team’s first ever Sweet 16 bid. In a video shared on Nebraska’s women’s volleyball account, the team was watching the game on their mobile devices 30,000 feet in the air when they witnessed the men’s basketball team make school history. The entire plane was lit.
10. Berke Büyüktuncel’s Important Message to Fans
After the win on March 22, Nebraska forward Berke Büyüktuncel was worried that Husker fans would party a little too hard as they headed to the Sweet 16. So, he shared some wise words of advice.
“Please don’t drink and drive. No drinking, driving. Don’t get into fights for something small or anything. We want you back in Lincoln safe and we want to see you all in Houston supporting us,” he said. “So, don’t jeopardize any chance that you have supporting us and other stuff. But please don’t drink and drive or fights,” he added.
11. Minnesota’s Game-Winning Buzzer Beater
No. 4 Minnesota and No. 5 Ole Miss were tied 63-63 in the second round when Minnesota guard Amaya Battle hit a fadeaway jumpshot with 0.7 seconds remaining. It secured Minnesota’s first trip to the Sweet 16 in 21 years. “I think any basketball player, when you shoot on your own, you’re like, ‘OK, three, two, one,’ throw it up there and see what happens,” Battle said after the game. “It was real life today.”
12. USC Wins After Clemson’s Buzzer Beater Called Off
No. 9 USC and No. 8 Clemson were tied with seconds left when Clemson’s Mia Moore made a buzzer-beater from beyond the arc to give them the lead. But officials ruled that the ball was still in her hands when the clock hit zero. The game continued into overtime where USC won 71-67.
13. Alvaro Folgueiras Shouts Out Mom After Game-Winner
The No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes were down 70-72 to No. 1 Florida on March 22 with four seconds left when Iowa’s Alvaro Folgueiras hit a three-pointer to seal the win 73-72.
After the final buzzer sounded, Folgueiras didn’t celebrate with his team. Instead, he ran to the stands to find his mom, who traveled 4,500 miles from Spain to watch him play. It’s the first time she got to watch him play since his freshman year.
“It’s super special having my mom here,” he said after the game. “She’s everything for me. Where the world would be without the moms?”
“Sometimes when I struggle through basketball, and basketball is life, I think of my mom,” he added.
14. Folgueiras Called His Shot
Iowa guard Bennet Stirtz said Folgueiras told him that he would be ready when the time comes for a game-winning shot. Folgueiras even went as far as to say that he would make the shot. Iowa’s coach asked, “Did you actually say that,” to which Stirtz confirmed.
“I said that. I did. That was me,” Folgueiras said to his coach with full confidence.
15. Iowa and Florida Coaches Exchange Words
Earlier in that game, Iowa coach Ben McCollum and Florida coach Todd Golden got into a heated exchange after Folgueiras and Florida’s Alex Condon were in the middle of a tie-up.
Golden and McCollum were seen yelling at each other while refs took a look at the foul. Golden was furious on the sideline following a double technical assessed to both teams.
16. St. John’s Buzzer Beater Draws Hilarious Reactions
No. 5 St. John’s beat No. 4 Kansas with a buzzer beater on March 22 when Dylan Darling hit a layup as time expired to seal the 67-65 win. Before that bucket, Darling hadn’t hit a shot all game — he was 0 for 4. He hit one when it mattered most.
“I just can’t imagine a player today, in today’s world, with all the scrutiny, wanting the ball when he’s shooting terrible,” head coach Rick Pitino said. “It was the only play we could run – or you could try to throw it into the high post area. But as soon as [Darling] said to me to run power, I knew he could get to the rim because he hadn’t done a damn good thing the whole night, so I knew he was going to do it.”
17. Darling and Pitino’s Press Conference Exchange
Darling was asked in a press conference if it was his first buzzer beater ever. Darling said, “This is my first one in college.”
Pitino quipped, “What did you do it in the NBA?”
Darling responded: “Well, I’m saying, I played in high school and middle school, coach. What you know? I didn’t just start playing ball.”
18. Dallin Hall Says He Touched It
No. 6 Tennessee was up 73-71 against No. 3 Virginia with under 30 seconds left. Both teams were going for a rebound when a Tennessee player tipped the ball off a teammate’s head.
Virginia’s Dallin Hall tried to grab the ball but missed it as it went out of bounds. The call on the floor was Tennessee ball because it appeared Hall touched the ball as it went out. Virginia challenged the call and argued that Hall didn’t touch it.
The call was upheld due to inconclusive evidence. Tennessee went on to win 79-72.
After the game, Hall was asked if he touched the ball. “It happened pretty quick. I knew it hit me, barely. So, unfortunately, it worked out the way it did,” he said.
Many people on social media were comparing his answer to a viral sportsmanship commercial where a similar play happened and the player admitted to his coach that he “touched it” in the huddle.
19. Watch Film, Sleep, Then More Film
No. 7 Illinois beat No. 10 Colorado on March 21, and during a press conference, Illinois head coach Shauna Green detailed just how committed she is. The game didn’t end until late. The team headed back to the hotel and ate as a team.
Green then met with the coaches before heading back to her room to watch film. She was up until 3 a.m.
“Slept for a couple of hours and then got back up and started watching film,” she said of the next morning. “This is what you live for - It’s March. We’ll sleep when we’re done,” she added.
20. ‘I Got Class in the Morning’
No. 3 TCU defeated No. 6 Washington on March 22 in a game that went into overtime and didn’t end until around midnight. During a press conference, TCU’s Marta Suarez was told that it was 11:54 p.m. before being asked if she had any early classes in the morning. Suarez said she had an 8 AM class. “If Dr. Lemon is watching this, text me,” Suarez added.
21. Family Against Family
No. 6 Notre Dame defeated No. 3 Ohio State on March 23 in what turned out to be a family affair. Ohio State’s coach Kevin McGuff was a coach for Notre Dame when Niele Ivey played point guard for the team. Now two decades later, Ivey is head coach of Notre Dame and she squared off against McGuff in the second round.
McGuff’s wife, Letitia, was also on the coaching staff (and later the director of basketball operations) of Notre Dame during Ivey’s playing days. Ivey is also the godmother of Kevin and Letitia McGuff’s daughter Lily.
Notre Dame pulled off the upset against Ohio State to advance to the Sweet 16.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
