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 2026 NCAA men’s tournament unofficially continues Wednesday night with the final two First Four games. The winners of each game will advance to the first round of the tournament on Friday.
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Here’s what you need to know for both games that will air on TruTV.
[Enter Yahoo Bracket Mayhem for shot at 50K | Printable bracket]
No. 16 Lehigh (18-16) vs. No. 16 Prairie View A&M (18-17)
5:40 p.m. ET | Lehigh -3.5 | Total: 142.5 | Winner plays No. 1 Florida
The Mountain Hawks are in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2012. That season, a team led by CJ McCollum stunned No. 2 Duke in the first round with a 75-70 win.
It’s the first time Lehigh has finished above .500 since the 2023 season as it beat Boston University 74-60 to win the Patriot League title. The Mountain Hawks were 12-16 after a 23-point loss to Navy on Feb. 18, but have reeled off six straight wins.
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Junior guard Nasir Whitlock leads the team with 21 points per game and shoots almost 45% from behind the arc. Opponents attempt just 19 3-pointers against Lehigh.
Prairie View A&M is the lowest-ranked team in the NCAA tournament field, according to KenPom’s metrics. At No. 287, the Panthers are three spots below Lehigh. The next-closest team in KenPom’s rankings is LIU at No. 216.
Like Lehigh, Prairie View also closed the season with a flourish. The Panthers were 11-17 and 6-9 in league play after losing at Arkansas Pine-Bluff on Feb. 21. They closed the regular season with three straight wins and then won four games in the SWAC tournament, including a 71-67 win over top seed Bethune-Cookman.
Guard Dontae Horne averages 20 points a game, while guard Tai’reon Joseph scores 18 points a game. However, neither player is better than 32% from behind the 3-point line. At 18.5 attempts per game, Prairie View is one of the most infrequent 3-point shooting teams in the country.
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No. 11 SMU (20-13) vs. No. 11 Miami (Ohio) (31-1)
9:15 p.m. ET | SMU -7.5 | Total: 163.5 | Winner plays No. 6 Tennessee
The Mustangs snuck into the NCAA tournament field after an ugly finish to the season. SMU dropped to 11th in the ACC after losing its final four games of the regular season. And just one of those losses could be considered close, too. SMU lost by 20 at Stanford, by eight at home to Miami and by 13 at Florida State.
SMU beat Syracuse to open the ACC tournament, but fell 62-58 to Louisville in the second round.
The total for this game is so high because both teams rank in the top 25 in points per game. SMU averages 84 points per game, as Kevin Miller scores 19.2 per game and Jaron Pierre averages 17.6.
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Miami is the second-highest scoring team in the country behind Alabama at 90.2 points a game. The RedHawks were the only team to go undefeated during the regular season, but lost in the MAC tournament to UMass in the first round. That allowed the MAC to be a two-bid league, as Akron won the conference tournament to get the automatic bid.
However, the RedHawks snuck into the tournament thanks to a non-conference schedule that didn’t feature any power conference opponents — but that wasn’t for a lack of trying by the athletic department to get big teams on the schedule. Miami kept its unbeaten run alive by a thread at the end of the regular season, winning its final three games by a combined six points before losing by four to the Minutemen.
Six different players average at least 10 points a game. Senior guard Peter Suder leads the RedHawks with 14.6 points and Miami shoots 39% from the 3-point line as a team.