Kent Bewley's News Story Collection

The 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball tournament is now down to four teams competing for the national title. After the Regional Semifinals and Finals concluded, we now have our Final Four set to compete in Indianapolis for a trophy. In spite of the lack of upsets and Cinderellas vanishing into the night, there were still some thrilling games that determined who would go on to Indy and who would go home in each round and region. So, let’s break it all down and see which schools’ men’s basketball teams will be playing in April for the national title.

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The South Region Features The Dethroning of a Defending Champ, The Home-Court Defeat of a Runner-Up & A Winner From A Dominant Conference

The South Region of this bracket featured the defending champion Florida Gators as the top seed, the two-seeded Houston Cougars and other worthy contenders like the Illinois Fighting Illini, Nebraska Cornhuskers and Vanderbilt Commodores as the other top-five seeds in the bracket. The first round featured a couple of under-seeded teams winning their games as the nine-seed Iowa Hawkeyes beat the Clemson Tigers 67-61 and the VCU Rams came back from down 19 points to break the hearts of the six-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels in overtime by a final score of 82-78. In the second round, the bottom half of the bracket was undramatic as Illinois and Houston breezed past their opponents. But the top half of the bracket featured two heart-throbbing finishes. In Tampa, Fla, the Hawkeyes of Iowa shocked the home-state team in Florida with a game-winning three-point made by forward Alvaro Folgueiras following a missed free throw by the Gators. Florida had one last chance to survive, but they were not able to get a shot off underneath the basket as time expired. The national champions from last season were defeated in shocking fashion and denied a trip to the Sweet 16. If you thought that upset was crazy, then a game in Oklahoma City would say “Hold my beer”. The second round battle between Vanderbilt and Nebraska came down to the wire as both teams traded leads in the second half and in the final seconds a clutch basket by Cornhuskers forward Braden Frager gave Nebraska a two-point lead. The Cornhusker fans dominating the stands at the Paycom Center were going wild, but Vanderbilt called a timeout looking to draw up a miracle play with around two seconds left on the clock. The ball was inbounded and Commodores guard Tyler Tanner received the ball. Tanner chucked up a long shot from half-court right before the buzzer went off and the ball went off the backboard and it hit the rim twice but the ball did not go through the net. It was game over. A heartbreaking end to the season for Vanderbilt and a stunning finish for Nebraska, whose men’s basketball team was going to the Sweet 16 for the first time ever.

In the South Regional Semifinals held at the Toyota Center in Houston, Tex on Thur, Mar 26, the Hawkeyes and Cornhuskers played each other in a Big Ten rivalry showdown to start the night. The first half was high-scoring but the second half less so, with a couple of clutch threes made by Braden Stirtz and Tate Sage to push the lead to six for Iowa. After Nebraska responded with a three-pointer by Frager, Fred Hoiberg called a timeout in order to set his team’s defense. But the Cornhuskers only had four players on the floor when the inbounds pass by the Hawkeyes found a wide-open Alvaro Folgueiras for an and-one basket on the other end of the court. Five late points by Folgueiras sealed off the win for Iowa, who was going to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987 in men’s basketball. Their opponent would be determined in the game between Illinois and Houston.

The Cougars were basically playing on home hardwood, with their campus arena not being located too far from downtown Houston. The Illini seemed to have a tall task on their hands, but a low-scoring first half suggested otherwise. The second half saw Illinois take a big lead and they kept it high over the Cougars, who fell a little short in this one. A 65-55 victory for the Illini set up an Elite Eight date against their Big Ten conference opponents in Iowa. A nine-seed versus a three-seed. That sounds nice in this reality where long shots are virtually nonexistent. On Sat, Mar 28, the first of the Regional Finals occurred in the South and would determine which team got to punch their ticket to Indy first. The Hawkeyes had a solid first half and led by four points at halftime. However, Illinois took over in the final seven minutes of regulation and they cruised past Iowa to a 12-point victory and their first Final Four appearance in more than 20 years. With star players such as Keaton Wagler, Andrej Stojakovic and Tomislav Ivisic, the Fighting Illini are seeking to plant their flag in a conveniently located Final Four in Indianapolis just a couple of hours away from their campus in Champaign, Ill. These Illinois boys might not be young enough to legally drink champagne yet, but they will look to shock the world against the winner of the East Region on Sat, Apr 4. Before that breakdown, let’s go out west to California to see who won that regional.

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Arizona Wildcats Use Convenient Schedule in Cali to Return to First Final Four in 25 Years As Top-Seeded Winner of the West Region

Now onto the West Region, where some of the games and the Regional Semifinals/Finals occurred in the “Golden State” of California. The top seed in this bracket were the Arizona Wildcats, who were looking to avoid early-round defeats in the tournament this time around. Challengers to Arizona’s bid to get into the Final Four included the Purdue Boilermakers, Gonzaga Bulldogs and Arkansas Razorbacks. A couple of early upsets made the Wildcats’ road to Indy a little easier as the Wisconsin Badgers were shocked by the Southern Conference winning High Point Panthers, who overcame an eight-point deficit to win 83-82 on a game-winning three-pointer by Chase Johnston in Portland, Ore. Alas, the 12-seeded Panthers were defeated in the next round by Arkansas 94-88. Another surprising upset came in Portland when Gonzaga was bested by the 11-seed Texas Longhorns in a close and thrilling battle by a final of 74-68. Meanwhile, Arizona cruised through their first two games as they defeated the Long Island Sharks and Utah State Aggies in San Diego, Calif.

The West Regional Semifinals were held in San Jose, Calif on Thur, Mar 26 and the first game was between Texas and Purdue. That game between the Longhorns and Boilermakers was tight all the way through, with the lead switching between both teams in the second half. In the final thirty seconds, Texas tied the game on an and-one tip basket by Dailyn Swan. But Purdue responded with a clutch rebound tip-in at the buzzer by Trey Kaufman-Renn to win the game. The final double-digit seed in the tournament fell in heartbreaking fashion, while the Boilermakers were going back to a familiar location in the Elite Eight. Later that night, the Arizona team shredded through John Calipari’s Razorbacks squad with two 50+ point halves to defeat Arkansas by a resounding tally of 109-88. With six players in double-figures, it was a combined team effort for the Wildcats, who were set to play Purdue in the Regional Final at Sat, Mar 28.

In that Saturday night showdown at the SAP Center, Purdue held an early edge on Arizona, with a 38-31 lead for the Boilermakers at halftime. But in the second half, the Wildcats went on a 16-3 run that gave them the lead and U of A would not surrender it. The lead went up to double-digits and Arizona would win the game by 15 points. The Wildcats of Tucson were going back to the Final Four for the first time since 2001 and now have a chance to win their first national title since 1997. No team from the Western United States has won a Division I championship in men’s basketball since Lute Olson’s squad did almost thirty years ago. The continental divide drought can potentially be broken by this former PAC-12 and now Big 12 stalwart under Tommy Lloyd’s leadership. Featuring star players such as Koa Peat, Brayden Burries and Jayden Bradley, this Arizona squad is hungry to be a national champion and they will have a chance to achieve it in Indianapolis. But they must face a fellow one seed as described below.

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The Michigan Wolverines Return To The Final Four By Winning All Their Games in Midwest Region By Double-Digits, Seek First Men’s Basketball Title Since 1989

Onto the Midwest region, where the top seed in that bracket are the Michigan Wolverines, who spent a lot of time as the number one ranked team in the country in the AP Top 25 weekly rankings. In the Midwest, other title contenders included the two-seed Iowa State Cyclones, three seed Virginia Cavaliers, four-seed Alabama Crimson Tide and the six-seed Tennessee Volunteers. Michigan did well in its first two games in Buffalo, New York by defeating the Howard Bison and Saint Louis Bilikens by more than 20 points each. Elsewhere in the Midwest bracket, the only real thrilling game was a first-round tilt between the seven-seed Kentucky Wildcats and ten-seed Santa Clara Broncos. A thrilling second half saw Santa Clara take a late lead on a clutch three-pointer by Allen Graves. But the Broncos head coach was unable to call a timeout before the ball was inbounded by Kentucky and the ball was shot from half-court by Otega Oweh in order to tie the game. The ball went into the basket and the game went into overtime. In OT, both teams dueled to the finish, but the Wildcats from Big Blue Nation eked out the win in the end. An 89-84 victory for Kentucky was soured by a blowout loss to Iowa State in the proceeding round. The only real close Second Round game in the Midwest was between Tennessee and Virginia, with the Vols surviving a comeback attempt from the Wahoos to win 79-72.

In the Midwest Regional Semifinals on Fri, Mar 27 at the United Center in Chicago, Michigan faced Alabama and defeated them by a final score of 90-77. Their opponent in the Regional final turned out to be Tennessee, who beat Iowa State by holding a double-digit margin for most of the second half. The Midwest regional final on Sun, Mar 29 was more of a coronation than a game as Michigan held a massive lead over the Volunteers for most of the day. A 92-65 victory propelled the Wolverines to their first Final Four appearance since 2018, when they lost in the national championship game to Villanova. With a star-studded roster featuring players such as forward Yaxel Lendeborg, guard Elliot Cadeau and transfer center Aday Mara, this Michigan team is looking to cut down the nets for the first time since 1989. The Fab Five couldn’t quite achieve a natty in the early 1990s, but this Maze and Blue team possibly can. A Final Four matchup against another team who also spent a lot of time as the top-ranked team in the nation in Arizona in Indianapolis will sure be an awesome game. Now onto the final regional winner in the East.

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The East Region Features A Thrilling Game In Our Nation’s Capital To Determine The Winner and One Amazing Shot Sends One Blue Blood To Indy and the Other Back Home In Shock

Finally, we have the East Region, which was considered the hardest bracket of them all in this tournament. With polished classic national champs such as the Duke Blue Devils(five national titles), UConn Huskies(six national titles, all since 1986), Kansas Jayhawks(four national titles) and UCLA Bruins(11 national titles, the most in all Division I), this group was the toughest one of them all. There were a lot of close results in this group and the regional title game had the most insane conclusion to it. But let’s break down some of the more notable results. Duke nearly got themselves beat in the first round when the 16-seed Siena Saints held the lead for quite a long period of time in the game. But the upset was not to be as the Blue Devils took control and held off the MAAC champs by a final score of 71-65. The team Duke faced in the Second Round also played in a close First Round game as the TCU Horned Frogs held off a comeback attempt from the Ohio State Buckeyes to win by a final of 66-64. In the second round, Duke handled TCU in Greenville, S.C by a final of 81-58. Meanwhile, down in San Diego, the St. John’s Red Storm and Kansas had a tight second round affair. A comeback run by the Jayhawks nearly succeeded with them tying up the game after an and-one basket and free throw made by their star forward Darryn Peterson. But the Johnnies responded by slowly moving the ball up the court and then guard Dylan Darling made the game-winning layup at the buzzer. A thrilling win to get the Red Storm back to the Sweet 16 for a second straight season under Rick Pitino. Meanwhile, Michigan State defeated Louisville 77-69 and UConn beat UCLA 73-57 to get into the East Regional Semifinals.

At Capital One Arena in Washington D.C on Fri, Mar 27, the Blue Devils and Johnnies played against each other in the first game of the doubleheader. In the second half, St. John’s held a ten-point lead, but Duke fought back and eventually took the lead in a tug-of-war finish. In the end, the Devils won the game 80-75 as the Johnnies were eliminated from national title contention. The second game between Sparty and UConn would be a good one as well, with the Huskies taking a big 19-point lead out of the gate. But Michigan State did not relent and fought back to only be down by eight points at halftime. In the second half, the Spartans came to within a possession of the lead a couple of times and took the lead for a short while. But UConn used their championship prowess to stay ahead and they fended off Michigan State with a solid 67-63 win. A blue blood Elite Eight matchup was set for Sun, Mar 29.

In this Elite Eight game, Duke got off to a strong start, holding a 19-point lead over Connecticut. At the half, the lead was 15 in favor of the Blue Devils and it seemed that Duke was en route to its second straight appearance in the Final Four under Jon Scheyer. Instead, the Huskies fought back in the second half and chipped away at the lead for Duke slowly but surely. The big source of offense for UConn was from center Tarris Reed Jr, who led the team in points. Other players were stepping up and the one thing holding the Huskies back was missed three-point shots. Eventually, they started hitting a few of them and the deficit was pushed down to single-digits. The final few minutes were extremely tight as missed free throws from both teams had the potential to be costly. After a missed free throw with ten seconds left by UConn guard Silas Demary Jr, who made the second free throw of a two-shot set, the Blue Devils had the ball up by two points. With their foul count in the one-and-one range, UConn was going to have to foul Duke and pray for at least one miss. The ball was inbounded to Cameron Boozer, who passed the ball back to Dame Sarr, who then passed the ball off to Cayden Boozer. Instead of taking a potential foul from the Huskies, Cayden attempted to pass the ball over the arms of the taller defenders around him. That was a mistake, as UConn got the ball back and Dan Hurley didn’t call a timeout. Instead he watched as Alex Karaban got the ball and then passed it off to Braylon Mullins, who was one of the guys who deflected the pass from the guard Boozer. Mullins pulled up from a long distance to shoot a three-pointer with two seconds left and the ball went into the hoop. A seamless swish. Only 0.4 seconds remained on the clock as the UConn bench and Huskies fans were going nuts.

The game was over after a failed long pass by Duke and the Connecticut Huskies, on the same day that their school’s women’s basketball team clinched a Final Four berth, won their Regional Final game. Breaking the hearts of Blue Devils fans, Braylon Mullins hit the shot of his life to send UConn to the Final Four occurring in his home state of Indiana. After being named Mr. Basketball in the Hoosier State in his senior year of high school in 2025, Mullins had delivered on the biggest stage. And now an even bigger one awaits for the Huskies at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sat, Apr 4 as they are slated to face Illinois in a National Semifinal game. That game will be the first one of the Final Four doubleheader, proceeded by the battle of the one seeds in Arizona and Michigan. Whoever wins this tournament will have gone through a tough gauntlet to achieve it. UConn definitely fits that mold in the highest regard, but we shall see who will be crowed champion. With two recent titles in 2023 and 2024, the Huskies are hungry to continue/resume a dynasty for their men’s team. Meanwhile, Arizona and Michigan will be seeking a trip to the national title game, where one of them will have the chance to break a long championship drought. And Illinois shall have the opportunity to try and win its first national championship in its men’s basketball program’s history. They lost to North Carolina in the title game back in 2005 and now under Brad Underwood have a chance to achieve greatness. So, the 2026 Final Four is slated to be a really good one. We’ll see who is lucky enough to be crowed champions in April.