The first two days of March Madness 2026 are in the books! Only 32 teams are left standing, and half of them are going to be gone by Monday morning. This weekend will separate the contenders from the pretenders. Here are our game picks for Saturday’s Round of 32 action. Enjoy what promises to be an incredible weekend of college basketball!
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Michigan over Saint Louis
This one should be a bit of a chess match, as it will be very interesting to see how Michigan will guard Robbie Avila (and who Avila will guard on the other end). If Aday Mara guards someone else and can sit in the paint, and gets the Avila defense, I think he could be in for a huge night. The Billikens will keep it close for a half, but expect Michigan to pull away in the second!
Michigan State over Louisville
I don’t like using the word “lucky,” but the Louisville Cardinals are very fortunate that South Florida, a good shooting team, had their worst shooting night of the season in the round of 64. Without Mikel Brown Jr, I expect Jeremy Fears to lock up Ryan Conwell, and the Sparty frontcourt will dominate on the other end.
Duke over TCU
If you look up “wake-up call” in the dictionary, there should be a picture of Duke’s victory over Siena on Thursday. TCU is going to get the Blue Devils’ best. And Duke’s best, even with injuries, is one of the best in the country. The injury to Caleb Foster will not be as impactful as long as Cayden Boozer continues to play at a high level.
Houston over Texas A&M
“Buckyball” got its first NCAA Tournament win against a sick Saint Mary’s on Thursday, but this style should not be effective against the Cougars. Houston’s experienced guards, Miloz Uzan and Emanuel Sharp, should be unfazed by the press. And Texas A&M is not a good rebounding team, which is a recipe for disaster against Houston.
Texas over Gonzaga
Without Braden Huff, the Zags have been overly reliant on Graham Ike to generate offense through the post and grab rebounds, and they were not impressive in a first-round victory over Kennesaw State. Texas can pose a super unique matchup nightmare for Gonzaga — Matas Vokietaitis’ ability to draw fouls (the 3rd-best in the nation) could get Ike in early foul trouble, which would be worst case scenario for the Zags.
Illinois over VCU
It was a terrifically entertaining comeback to watch, but VCU had some gaps exposed against North Carolina. Henri Veesaar ate the Rams’ front court alive to the tune of 26 points and 10 rebounds. How in the world are they going to slow down David Mirkovic and Tomislav Ivisic?
Vanderbilt over Nebraska
If you were to ask Fred Hoiberg who is the team he would LEAST want to see across from him in a potential 4-5 matchup before the bracket was released, his answer would have probably been Vanderbilt. The Cornhuskers have no one who can stay in front of Tyler Tanner or Duke Miles. There are multiple ways to combat this, whether they want to over-help or go zone, and either of those leads to additional catch-and-shoot opportunities for Tyler Nickel. The Cornhuskers are between a rock and a hard place.
Arkansas over High Point
Don’t get it twisted — High Point is more than just a neat story with an on-campus steakhouse, outdoor pools, and a literal 3-point specialist. They’re a good basketball team with an elite offense and I expect them to be able to score enough to keep this game close. But ultimately, it’s going to be too much Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas as High Point will have no answers defensively.
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