The first weekend of the NCAA tournament is in the books, and there are, of course, distinct winners and losers.
Among the big winners are the Big Ten and John Calipari, who’s guided Arkansas to its second Sweet 16 in his second season as head coach. Kentucky, meanwhile, is headed home.
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As for future lottery pick Darryn Peterson, he didn’t exactly make the final impression at Kansas that NBA executives were hoping to see. Let’s take a look at the biggest winners and losers from the first two rounds of tournament play:
Winner: John Calipari
John Calipari’s exit from Kentucky marked a seismic shift in the college basketball landscape.
The game’s winningest program parted with one of the most successful coaches of his his era, who’d opened up a pipeline of elite talent to Lexington and led the Wildcats to a national championship.
But a prolonged lack of tournament success that included a nine-year Final Four drought made the relationship untenable. And the two parted ways after a first-round exit in the 2024 NCAA tournament.
With Darius Acuff Jr., John Calipari and the Razorbacks are a threat in the Sweet 16.
(Wesley Hitt via Getty Images)
Fast-forward two years, and Calipari’s winning the breakup. Calipari took some of his talent with him to his new job with SEC rival Arkansas and led the Razorbacks to the Sweet 16 in Year 1. Now he’s got Arkansas back in the Sweet 16 with a star point guard in Darius Acuff Jr. leading the way as arguably the best player in the tournament through two games.
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A future NBA lottery pick with top-5 upside who was named first-team All-America as a freshman, Acuff is going scorched earth in tournament play. In wins over Hawaii and High Point, Acuff’s averaged 30 points, 6.5 assists and 1 steal per game. He’s shooting 49% from the floor and 5 of 11 (45.5%) from 3. He’s the kind of talent Kentucky came to take for granted during Calipari’s reign.
Now he’s at Arkansas in the tournament’s second weekend. And Kentucky’s gone home after a listless second-round loss to Iowa State that will have head coach Mark Pope on the hot seat entering his third season coaching his alma mater.
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-Jason Owens
Loser: Darryn Peterson
Presumptive lottery pick Darryn Peterson entered the tournament with a chance to cement his spot atop NBA Draft boards and answer the questions that have dogged him throughout his freshman campaign at Kansas.
With Kansas’ underwhelming loss to St. John’s in the second round, the questions surrounding Peterson remain intact, and his spot at the top of the draft is anything but certain.
Peterson’s tournament was a microcosm of his turbulent regular season at Kansas. In the first round, he reeled off 10 straight points and flashed his prowess as an elite three-level scorer as Kansas opened a 26-point lead against Cal Baptist.
Darryn Peterson’s time at Kansas is almost certainly done. Will he be the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA Draft?
(The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)
But as Cal Bapist cut that lead to 6 points late in the second half, Peterson disappeared down the stretch. He hit a floater with 5:43 remaining for his 28th point and didn’t score again. In fact, he was barely involved in KU’s offense and didn’t touch the ball on repeated trips down the floor as Cal Baptist cut its 66-52 deficit to 66-60 in the final minutes.
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Kansas survived the upset bid, setting up Sunday’s game against St. John’s. Peterson once again led the JayHawks with 21 points. But there were times in the game where he wasn’t involved in KU’s offense. And then came the final play, where Peterson, a strong defender, didn’t help as Dylan Darling knifed through the Kansas defense virtually unchallenged for a game-winning layup at the buzzer.
That’s likely the final image of Peterson’s college career. And it’s not a flattering look.
-Jason Owens
Winner: Betting favorites
A lack of upsets in the NCAA tournament has been very good business for people betting the favorites.
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Favorites went 16-0 in the first round on Friday, and that luck continued into the second round. Yes, No. 11 Texas beat No. 3 Gonzaga to give us a true upset, but even some games that looked like upsets really weren’t.
No. 6 Tennessee closed as a slight favorite over No. 3 Virginia. The same can be said for No. 5 St. John’s, which was a 3.5-point favorite over No. 4 Kansas.
There are myriad theories for why favorites have done so well this year — with NIL budgets being a leading thought. Will that run continue in the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight? We’re not so sure. The gaps between teams in the next rounds will be significantly smaller.
-Nick Bromberg
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Loser: West Coast Conference
The days of the West Coast Conference getting three NCAA tournament bids are probably over. And they’re disappearing with none of the three WCC teams in the tournament making it past the second round. Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara all made the 2026 men’s tournament.
But the Gaels lost to No. 10 Texas A&M in the first round, and No. 10 Santa Clara was beaten in overtime by No. 7 Kentucky on Friday after Otega Oweh’s incredible buzzer-beater to send the game to overtime. The No. 3 Zags scuffled a bit against No. 14 Kennesaw State, but that’s the only win the WCC got.
Gonzaga coach Mark Few’s last NCAA tournament representing the WCC ended in an upset second-round loss.
(Soobum Im via Getty Images)
Saturday night, Gonzaga was upset by a No. 11 Texas team that started its NCAA tournament in the First Four. That was the final game that Gonzaga will play as a West Coast Conference team.
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The Bulldogs are off to join the remodeled Pac-12 in 2026-27. And much of the WCC’s luster will go with them. Gonzaga being one of college basketball’s preeminent powers has done a ton for the conference over the last two decades. 2026 was just the fourth time ever that the league got three NCAA tournament teams. And all four of those instances came in the 2000s.
-Nick Bromberg
Winner: Big Ten
The Big Ten entered Sunday with the state of its NCAA tournament already assured, having secured four of the bids available in the Sweet 16.
Then it added two more, including one with the biggest upset of the tournament. Purdue secured the conference’s fifth Sweet 16 berth with a 79-69 win over Miami early Sunday. And 9 seed Iowa roared into the tournament’s second weekend with a stunning upset of 1 seed and reigning champion Florida.
Alvaro Folgueiras’s 3 with 4.2 seconds remaining secured the upset win.
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UCLA couldn’t make it 7 for 7 for the Big Ten Sunday night as UConn delivered the conference its only second-round defeat.
But Iowa and Purdue will join Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska and Illinois in a Big Ten party in the Sweet 16.
-Jason Owens
Hubert Davis’ days as North Carolina’s head coach may be numbered.
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS)
Loser: Blue Bloods
North Carolina, Kansas and Kentucky, specifically.
None of the lauded programs survived the first weekend as North Carolina blew a 19-point lead against VCU in the first round, Kentucky collapsed in the second round against Iowa State and Kansas looked listless before St. John’s thwarted a second-half rally with a buzzer-beater at the rim against a less-than-inspired Jayhawks defense.
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Not only will none of the three programs add to their combined tally of 18 NCAA championships. But they’ll each leave the tournament with some level of uncertainty around their head coaches.
There’s chatter that North Carolina could part with Hubert Davis as soon this week. Mark Pope’s seat in Kentucky isn’t nearly as hot, but he’ll enter his third season coaching his alma mater under intense pressure to produce.
And Hall of Fame Kansas coach Bill Self said after Sunday’s loss that “I haven’t decided” if he’ll return to coach the Jayhawks for a 24th season. His legacy that features two NCAA titles is secure, and Self — 63 and battling ongoing health concerns — wants to consult with his family before deciding his basketball future.
It’s a critical juncture for all three programs and one where the decisions of the coming days and season will dictate their futures.
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-Jason Owens
Winner: Texas
By most accounts, the Longhorns weren’t supposed to still be here.
Texas snuck into the NCAA tournament as an 11 seed and was relegated to the First Four as one of the last four at-large teams selected for the tournament field. Three wins in five days later, and Texas has crashed the Sweet 16 as the only double-digit seed remaining in the field.
A power program with plenty of backing, it’s a stretch to call Texas a Cinderella. But it’s certainly an unexpected arrival to the tournament’s second weekend.
No. 2 seed Purdue would be wise to not take the Longhorns lightly next weekend. Gonzaga, a 3 seed, found out the hard way that Texas is hitting its stride at the right time.
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-Jason Owens
