The 2026 men’s NCAA tournament continues as a loaded Sweet 16 tips off Thursday.
ESPN reporters on-site in Houston and San Jose, California are working alongside other analysts and editors to track all the action.
Jump to: Post-game takeaways
How Purdue won: Braden Smith’s potential go-ahead attempt in the closing seconds was off the mark, but Trey Kaufman-Renn was there for the tip-in to give Purdue the thrilling win. The Boilermakers labored throughout the second half and had a difficult time containing Tramon Mark, but a clutch layup from Smith with 38 seconds to play followed by a couple of made free throws by C.J. Cox put them in position to win. They shot just 4-for-20 (20%) from 3 but all five starters scored in double figures, with Kaufman-Renn’s 20 points leading the way. Fletcher Loyer was the only Boilermaker to make a 3, going 4-for-8 from the perimeter. — Kyle Bonagura
How Iowa won: Iowa trailed Nebraska for 81% of this game. The Cornhuskers were an offensive machine early, opening with a 12-2 run and holding a double-digit lead with just over five minutes left in the first half. With a Nebraska-heavy crowd at the Toyota Center in Houston, the Cornhuskers appeared to have all of the momentum … until a Tate Sage 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer cut that deficit to three points and allowed the Hawkeyes to hit the reset button.
Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz was the most influential player in the second half as Nebraska cooled off in a back-and-forth game. Stirtz hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:10 to play, then Alvaro Folgueiras came up big for the second game in a row. With his team up three points late, he ran down the court, scored and drew a foul for a three-point play. Nebraska, seemingly confused, had only four players on the court. Another late dunk from Folgueiras sealed the game for the Hawkeyes, who will make their first Elite Eight appearance since 1987.
How’d they get here? With the same resilience they’ve had all season. They never broke. They were exhausted, but with the game on the line, they made clutch plays to advance. — Myron Medcalf
