Mt. Pleasant, IA- Down goes the champion and now two bitter rivals get ready to meet for the first time in postseason history with the winner moving on to the Elite 8. Now that was just the upper half of the South Region, meaning March is running on schedule and it is time to update the standings for the 2026 KILJ Bracket Challenge after two rounds.
What Happened
The prevailing prediction amongst southeast Iowa was that the #8-seeds did not have what it took to advance to the second round and that proved to be the correct assumption as the #9-seeds managed to go 4-0 this year.
Day one was much more exciting than day two of the first round with #11 VCU and #12 High Point knocking off their respective opponents. Only three brackets said High Point would defeat Wisconsin.
Additionally, #16 Siena had #1 Duke on their heels, leading for a majority of the match until the Blue Devils stormed ahead late. It would have been the ultimate bracket buster with 47 of our 60 brackets having Duke in the Final Four.
Instead, the status quo stuck around and would continue, excluding #11 Texas picking off #6 BYU, despite AJ Dybansta producing 35 points for the Cougars. The Longhorns would keep the upsets coming as they defeated #3 Gonzaga, 74-68, to advance to the Sweet 16.
#5 St. John’s head coach, Rick Pitino, avenged his loss in the second-round last year by holding on to beat #4 Kansas, 67-65. #6 Tennessee also pulled off an upset over #3 Virginia to advance to the Sweet 16.
Waiting for the Volunteers will be #2 Iowa State. Despite missing All-American Joshua Jefferson, the Cyclones scored 51 second half points to steamroll #7 Kentucky. #4 Nebraska, fresh off their first ever win in the tournament, dispatched #5 Vanderbilt, 74-72, and now sits one win away from the Elite 8.
Of course, as five of our local brackets predicted, #9 Iowa will look to continue their Cinderella story against the Cornhuskers on Thursday after Alvaro Folgueiras sank a game-winning three-pointer with less than five seconds remaining to end #1 Florida’s chances as repeat National Champions.
Of the top guessers in the first round, three brackets picked 29 of the 32 matchups, while the second round featured two brackets that were able to correctly pick 13 of the 16 contests. Overall, 21 of the 60 brackets have lost at least one Final Four team.
Meaning, five of our local brackets have now lost their champion. But, with points now doubling to eight for each correct guess in the Sweet 16, things will only start to heat up.
Standings
- Zach White: 106
- Joseph Koller: 106
- Alan Buckert: 104
- Justin Hultman: 102
- Georgie Alter: 102
- Brent Broeker: 102
- Khanon Koller: 102
- Karen Brimhall: 102
- Mat Wilson: 102 Down One Final Four Team
- Kelsey Norton, Tammy Alliman, Depot Divas, Ross Heitmeier, Jakin Bunnell, and Dan Clouer: 100
More
Stay tuned to KILJ for an update on the standings after the Elite 8.