High Point Stuns Big Ten, NCAA Tournament's Early Cinderella

0:00On March 19th, the 2026 NCAA tournament got its first real excitement with number 12 seed high point, pulling off an upset win. The big South champs from high point, edged out a Big Ten powerhouse 83-82 in Portland on Thursday. This marched their first trip to the round of 32, as the tournament's early Cinderella story. High point matched one of college basketball's top offenses shot for shot. They drained 15 three-pointers out of 40 tries and shot over 47% from two-point range. Standout Chase Johnson in his number 99 jersey helped fuel the comeback in that high-paced battle. First year head coach Flynn Clayman picked up the biggest victory of his career right out of the gate. Last season, his team fell in a number 4 versus number 13 match-up to Purdue, but they made no mistake this time against another Big Ten foe. Looking ahead, high point takes on the winner of Arkansas vs. Hawaii this Saturday. That sets up a potential reunion for 6-7 forward, Cameron Fletcher.

1:03He started at Kentucky under John Calipari, spent time at Florida State in Xavier, and now leads high point with career highs and points and rebounds. With 30 regular season wins under their belt, the Panthers look ready for more. This upset signals the manness is just getting started across the bracket.