March 20, 2026
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
UCLA guard Skyy Clark had his tooth knocked out against the UCF Knights in the second half of a first-round game in the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament in Philly is in the books.
Four games were played at Xfinity Mobile Arena, two from the East Region, two from the Midwest. Unlike other brackets, there weren't any busters, as all four games went chalk.
In the earlier games, Midwest 3-seed Virginia held off an impressive effort from 14-seed Wright State, while 6-seed Tennessee easily dismissed an 11-seed Miami (Ohio) team that was viewed as a potential bracket-buster.
At night, when two blue bloods were on display as the crowd really filled in Xfinity Mobile Arena, 7-seed UCLA edged 10-seed Central Florida while 2-seed UConn survived an honest effort from 15-seed Furman.
Here's a recap of what stood out:
Central Florida came to play, and its old friend head coach Johnny Dawkins, a former 76er, gave 7-seed UCLA all it could handle in a 75-71 loss.
The physical Knights only shot 38 percent from the floor and missed 11 of 16 free throws, which is why they trailed by 11 with four minutes, 15 seconds left to play. The hot hand of Jordan Burks, though, got their deficit to six with less than 20 seconds to go. Burks, who scored 22 points, buried a 3-pointer off a turnover with 10 seconds to go, and suddenly UCLA led by just three.
Central Florida had captured the hearts of the upset-minded Philly crowd. Chants of "UCF! UCF!" echoed around the arena for much of the second half as Philly got behind Dawkins' team, but the Bruins hit enough free throws to seal the win.
The craziest shot of the day didn't actually benefit the person who shot the ball.
UCF's 7-foot-2 center John Bol scored two points for UCLA when he accidentally tipped the ball into UCLA's basket while trying to snag a rebound.
In what we'll call "tip drill gone wrong," the miscue helped UCLA open a 35-21 lead – its largest of the first half – on a shot that Bruins guard Donovan Dent missed.
Uh oh... an own goal for John Bol 😅😅 pic.twitter.com/EQjdoFxxAx
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 21, 2026
The single most dominant performance of the day – and there were some good ones – was UConn center Tarris Reed Jr.'s 31-point, 27-rebound domination against undersized Furman.
The Paladins shot their way into a battle against the heavily favored Huskies, but had no answer for stopping Reed in the low post. With a series of baby hooks, layups and power moves, Reed made 12 of 15 shots and wiped the glass clean on both ends, with 11 of those 27 boards coming on offense.
He joined some elite March Madness company:
VIDEO GAME NUMBERS FOR TARRIS REED JR. 🎮🔥
— ESPN (@espn) March 21, 2026
Reed Jr. is the third player since 1960 with 30 PTS and 25 REB in an NCAA Tournament game, joining Elvin Hayes (3 times) and Jerry Lucas (twice) 😱 pic.twitter.com/nMuzmzQidi
With every game going chalk, Philly surprisingly fell short of presenting an underdog story on a national stage.
That makes the Miami (Ohio) sleepwalk against Tennessee the biggest upset, especially given the hype accompanying the RedHawks into the game.
Miami had rolled through the Mid-American Conference at a perfect 31-0 before losing in the first round of the MAC tournament, which relegated the RedHawks to the play-in game against SMU, which they won, 89-79.
They arrived in Philly ready to be a Rocky story, but instead tossed up rocks, shooting 35 percent from the floor and 24 percent from behind the arc.
At one point during a timeout in the UCLA-UCF game, the Jumbotron showed the telecast of Clemson-Iowa in Tampa. The camera panned on Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney, who was in attendance, drawing a chorus of loud boos from the Xfinity Mobile Arena crowd.
What did Swinney ever do to Philly?
Another one came later in the same game, when UCLA guard Skyy Clark chipped a tooth after going hard to the floor and then taking an elbow to the face.
Luckily, his teammate, Jack Seidler, a former Jersey Shore basketball star from Marlboro, was able to retrieve the fragment.
Jack Seidler picked up his teammate Skyy Clark's tooth after it got knocked out 🤝 @UCLAMBB pic.twitter.com/xjMrL79kwf
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 21, 2026
"Tried Dalessandro's today; it was excellent. Going for Joe's next" – UCLA coach Mick Cronin – a new Philly guy? – on his cheesesteak desires while he's in Philly. Cronin had Dalessandro's delivered for his team and planned to hit up Joe’s Steaks and Soda Shop in Fishtown afterward.
On a day when the Eagles were signing, trading and re-signing safeties, head coach Nick Sirianni was busy ... taking in some tournament action?
Yep, Sirianni was there for much of the day. He even posed for this Tennessee-based reporter's picture:
#Eagles Head coach Nick Sirianni in the building for the Vols match up @EmCochranetv pic.twitter.com/hY435o2tms
— Elijah Nixon (@ElijahNixon18) March 20, 2026
Also in the house, as noted in our preview, was iconic comedian/actor Bill Murray, whose son Luke is a UConn assistant. Murray is frequently in attendance at UConn home and road games.
Actor Bill Murray supporting his son Luke, an assistant coach at UConn, at the NCAA Tournament 👏 pic.twitter.com/PcqjSYkxD8
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) March 21, 2026
Spotted in the Furman section, wearing the Paladin purple, was former Eagles tight end Luther Broughton (1998-2001), a former Furman football and basketball standout.
UCF coach Johnny Dawkins' team couldn't pull off the upset, but Dawkins enjoyed his time back in Philly, where he played for five seasons with the Sixers from 1989 to 1994.
"Just amazing memories," Dawkins said. "When I come to Philly, it's always fondness for me. I love the city and what it represents. You come in here and have a chance to compete again, although not playing anymore, but with my team, it was special. I don't know how many times you have a moment like that where you get a chance to come back to a city you've enjoyed for so long and have a chance to come in and compete in the NCAA Tournament."
Dawkins said his Knights, whose effort against UCLA got the Philly crowd in his favor, are the perfect team for Philly to love.
"I think the city would be proud of them. That's what this city is about," he added. "It's about toughness, how hard you work. Until the last second, they were fighting until the very end."
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