No. 12 High Point defeats No. 5 Wisconsin 83-82 in first-round NCAA tournament game
Authored by lion-bet.net, 20 Mar 2026
No. 12 seed High Point rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat No. 5 seed Wisconsin 83-82 in a first-round game of the men's NCAA Division I basketball tournament on March 19, 2026, at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
The victory marked the first NCAA tournament win in High Point program history.
High Point guard Chase Johnston scored a layup on a fast break with 11.7 seconds left to give the Panthers the lead. Johnston, a three-point specialist, made his first two-point field goal of the season on the play after teammate Rob Martin rebounded a missed layup by Wisconsin guard Nick Boyd and passed ahead.
Owen Aquino then blocked a drive by Boyd. Cam'Ron Fletcher missed a free throw, but Terry Anderson intercepted Andrew Rohde's inbounds pass with 1.8 seconds remaining to secure the win.
In a postgame interview, Johnston said: "First and foremost, I wanna give all glory to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It's been an unbelievable season. This is a group of guys that's built on John 15:13. We serve each other, we love each other, and we'd die for each other. I'm so grateful."
High Point earned its tournament berth by winning the Big South Conference championship for the second straight season. The Panthers made their tournament debut last year as a No. 13 seed and lost to No. 4 Purdue 78-50.[1][2]
High Point advances to the second round to face No. 4 Arkansas.
Sources
- NCAA.com, "Purdue vs. High Point - Men's Basketball Game Summary - March 21, 2024", March 21, 2024, https://www.ncaa.com/game/6175012
- ESPN, "Purdue 78-50 High Point (Mar 21, 2024) Final Score", March 21, 2024, https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/401580947