March Sadness 2026 Schedule Update

Round One is in the books, and we have the Round of 32 coming next week. Regions V and T will go on Tuesday, March 17th, then on Thursday March 19th Regions C and N will compete.


Round One is in the books, and we have the Round of 32 coming next week. Regions V and T will go on Tuesday, March 17th, then on Thursday March 19th Regions C and N will compete.


And the thrilling conclusion to the March Sadness first round commences today! Polls will close at 11:00 PM EDT.


Some great matchups today. Polls will remain open a little longer today, until 11 PM EDT.
Welcome to Day 2 of March Sadness 2026! Things got off to a roaring start on Tuesday, with Jerry Thornton and Matt McCarthy ekeing out one vote victories. Jarad Carrabis and Mark Dondero also scored single digit victories in a hard-fought opening round. One other Day 1 highlight was Bert Breer recording the first ever shutout in tournament history, by jumping out to a 50-0 lead over Jeff Howe and triggering the Mercy Rule circuit breaker. Such an embarrassing showing would be enough to drive a man to drink!

Region C
8 Mike Kadlick vs Taylor Kyles 9
Kadlick kicks Kyles’ keister.
5 Dan Shaughnessy vs Kevin Millar 12
This looks like a fait accompli for the CHB, but don’t let Millar win today!
Nick “Fitzy” Stevens 7 vs Cerrone Battel 10
New York’s finest should roll over the Raleigh NC DPW worker in this Battle of Fake Bostonians.

Region V
Jim Murray 1 vs James “Scaz” Scaramozino WC
The 43 seconds it took to look up Scaz’s real name was a waste of time.
Brian Scalabrine 6 vs Drew Carter 11
The public finally gets to decide who is at more at fault for the diminished quality of the Celtics TV broadcasts! (It’s Scal)
Marc Bertrand 2 vs Brian Barrett 15
Bertrand swallows Barrett whole. A little shaking, a little tenderizing, and down he goes.
Region N
Kevin Paul “E” Dupont 4 vs Joe Haggerty 13
A blowout on paper, but expect Porkchop Joe to make this tighter than the top button on his shirt. However KPED will prevail.

Phil Perry 7 vs Andrew Callahan 10
The sentient Wojak cartoon upsets Curran’s boy toy.
Region T
Rob “Hardy” Poole 7 vs John Karalis 10
Hardy wins the battle of the balds.
Chris Gasper 2 vs Eric Rueb WC
Rueb can always cherish that memory of his wild card win.
Vote early and vote often!


I never hear anything about Tatum’s rehab except for people bitching about always hearing about it.
Do fake food allergies count abroad?
You’re laughing? I’m groggy because I had an hour of my life stolen from me and you’re laughing? (The hour I lost was from watching the premiere episode of ‘R.J. Decker’.)
In today’s NFL you need a roster with a mix of hyphens and apostrophes in the names to succeed.
The NBA should store all evidence of Edrice Adebayo’s 83 point game in the same vault they keep the “proof” of Wilt’s “100 point game.”
And no, I ain’t calling a grown man, ‘Bam.’
Wonder how many Bruins fans are aware TDGarden each night offers $5 draft beer (12 oz)?
How do we convince Yoshi to play for the Red Sox like he does in World Baseball Classic games?
It’s not plagiarism if no one hears it.
Cakes are cooking for Rupert Murdoch, Sam Donaldson, Mark Stein, Bobby McFerrin, Nina Hagen, Curtis Brown, Rob Paulsen, Cheryl Lynn, James Pinkerton, Mike Percy, Alex Kingston, Wallace Langham, John Barrowman, Rami Jaffee, Johnny Knoxville, Adam Wakeman, Bobby Abreu, Becky Hammon, Benji Madden, Joel Madden, Elton Brand, Thora Birch, Anthony Davis, and Jodie Comer.
Fun fact: Jason Tatum had his face tattooed on his repaired Achilles tendon.
Nice weather we’re having, eh?
Hold onto your hats but I have a crush on the white girl from Duke.
I don’t know how to pronounce ‘Doubs.’
Complain more about McAvoy playing “hero ball.”
Watching 3 basketball games at once is terrible.
Blue Line: Delays of about 10 minutes while a maintenance train inspects the overhead wires between Airport and Wonderland. Trains may stand by at stations.
Knowing the name of an NBA official is a warning sign, like a check engine light.
Hey gang of tournament enjoyers! This week’s Phrase that Pays is, “They hear us.’
I’m gonna get in the car
Drive away
Drive so far
No one’s gonna find me
Put my foot on the gas
Accelerate
Drive so fast
No one’s gonna catch me.
Gonna get in the car
Drive away
Drive so far
No one’s gonna find me
Put my foot on the gas
Accelerate
Drive so fast
No one’s gonna catch me.
It’s about time for CHB to plague poor Bob Cousy and his family by heading off to Worcester to ask the 97-year-old legend whom Pritchard reminds him of.
So Brady is a witless incompetent GM who screwed up a simple trade, correct?
That’s the way this works.
Best of luck tomorrow against Miami of Ohio, UMass.
Sealants!
Really weird when a random old Red Sox game is on NESN+ and you realize pretty quickly you were at it.
Honk if you remember New York Jet QB Geno Smith. I have news about that.
A man broke my Nespresso machine! A one-armed man! You find that man!
Who is your favorite sports agent or agency? Let us know in the comments.
You can tell I’m a serious basketball fan because I refer to a flagrant as an F1.
Kyle Teel is Italian? Austin Wells is Dominican?
Stick tap to the Selection Committee.
Best bet for the weekend: a Donaldbrook over to Southie, kid.

Material from interviews, wire services, Twitter, Meta, other writers, league and team sources, Joe Giza, Old Friends Lebron and Canadian Soldier, and the members of #the15 were used in this column. Don’t worry. Be happy.


In either a stinging rebuke of the Selection Committee’s choices, or a positive affirmation of their Wild Card selections, the voters have swept all four wild cards to victory over their normally seeded opponents. What a moment! Polls for the first full day of the Tournament will remain open until 9 PM EDT tonight, March 10th. Please enjoy.


Here we go, the official start of March Sadness! RA! Stiz! Scaz! Rueb! Wild cards, or carney slang from the 1930’s? You be the judge of that!
Polls will close at 9:00 PM EDT, Btw.



Play -in Games Region C 10 Seed Dave O’Brien (NESN) vs wild card Brian “Rear Admiral” McGonagle (Barstool), Region V 16 Seed Travis Thomas (NESN) vs wild card James “Scaz” Scaramozzino (98.5), Region N 12 Seed Mark Daniels (MassLive) vs wild card Stanley “Stiz Grimey” Bruno (WEEI), and Region T 15 Seed Chris Forsberg (NBCSB) vs wild card Eric Rueb (ProJo).
The play-in games will be on Monday, March 9th. The rest of the field will begin on Tuesday March 10th, then Thursday and Friday of that week.


Oyez, oyez! All those having business before the Tournament Selection Collaborative Committee of The15net dot com division of The Local Collaborative, take care and know the following will comprise the Field of 68 in the 6th Annual Mediot Madness/March Sadness Tournament:
Radio – Christian Arcand (WEEI) Marc Bertrand (98.5) Mike Felger (98.5) Andy Hart (WEEI) Greg Hill (WEEI) Ted Johnson (WEEI) Adam Jones (WEEI) Rich Keefe (WEEI) Joe Murray (98.5) Rob “Hardy” Poole (98.5) Nick “Fitzy” Stevens (WEEI) Fred Toucher (98.5) Scott Zolak (98.5)
Print – Peter Abraham (Globe) Andrew Callahan (Herald) Mark Daniels (MassLive) Kevin Paul Dupont (Globe) Chad Finn (Globe) Chris Gasper (Globe/98.5) John Karalis (SI) Doug Kyed (Herald) Sean McAdam (MassLive) Dan Shaughnessy (Globe) Christopher Smith (MassLive) Gabrielle Starr (Herald) Gary Washburn (Globe)
Television – Albert Breer (NBCSB) Lucille Burdge (NESN) Tom Caron (NESN) Jared Carrabis (NESN/98.5/Underdog) Drew Carter (NBCSB) Trenni Casey (NBCSB) Chris Forsberg (NBCSB) Lou Merloni (NESN) Kevin Millar (NESN) Dave O’Brien (NESN) Phil Perry (NBCSB) Brian Scalabrine (NBCSB) Travis Thomas (NESN)
Digital – Brian Barrett (The Ringer) Greg Bedard (BSJ) Rob Bradford (Audacy/WEEI) Mike Giardi (BSJ) Joe Haggerty (BSJ) Grant “Hogdale” Huckdale (Barstool) Jeff Howe (The Athletic) Mike Kadlick (CLNS) Taylor Kyles (CLNS) Evan Lazar (Patriots) Bob Ryan (CLNS/Globe) Jerry Thornton (Barstool) John Zannis (CLNS)
At large – Cerrone Battle (98.5) Tom “Freeze Pops” Carroll (WEEI) Courtney Cox (WEEI) Chris Curtis (WEEI) Mark Dondero (98.5) Michael Hurley (???) Kendra Middleton (98.5) Matt McCarthy (98.5) Jim Murray (98.5) Meghan Ottolini (WEEI/Celtics) Jimmy Stewart (98.5) Matt Vautour (MassLive)
This years Wild Card play-in contestants- Stanley “Stiz Grimey” Bruno (WEEI) Brian “Rear Admiral” McGonagle (Barstool) Eric Rueb (ProJo), James “Scaz” Scaramozzino (98.5). They will participate in the 4 play-in games in advance of Round One.

Brackets will be announced on Sunday, March 8th, Wild Cards go on Monday, then the First-Round matchups begin in earnest on Tuesday, March 10th.


Swayman apologized, can we get his daily account back please?
If there’s one consistent through line of fan behavior I’ve observed over the course of attending hundreds of games, it’s that women seem to think the request to remove your caps for the anthem doesn’t apply to them. Very strange.
Bro, sorry if I somehow unfollowed. I would never. I don’t trust this place.
The funniest thing about being a southern transplant in New England is guessing whether something labeled “spicy” on a menu is white people spicy or actually spicy.
Anytime you can bring in a headcase receivah, you gotta do it!
Does anyone else get slightly confused when the Globe Pitchbot pitch isn’t written by Felger and Mazz?
Some important news: New New Scrubs is a 10 out of 10.
Rob Bradford has such a wet voice. When he says Kutter Crawford, I almost feel the spittle on me.
It must be difficult being bisexual when you’re always on vacation.
Cakes are cooking for Adrian Lyne, James Ellroy, Emilio Estefan, Mykelti Williamson, Rick Mast, Patricia Heaton, John Mugabe, Ray Mancini, Steven Weber, Jason Newsted, Khaled Hosseini, Paul W. S. Anderson, Dav Pilkey, Kevin Johnson, Evan Dando, Patsy Kensit, Chaz Bono, Jos Verstappen, Robert Smith, Hawksley Workman, Jason Marsalis, Landon Donovan, Draymond Green, Nick Castellanos, Obi Toppin, and Brooklyn Beckham.
Rewatch both Gold Medal games in full with my 4th of July Playlist playing? Don’t mind if I do.
It’s always a great sign when middle aged broads smile and don’t show their teeth.
Hedy gang, this week’s Phrase that Pays is, “I’m sorry Aerin Frankel – autocorrect is the worst.”
Neil Sedaka’s got some jams. RIP.
I like when people say “Now I wish Canada won.” Oh yeah, rich white guys from Ontario are totally different from rich white guys from Minnesota!
Quarter zip fleece? Not my scene. I prefer the 3/8th zip.
Orange Line: Through March 8. Shuttle buses are replacing service between Back Bay and Forest Hills for signal work. Commuter Rail is fare-free between Forest Hills and South Station.
Imagine telling a chick you’re taking her to “Cream City” and then ending up in Milwaukee.
I know a place where I can go when I’m alone
Into your arms, whoa, into your arms I can go
I know a place that’s safe and warm from the crowd
Into your arms, whoa, into your arms I can go.
And if I should fall
I know, I won’t be alone
Be alone anymore.
I’m with Hurley on this one. Sumo oranges are the best. So I guess those three weeks on the Rich Shertenlieb Show weren’t entirely, fruitless?
Puerto Ricans fucking love ‘the wave.’
Steroid abuse is known to damage ligaments and tendons.
The Patriots literally didn’t think Alec Pierce could be available.
We have a Scaz AND a Stiz!?
Oh, like the Celtics never had a ‘The Naked I Night’, back during Princess Cheyenne’s heyday.
Khusnutdinov. He’s like a mini-Marchand.
Every woman thinks she’s a badass until it’s time to turn on the AC at Christian Barmore’s house.
Honk if you remember Comet Hale-Bopp.
The entertainment industry having awards shows every other week; what do they think they are, sportswriters?
I might pass on canoeing the Saco next year.
Steve Kerr declared POTS is a fake disease again. These hockey broads are having a terrible week.
I just need Hugo to say, “basketball is life.”
Pajamas at the airport? No. I wear an off the rack suit from Kohl’s when I fly. People think I’m an Air Marshal.
Seems like the deficiencies in the Patriots NFLPA report card could be easily fixed by throwing money at the problems. Oh. Right.
Ah, the famously complex flavors of Duval County, Florida.
Alex Guerrero being Brady’s snitch on the Raiders is glorious. There’s only man who can fix this: Jack Easterby.
Best bet for the weekend: World Baseball Classic Fever Grips Hub.

Material from interviews, wire services, Twitter, Meta, other writers, league and team sources, Joe Giza, and the members of #the15 were used in this column. God’s Great banana skin. Gonna get ya.
