Michigan's Elite Eight rout of Tennessee added to a men's NCAA tournament record number of blowouts
Michigan's Elite Eight rout of Tennessee added to a men's NCAA tournament record number of blowouts
Nick BrombergSun, March 29, 2026 at 8:50 PM UTC
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If you thought there had been a lot of blowouts in the 2026 men’s NCAA tournament, you’re onto something.
Michigan’s 95-62 win over Tennessee in the Elite Eight on Sunday was the 21st game with a margin of 20 points or more this March Madness. That’s a modern tournament record, according to CBS Sports. The previous record had been 19 20-point games in 1999 before Arizona beat Arkansas by 21 points in the Sweet 16 on Thursday.
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The number of blowouts jives with how well favorites have done throughout the tournament. Betting favorites went 16-0 in the second day of the first round, and though No. 1 Florida lost in the second round and No. 2 Houston fell in the Sweet 16, the Final Four will feature at least two No. 1 seeds and the lowest-seeded team is No. 3 Illinois.
The big margins don’t automatically mean it’s been a bad tournament, either. There have been plenty of dramatic moments, like Otega Oweh’s near-halfcourt shot to force overtime in Kentucky’s win over Santa Clara, Trey Kaufman-Renn’s tip-in with less than a second left in Purdue’s Sweet 16 win over Texas, and Dylan Darling’s buzzer-beating layup in St. John’s win over Kansas in the second round.
That 1999 tournament was incredibly memorable, too. Gonzaga burst onto the college basketball scene with a second-round win over No. 2 Stanford and a dramatic Sweet 16 win over No. 6 Florida as a No. 10 seed. The Zags run ended in the Elite Eight, when they fell to No. 1 UConn. The Huskies went on to win the national title in a 77-74 victory over Duke despite being a 9.5-point underdog.
20-point wins in 2026 men’s NCAA tournament -
No. 5 St. John’s 79, No. 12 Northern Iowa 53 (first round)
No. 3 Michigan State 92, No. 14 North Dakota State 67 (first round)
No. 1 Florida 114, No. 16 Prairie View 55 (first round)
No. 4 Nebraska 76, No. 13 Troy, 47 (first round)
No. 3 Illinois 105, No. 14 Penn 70 (first round)
No. 2 Houston 78, No. 15 Idaho 47 (first round)
No. 1 Arizona 92, No. 16 Long Island 58 (first round)
No. 2 Purdue 104, No. 15 Queens 71 (first round)
No. 1 Michigan 101, No. 16 Howard 80 (first round)
No. 9 Saint Louis 102, No. 8 Georgia 77 (first round)
No. 5 Texas Tech 91, No. 12 Akron 71 (first round)
No. 4 Alabama 90, No. 13 Hofstra 70 (first round)
No. 6 Tennessee 78, No. 11 Miami (Ohio) 56 (first round)
No. 2 Iowa State 108, No. 15 Tennessee State 74 (first round)
No. 1 Duke 81, No. 9 TCU 58 (second round)
No. 3 Illinois 76, No. 11 VCU 55 (second round)
No. 2 Houston 88, No. 10 Texas A&M 57 (second round)
No. 1 Michigan 95, No. 9 Saint Louis 72 (second round)
No. 4 Alabama 90, No. 5 Texas Tech 65 (second round)
No. 1 Arizona 109, No. 4 Alabama 88 (Sweet 16)
No. 1 Michigan 95, No. 6 Tennessee 62 (Elite Eight)
Source: “AOL Sports”
