Men's NCAA Tournament winners, losers: Gators go down; St. John's is back

The first two rounds of the 2026 NCAA men's basketball tournament are in the books, and we now know the teams that will make up the Sweet 16. So let's take a look at some of the biggest winners and losers from Sunday's second-round games. 

Winner: Dylan Darling

St. John's basketball is back on the map with its first Sweet 16 appearance in over 25 years. Head coach Rick Pitino is showing he is still one of the sport's all-time greatest coaches, and putting his trust in Dylan Darling to make the game-winning shot turned out to be a brilliant move. 

Two years ago, Darling was a bench player at Washington State, getting barely any playing time.

A year ago, he was playing at Idaho State in virtual anonymity.

Now he is making one of the biggest shots in St. John's history to get them one step closer to a championship. 

Loser: Kentucky 

Overall just a brutal weekend for the Wildcats. Not only did they get absolutely crushed in their second-round matchup against Iowa State (83-62), they had to watch as their former coach, John Calipari, took his newest team (Arkansas) on to the Sweet 16 on Saturday. 

Winner: The Big Ten

The Big Ten already has a strong claim on being the best football conference in college sports, and it is making a big argument for the best men's basketball conference.

Thanks in part to Iowa's upset win over Florida and Purdue's blowout win over Miami on Sunday, the conference has put six teams into this year's Sweet 16. Iowa and Purdue are joining Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska and Illinois in next week's games. 

Loser: The ACC

While things are going great for the Big Ten, nothing is going well for the ACC. Despite putting eight teams into the tournament this year, only one of them (Duke) made it through the opening weekend and into the Sweet 16. And even that came with some luck as Duke was lucky to get through No. 16 seed Siena in the opening round. 

Winner: The Big East's top teams

The Big East may not be what it once was at its peak, but its top two teams are still dancing their way into the Sweet 16. 

UConn and St. John's both advanced on Sunday, leaving a potential Elite Eight matchup (and fourth meeting of the season) as a possibility. 

Loser: Florida's last possession

What a way for the defending champions to go out, not even getting a shot off on their final possession with a chance to win the game.