PHILADELPHIA, PA. 3/20/2026 –
Day One session one from the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship at the Xfinity Mobile Center. In front of a full building the day session saw a double bill between #3 Virginia and #14 Wright State. The game was followed by #6 Tennessee against everyone’s Cinderella #11 Miami of Ohio.
What happened you ask?
Virginia 82 Wright State 73
In a battle that was much closer than the final score indicated Virginia prevailed 82 – 73. The Cavaliers were headed by guard Jacari White who scored a game-high 26 points. Wright State got 19 points from Michael Imariagbe and Soloman Callaghan who had 19 and 18 points.
Wright State led at halftime 43 – 38. The game stayed close in the second half with each team trading the lead. With just over five and a half minutes to play the Raiders held a 70 – 67 lead. It would be their last lead as the team was stuck on 70 until there was a minute to play. UVA took the advantage back at the 4:07 mark on a layup by White, an started a 7 – 0 run that would decide the game.
Virginia made over half of their field goal attempts while Wright State was good on 26 of 50. Both teams drained 13 three-point baskets. The Cavaliers forced 14 turnovers while committing only 7 themselves. UVA was dominant in the paint to create a 28 – 16 edge and had a 19 – 8 advantage in second chance points.
Virginia had three other scorers in double figures as Sam Lewis had 12, Malik Thomas got 11, and Thijs De Ridder contributed 10 points. The Cavaliers took down 39 rebounds to 24 for the Raiders. Each Virginia player got at least a rebound with most in the 3 – 7 range.
Wright State received 15 points from TJ Burch and 13 from Michael Cooper. Imariagbe took down a game-high 10 boards for his double-double.
Tennessee 78 Miami (OH) 56
The popular Red Hawks of Miami (OH) had their t-shirt allotment sold out prior to the start. But midnight may have come early as the Tennessee Volunteers ran out to a 51 – 32 lead at halftime behind the shooting of Ja’K Gillespie who scored 22 of his game-high 29 points in the first half making 8 of 12 from the floor and 5 of 6 from beyond the arc. He finished making 11 of 21 and 6 of 11 three-pointers. Peter Suder had 27 points for Miami and was their only double-figures scorer.
The Vols were dominant inside taking a 40 -16 advantage in the paint. And UT won the battle of the boards 42 – 25.
J.P. Estrella recorded a double-double scoring 14 points and rebounding the ball 10 times. Felix Okpara scored 12 points.
The Vols shot 52.5% from the floor while Miami made 35.2%.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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