No. 12 seed High Point defeats No. 5 Wisconsin 83-82 in first-round NCAA tournament game

No. 12 seed High Point rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat No. 5 seed Wisconsin 83-82 in a first-round matchup of the 2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament on March 19 at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. The result marked the tournament's first upset and High Point's first victory in NCAA tournament history.

High Point guard Chase Johnston scored a breakaway layup with 11.7 seconds left to give the Panthers the lead. The basket came after Wisconsin guard Nick Boyd missed a layup that would have extended the Badgers' lead to 84-81. High Point guard Rob Martin grabbed the rebound and passed ahead to Johnston, a three-point specialist who had not made a two-point field goal during the season.

After Johnston's go-ahead score, High Point forward Owen Aquino blocked a driving layup by Boyd. Panthers guard Cam'Ron Fletcher was fouled and missed one free throw, leaving 1.8 seconds for Wisconsin. Badgers guard Andrew Rohde's long pass was intercepted by High Point's Terry Anderson to seal the win.

In postgame comments, Johnston credited his faith. "First and foremost, I wanna give all glory to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ," he said. "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."

The victory came under first-year head coach Flynn Clayman. High Point qualified by winning the Big South Conference tournament title for the second consecutive season. The Panthers made their tournament debut last year as a No. 13 seed and lost to No. 4 Purdue in the first round.

The High Point Panthers represent High Point University in High Point, North Carolina, and compete in the Big South Conference.^[1] They advance to face No. 4 seed Arkansas in the second round on Saturday.

Moda Center is an arena in Portland, Oregon, that has previously hosted NCAA tournament games.