From The Sports Desk: Bracket-busting teams to watch

Now that we’ve had a full day to digest the March Madness brackets, let’s dive in further.

Now that we’ve had a full day to digest the March Madness brackets, let’s dive in further. Today, we’ll walk you through some potential upsets because everyone loves a Cinderella story. Our Andrew Greif also caught up with Georgetown legend Patrick Ewing, who shared his favorite March Madness memories.

Plus, tonight Team USA takes on Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic final. We’ll be live-blogging the game, so come back for our real-time analysis at NBC News.

VCU Rams Guard Terrence Hill Jr. (6) dribbles the ball on the court in the first half during the game between the Virginia Commonwealth Rams and the Dayton Flyers on March 6th, 2026 at UD Arena in Dayton, OH. Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesIn the men’s bracket, chaos typically reigns supreme in the first weekend. Here are three double-digit-seeded teams that could pull off an upset or two this week:

No. 11 seed Virginia Commonwealth: The Rams are one of the hottest teams in the country, having won 16 of their last 17 games en route to winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament. They’re prolific from 3-point range, and they’re coached by Phil Martelli Jr., the son of St. Joe’s coaching legend Phil Martelli. On Thursday, VCU plays No. 6 seed North Carolina, which is without injured star Caleb Wilson.

No. 10 seed Santa Clara: The Broncos are on a hot streak, too, having won 17 of their last 21. They make 3-pointers (29th in the country on a per-game basis) and force turnovers (31st), and that’s typically a good recipe for March. Santa Clara hasn’t made the Big Dance in about 30 years, not since Steve Nash played there. But if the Broncos can get past No. 7 seed Kentucky on Friday, they might be able to make a run.