Ole Miss star Sira Thienou returned from injury in the Rebels' first-round 81-66 NCAA Tournament win over Gonzaga.

The 2026 NCAA Tournament started with a No. 9 seed taking down No. 8, so there's no reason the Iowa Hawkeyes can't replicate those results. In fact, the No. 8 seed in that scenario was Ohio State, a team Iowa had already beaten in the regular season.

While the Georgia Bulldogs have done a great job of winning 20-plus games annually and reaching the NCAA Tournament, it has been well over two decades since the Dawgs played in the Round of 32. Here is why next year's team could be the ones to do that.