March Madness Injuries Know for First Round of 2026 NCAA Tournament
By Sascha Paruk in College Basketball
Published:
- Two Duke starters are battling significant injuries
- Will Braden Huff return for Gonzaga?
- See the full list of March Madness injuries to know for 2026
The 68-team field is set and the printable March Madness bracket is posted. Before you fill out your picks, it’s imperative to know which teams are battling key injuries.
The table below lists all the March Madness injuries to know for 2026. The list is ordered alphabetically by team, and then by player (last name). Under the table, I dive deeper into the biggest NCAA Tournament injuries and their likely impact.
March Madness Injuries (2026)
Injury list last updated at 11:25 am ET, March 16. Download the best sports betting app for the NCAA Tournament.
Note that players with fewer than fives games played this season have been omitted from the list.
North Carolina (South #6): Caleb Wilson
No team has suffered a bigger single injury than UNC, which lost soon-to-be top-five pick Caleb Wilson to a season-ending thumb injury during practice on March 5. The Tar Heels are 0-2 without their star freshman, getting crushed by Duke in Durham (76-61) and then falling in their first game of the ACC Tournament by a point to Clemson (80-79).
The Selection Committee knocked the Tar Heels down a seed line (or two) because of the injury and UNC will get a stiff test from A10-champion VCU in the first round. The Tar Heels are modest 2.5-point chalk. They would likely face #3 Illinois – the nation’s second-rated offense at KenPom – in the second round.
Duke Blue Devils (East #1): Caleb Foster, Patrick Ngongba II
The #1 overall Duke Blue Devils went through the ACC Tournament down two starters: junior guard Caleb Foster, who suffered a broken foot against UNC on March 7, and sophomore center Patrick Ngongba II, who has been dealing with “foot soreness” since a March 2 win at NC State.
Foster won’t return unless the Blue Devils make a deep run, but Ngongba could suit up for the Blue Devils’ opener against #16 Siena, according to Yahoo News.
Duke is a massive 29.5-point favorite against the Saints (up from the opening line of 27.5). After winning the ACC Tournament without Foster and Ngongba, head coach Jon Scheyer should feel comfortable about giving his center another 48 hours’ rest before a second-round clash with either #8 Ohio State or #9 TCU.
Texas Tech Red Raiders (Midwest #5): JT Toppin, LeJuan Watts
A top-five contender in the Wooden Award odds all season, junior forward JT Toppin suffered a season-ending knee injury at Arizona State on Feb 17. The Red Raiders went onto lose that game and went just 3-3 thereafter, getting blown out by Iowa State in their first game of the Big 12 Tournament.
LeJuan Watts also went down in that loss to Iowa State, but he doesn’t appear to be at risk of missing TTU’s round of 64 game against Akron. The March Madness first-round odds opened with the Red Raiders as 8.5-point chalk against the Zips. That number has already dropped a full point to 7.5. TTU is bound to be a popular pick to get upset early in the bracket.
Gonzaga Bulldogs (West #3): Braden Huff
Gonzaga has been playing without 6’10 junior forward Braden Huff since January 15. The team’s second-leading scorer and rebounder, Huff suffered a knee injury in practice. The 30-3 Zags suffered two of their three losses this season while Huff was sidelined but they did manage to win another WCC Tournament title without him (and split their home and home with Saint Mary’s).
The Bulldogs are massive 19.5-point favorites over #14 Kennesaw State in the first round but are likely to meet AJ Dybantsa and BYU in the second round. Speaking of the Cougars …
BYU Cougars (West #6): Richie Saunders, Dawson Baker
BYU suffered a huge blow back in mid-February when senior guard Richie Saunders went down with a season-ending knee injury. Saunders was one-third of the Cougars’ devastating big three alongside freshman sensation AJ Dybantsa (225.2 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 3.8 APG) – the favorite to go #1 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft odds – and sophomore Robert Wright III (18.2 PPG, 4.7 APG).
The Cougars are under .500 since Saunders went down, losing four of their final six regular-season games and going 2-1 in the Big 12 Tournament.
UCLA Bruins (East #7): Donovan Dent, Tyler Bilodeau
The Bruins enter the tournament with two major injury concerns. UCLA’s star forward suffered a non-contact mild right knee strain during the Big Ten quarterfinal win over Michigan State on March 13. The injury was significant enough to sideline him entirely for the following day’s semifinal loss to Purdue. While Bilodeau is expected to be available for the NCAA Tournament, his effectiveness is a major question mark.
Key backcourt facilitator Donovan Dent was visibly limited by a calf strain during the Big Ten Tournament semifinal against Purdue, and his status for the round of 64 remains uncertain. A compromised Dent – or one who cannot play at all – would force guards Trent Perry and Eric Dailey Jr into expanded roles as primary creators.
Managing Editor
Sascha has been working in the sports-betting industry since 2014, and quickly paired his strong writing skills with a burgeoning knowledge of probability and statistics. He holds an undergraduate degree in linguistics and a Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia.
