It possibly went unoticed given the nature of the games, but in the first two days of the NCAA tournament, six teams scored at least 100 points.
An increase in teams scoring 100 points should not necessarily be surprising given the increases in pace and 3-point attempts. Especially when the regular season saw 586 instances of a team scoring at least 100 points.
The regular season saw that total increase from 416 such games in 2024-25, 392 instances in 2023-24, 294 instances in 2022-23 and 257 in 2021-22 – the first somewhat normal season after the COVID-19 pandemic made things funky in 2021-22.
The rise of the 100-point games has been somewhat steady. There were 288 such games a decade ago when Villanova won the first of its two titles under coach Jay Wright and two decades ago when Florida won the first of two straight titles under Billy Donovan there were 142 games that featured a team hitting the century mark.
In the first two days of the Big Dance, top seeds Michigan and Florida reached triple digits, scoring 101 and 114 respectively. No. 2 seed Iowa State reached 108, second seed Purdue got to 104 while third seed Illinois finished at 105 while ninth-seed St. Louis scored 102.
How Michigan and Florida topped 100 points
If anyone was going to score 100 points in an NCAA game, especially in an early round game it was an overwhelming favorite to win, Michigan and Florida were likely candidates.
During the regular season, Michigan hit the century mark eight times and it was not all games against smaller non-conference opponents. On consecutive days, the Wolverines scored 102 against Auburn and 101 against Gonzaga in at the Players Era tournament Las Vegas, an event where teams were unclear about their final opponents until the last minute
Against Howard, Michigan’s game went with the second way 1-16 games tend to unfold: get threatened for a while and then pull away. The Wolverines’ 101-80 victory was a four-point game at halftime, a 12-point game at the first media timeout of the second half and did not become a full blowout until the final 10 minutes.
Michigan was able to pile up 100 by hitting 67.3% from the field, its highest in an NCAA tournament game in the shot clock era since 1985-86. The Wolverines compiled the 14th tournament game in this era where a team shot at least 67% and did so by hitting 11 3s and improved to 14-0 when hitting at least 10 3-pointers.
Florida’s 114-55 victory over Prairie View is among 23 instances of a team getting at least 110 in the tournament and the second-most in a 1-16 game, only behind Arkansas getting a 117-76 win over Georgia State in 1991.
The Gators had this one over early by taking a 39-point lead at halftime. This game was competitive for the first six-plus minutes and Florida scored the next 18 points to make it a blowout.
Florida achieved its most points in a tournament game by shooting 64.3%, a school-record for a tournament game and it was the sixth time it scored at least 100, a resume that includes getting to triple digits against Arkansas and Alabama in February.
Leaders and Best pic.twitter.com/z5revgMaPF
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) March 20, 2026
Purdue, Illinois, Iowa State win routs St. Louis surprisingly routs Georgia
Purdue, Illinois and Iowa State winning big was hardly surprising though 100 points might not have been expected.
Purdue scored 100 three times during the regular season, slumped in its final six conference games and did not score more than 81 en route to a conference tournament title. Against Queens (it’s in North Carolina, not New York), the Boilermakers scored 59 points in the second half of its 104-71 victory with NCAA all-time assist leader Braden Smith getting 26 and Trey Kaufman-Renn finishing with 25.
Purdue also hit 14 3s, one shy of its season high and it was part of a 63.1% shooting performance. That figure easily eclipsed the Boilermakers 57.3% in a second-round game against Miami in 1999 when it scored 73 and won by 10.
As for Illinois, it reached 105 in a 35-point rout of Penn, which won a captivating Ivy League conference title. The Fighting Illini made 50% from the field and hit 15 3s. Their 3-point shooting was ninth in the Big Ten because it disappeared in early season matchups against UConn and Texas Tech and their high volume showed inefficiency against UCLA and Michigan State.
Iowa State is known for defense and coasted to a 108-74 rout of Tennessee in a game where Joshua Jefferson sprained his ankle. Even without Jefferson after the opening minutes, the Cyclones shot 52.8%, hit 11 3s and scored their most points in the NCAAs.
Perhaps the most surprising was Saint Louis since it was going against an SEC team but it overwhelmed Georgia from the start. The Billikens ascended into the AP top 25 by scoring 100 seven times, including 102 against Dayton.
Against Georgia, St. Louis struggled from 3-point range, hitting 9-of-28. It was the Billikens’ 10th-lowest 3-point percentage but they made up for it by hitting 75% from inside the arc – the second-highest total of the first two days behind Michigan’s astounding 83.9% showing from inside the arc.
More From Larry Fleisher
- NCAA Tournament Day 1: High Point & VCU Pull Off Dramatic Upsets
- Will We Ever See another 16-seed make history
- WBC Title: Venezuelan Flair Meets American Seriousness
- St. John’s vs. UConn: Why This Rivalry is the Big East’s Lifeline
- How Bam Adebayo Toppled Kobe Bryant’s Scoring Mark
Gradual Rise in 100-point tournament games
This year’s total is already triple the amount from last year. To put into further context, both 100-point games were achieved in the Sweet 16 when Alabama scored 113 in a 25-point rout of BYU and Duke outlasted Arizona for a 100-93 victory in Newark.
In 2024, there were five games with at least 100 points. Before the last three years, there were 10 from 2010 through 2018 and before this year, the only tournament with six teams getting to 100 was 1992 when seven teams did it, including the all-time classic Duke-Kentucky game.
Based on what unfolded in the last 48 hours, expect more high-scoring games and perhaps more teams reaching triple digits in the rest of the tournament and future tournaments.
Related: How Many College Basketball Teams Have Had A Perfect Regular Season?
This story was originally published by Lindys Sports on Mar 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Basketball section. Add Lindys Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.