The No. 12 seed High Point rallied from a late deficit to defeat No. 5 Wisconsin 83-82 Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at the Moda Center. The win marked the Panthers’ first NCAA Tournament victory in school history and their first second-round appearance after debuting in the tournament last season.

High Point trailed by 10 points in the first half and 70-62 with 7:08 remaining. Backup guard Chase Johnston sparked the comeback with 14 points in the final minutes, hitting three 3-pointers and scoring the go-ahead layup with 11.2 seconds left. Senior Rob Martin led the team with 23 points and 10 assists, while four other Panthers reached double figures.

High Point outshot Wisconsin from 3-point range, connecting on 15-of-40 attempts (38%) compared to the Badgers’ 9-of-23 (39%). The Panthers also won the rebound battle 40-37 and committed just six turnovers versus Wisconsin’s 10.

Wisconsin’s Nick Boyd led the Badgers with 27 points, but the team could not recover from the late High Point surge. Wisconsin had held a 70-62 lead with just over seven minutes remaining, but the Panthers’ hot shooting and tight defense down the stretch secured the upset.

High Point will face either No. 4 seed Arkansas or No. 13 seed Hawai’i in the Round of 32 on Saturday, March 21. The Panthers enter the second round riding a 15-game win streak and now have momentum as the first double-digit seed to claim a victory in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.