Who does High Point play next? Panthers look like a dragon slayer

After a year off, Cinderella is officially back in March Madness. High Point made its mark with a dramatic second-half comeback, downing Wisconsin 83-82 to cement a 5-12 upset in the West Region and take out a trendy NCAA Tournament sleeper.

The Panthers beat the Badgers at their own game, sinking 15 three-point attempts to provide the fuel for the dramatic upset. The winning basket came courtesy of reserve guard Chase Johnston, whose breakaway layup marked his first two-point bucket of the season (no, that is not a misprint).

How High Point pulled off the upset over Wisconsin

Johnston's shot profile is eerily similar to March Madness legend Jack Gohlke, who took very few two-point attempts and bombed Kentucky out of the tournament for Oakland in 2024 with a 10 triple barrage. The Panthers only got four threes out of Johnston, but it was more than enough to prove to be a thorn in Wisconsin's side.

There is no doubt that High Point was a dangerous team that was favored in all 34 games it played prior to the NCAA Tournament, recording 30 wins during the season on their way to a Big South title. Much like Miami of Ohio, the Panthers were unable to get a power conference foe to schedule them, meaning they likely would have been left out of the NCAA Tournament if they didn't win the Big South conference tournament.

Who does High Point play next in the NCAA Tournament?

Next up for the Panthers is a matchup on Saturday between the winner of a 4-13 game between Arkansas and Hawai'i in the West Region. The Rainbow Warriors would be another worthy mid-major champion to deal with while the Razorbacks would bring star NBA prospect Darius Acuff into the matchup, presenting a new challenge for High Point.

The performance of mid-majors like High Point and the Redhawks in this tournament is a good reminder to college basketball fans and commentators that winning games actually matters. Predictive metrics are a valuable tool to find quality teams, but those metrics often skew against mid-majors like the Panthers who don't get to prove themselves against good competition in non-conference play.

Winning 30 games doesn't happen by accident and the Panthers sent Wisconsin's season down the tubes on Thursday. The victory was the first in program history for High Point against a power conference foe (they had been 0-57 entering the day) and just the second NCAA Tournament win for a Big South school.