The first weekend of the NCAA tournament was one to remember - especially for those following the South Region.

Virginia, the region and tournament’s top seed, was upset along with No. 4 seed Arizona in the first round. Cincinnati and Tennessee, the No. 2 and 3 seeds, were sent home in the second round.

When the regional tips off Thursday evening, however, it will be seeds 5,7,9 and 11 that will continue battling for the Final Four. No. 11 Loyola-Chicago faces No. 7 Nevada (7:07 p.m.) and No. 9 Kansas State faces No. 5 Kentucky (9:37 p.m.)

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Kirby Smart (left) and Georgia beat Brent Key and Georgia Tech 44-42 in eight overtimes last November in Athens. The Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets bring Clean Old-Fashioned Hate off campus for 2025, playing at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2024)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

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Carleigh Knight (left) and her sister, Natalie Rogovin, look at Christmas ornaments while shopping at Kudzu Antiques + Modern in Decatur on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (Natrice Miller/AJC)

Credit: Natrice Miller