DAYTON, Ohio — The field of 68 teams in the 2026 NCAA Tournament begins to get whittled down Tuesday night when a pair of No. 16 seeds from the Midwest Region square off.

UMBC (24-8) and Howard (23-10) will clash in the First Four opener in Dayton. The winner gets No. 1 seed Michigan on Thursday in a first-round game in Buffalo, N.Y.

UMBC, whose 12-game winning streak is a program record, is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the historic upset of No. 1 Virginia in 2018. The Retrievers became the first No. 16 seed to triumph since the expansion to 64 teams in 1985.

Under America East Coach of the Year Jim Ferry, UMBC earned an automatic bid this year by handling Vermont 74-59 in the conference final.

“I’ve been to the NCAA Tournament but because these guys are so special, I wanted it so badly for them,” Ferry said. “We’ve been playing some of the best basketball in the country. I’m sure (opponents are) not going to feel very comfortable.”

Howard is returning to the tournament for the third time in four years. After clinching the Mid-Eastern Athletic Championship, the Bison also enter on an impressive streak, having won the last eight.

“I am so proud of our guys, the way they work and the character they have,” coach Kenneth Blakeney said. “To represent Howard University on this stage is an honor we don’t take lightly. We’re coming to Dayton to compete and keep this journey going.”

MEAC Player of the Year Bryce Harris powers Howard’s attack with 17.1 points per game, tied for the team lead with two-way standout Cedric Taylor III. He says he’s ready for the national spotlight.

“We’ve put in the work all season for this exact moment,” Harris said. “We know UMBC is tough, but we believe in our system and each other. It’s survive-and-advance time.”

Both teams rely on highly efficient offenses. Howard averaged 84.2 points over the last 10 games, while UMBC averaged 79.8 in the span.

The game also features a battle of two of the better point guards in mid-major basketball.

Jah’Likai King leads UMBC with 13.9 points per game. The first-team all-America East selection is the primary engine for the Retrievers’ winning streak.

Cam Gillus paces Howard in assists (4.6 per game) and steals (1.8). He is coming off a 25-point, eight-rebound performance in the MEAC semifinals, a 78-61 win over South Carolina State.

–Mike Petraglia, Field Level Media

The San Francisco 49ers have agreed to a one-year contract with veteran receiver Christian Kirk, multiple outlets reported Monday.

The deal is worth up to $6 million, according to ESPN.

Kirk is the second veteran receiver the 49ers have signed in consecutive weeks. San Francisco also added longtime Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Mike Evans last week when free agency began.

Kirk, 29, has 432 career receptions for 5,415 yards and 30 touchdowns in 106 games (80 starts) over eight NFL seasons.

He struggled last season in his lone campaign with the Houston Texans. He had just 28 catches for 239 yards and one touchdown in 13 games.

Kirk did have a big game in the postseason with eight catches for 144 yards and a touchdown as the Texans beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6 in the AFC wild-card round.

Kirk also has played four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals (2018-21) and three with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2022-24). His best season was 2022 when he established career highs of 84 receptions, 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns.

Kirk was a second-round pick by Arizona in the 2018 draft. He was a college football standout at Texas A&M.

–Field Level Media

Nate Diaz is stepping back into an MMA cage for the first time in nearly four years as he has agreed to face Mike Perry in a five-round welterweight bout on May 16 in Los Angeles, Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions announced Monday.

The fight will take place on the card headlined by Ronda Rousey versus Gina Carano at Intuit Dome and stream live on Netflix as part of MVP’s first MMA event.

Diaz, 40, last competed in MMA in September 2022, when he submitted Tony Ferguson at UFC 279. He holds a 21-13 career record, including 12 submission victories. Since his last MMA fight, Diaz has remained active through crossover boxing matches. He lost by decision to Paul in 2023 before beating Jorge Masvidal in 2024.

“Glad to be back in action. It’s time,” Diaz declared via social media. “Don’t forget where this all came from. I got plans on doing a lot more in the next 10 years, no matter where it is. Time to set the bar again, so get ready for a new takeover again and again until the end of time.”

Perry, 34, brings his own second-act resume. After leaving the UFC in 2021, he rebuilt his brand in bare-knuckle boxing, remaining unbeaten and earning the BKFC symbolic “King of Violence” championship, while also briefly exploring boxing, which ended with a stoppage loss to Paul in 2024. He has a career 14-8 MMA record with 11 knockout wins and a perfect 6-0 record in bare-knuckle fighting.

Diaz-Perry becomes the third pillar of a star-studded night that originated with Rousey and Carano. Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou is scheduled for a heavyweight fight with Philipe Lins.

“MVP delivered the most-viewed boxing event since the advent of cable, and now we’re set to break records again with the biggest viewership in MMA history with the addition of Diaz vs Perry to Rousey vs Carano and Ngannou vs Lins,” Nakisa Bidarian, MVP CEO, said in a statement. “Nate Diaz is the Real BMF, and Mike Perry is the King of Violence — this will be a war from the first press conference all the way to the end when one of them has their hand raised.”

–Field Level Media