A second former Spartan has been eliminated from the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Tre Holloman was the first former Michigan State basketball player eliminated from this year’s tourney, but now he has some company in Gehrig Normand whose Santa Clara Broncos lost in devastating fashion.
Normand hadn’t played this season for Santa Clara as he recovered from an injury so we can’t exactly say that two former Spartans “played” in the NCAA Tournament and have been eliminated. His new team is joining Holloman’s NC State Wolfpack on the couch for the next three weeks.
Normand’s Broncos weren’t eliminated without a fight, though.
Santa Clara and Kentucky played in arguably the wildest game of the tournament thus far, trading blows in the final 10 seconds to force overtime. It was one of the most insane endings to regulation that you’ll ever see as the game swung in three directions in 10 seconds.
It was one of those endings that you have to see to believe.
KENTUCKY SANTA CLARA LAST 10 SECONDS OF REGULATION pic.twitter.com/aX1offM2Kn
— Heavens! (@HeavensFX) March 20, 2026
Kentucky tied the game up with about 11 seconds left, Santa Clara went down and drilled a contested 3-pointer with two seconds remaining, and then the Wildcats’ Otega Oweh hit an off-balance three off the backboard right in front of halfcourt. These are the types of finishes that make March Madness so special.
Unfortunately, it sent a former Spartan home because Santa Clara couldn’t hang with Kentucky in overtime.
One former Spartan remains in the 2026 NCAA Tournament
With Holloman’s NC State Wolfpack losing to Texas in the First Four and Normand’s Santa Clara Broncos having their hearts ripped out against Kansas in round one, that means that there’s only one former Spartan left in the field: Xavier Booker.
The UCLA big man helped his Bruins advance to the second round on Friday as they held on against 10th-seeded UCF. If the Bruins can beat UConn on Sunday (assuming that’s who advances) and Michigan State beats Louisville on Saturday, we’re going to see another rematch between UCLA and the Spartans. Booker will get another crack at his former team.
Michigan State wants some revenge after that loss in the Big Ten Tournament.