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The 68-team bracket for the 2026 NCAA tournament is here, kicking off the best three weeks of the year: March Madness. So who will make it to the Final Four? And which Cinderellas will play spoiler this year? The action tips off this week, beginning with the First Four on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the first round on Thursday.
To kick off the Selection Sunday show, Duke was announced as the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, with Arizona, Michigan and Florida joining the Blue Devils on the top line.
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Michigan enters the tournament with a slight odds edge (+325 via BetMGM) over ACC champion Duke (+333), followed by Big 12 winner Arizona (+425) and last year’s champion, Florida (+600).
But this could be anyone’s title to win, as the top contenders enter the tournament with different levels of momentum. Not to mention, there are plenty of teams that could knock them off.
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How to watch men’s NCAA tournament
First Four
Dates: Tuesday, March 17; Wednesday, March 18
Times: 6:40 p.m.; 9:10 p.m. ET
Channel: truTV
First, second rounds
Dates: March 19-22
Channels: CBS, TBS, TNT, truTV
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Elite 8, Sweet 16
Dates: March 27-30
Channels: CBS, TBS, TNT, truTV
Final Four
Date: April 4
Times: 6 p.m.; 8:30 p.m. ET
Channel: TBS
National championship
Date: April 6
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Channel: TBS
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for the latest March Madness news coming out of Selection Sunday, including the full first-round schedule as games are revealed:
Live33 updatesSun, March 15, 2026 at 3:40 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
Sun, March 15, 2026 at 4:25 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
That’s right. At least according to an analysis of KenPom ratings.
Duke has UConn and Michigan State — two of the 11 KenPom-certified national championship contenders — before even reaching the Final Four. And Kansas is a rugged No. 4.
UConn ranks 28th in KenPom offense and 11th in defense. Michigan State's profile is strong enough to be labeled a title contender by KenPom. Kansas, meanwhile, is one of just 11 teams in the nation with eight Quad 1 wins, with a defense-only rating that qualifies for the Sweet 16 KenPom tier.
No other No. 1 seed faces that stacked of threats in their region on the road to Indianapolis. Duke is the best team in the country and has the hardest path to the championship — a rough combination.
Who has the second-toughest region as a No. 1? Michigan. The Midwest Region’s lower seeds are softer than the East’s.
Sun, March 15, 2026 at 4:15 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The betting odds favor Michigan to win the national title, followed closely by Duke and Arizona.
Here’s a full look at the top tournament favorites
2026 men’s NCAA tournament favorites
Michigan (+325)
Duke (+333)
Arizona (+425)
Sun, March 15, 2026 at 3:55 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
Multi-bid conferences
SEC: 10
Big Ten: 9
ACC 8
Big 12: 8
Big East: 3
WCC: 3
Atlantic 10: 2
MAC: 2Sun, March 15, 2026 at 3:46 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
Here’s how the bubble teams shook out in the bracket:
Last four in
NC State
Texas
SMU
Miami (Ohio)First four out
Oklahoma
Auburn
San Diego State
IndianaSun, March 15, 2026 at 3:38 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
The South region features a couple of geographic disadvantages for higher-seeded teams.
The region host is Houston, meaning the No. 2 Cougars could meet No. 1 Florida in the Elite Eight just a few miles from campus. That would be a raucous environment against Florida.
No. 3 Illinois, meanwhile, faces the prospect of playing No. 6 North Carolina in Greenville, South Carolina, in the second round. That would be a very, very pro-North Carolina crowd, unless there were enough Duke fans there to root against the Tar Heels.
Sun, March 15, 2026 at 3:35 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
No. 1 Florida vs. No. 16 Prarie View A&M/Lehigh
No. 8 Clemson vs. No. 9 Iowa
No. 5 Vanderbilt vs. No. 12 McNeese
No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 13 Troy
No. 6 North Carolina vs. No. 11 VCU
No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 14 Penn
No. 7 Saint Mary's vs. No. 10 Texas A&M
No. 2 Houston vs. No. 15 Idaho
South region revealed
Sun, March 15, 2026 at 3:30 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
You can make a case for any number of teams behind Michigan to get to the Elite Eight — and maybe even the Final Four — in the Midwest region.
St. Louis is going to be an incredibly popular place in the first round given Iowa State and Kentucky also playing there. That’s going to be the most expensive ticket among any of the eight subregional sites.
Sun, March 15, 2026 at 3:27 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 16 UMBC/Howard
No. 8 Georgia vs. No. 9 Saint Louis
No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 12 Akron
No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 13 Hofstra
No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 11 SMU/Miami (Ohio)
No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 14 Wright State
No. 7 Kentucky vs. No. 10 Santa Clara
No. 2 Iowa State vs. No. 15 Tennessee State
Midwest region revealed
Sun, March 15, 2026 at 3:18 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
The Boilermakers’ Big Ten tournament run clearly impressed the committee … and Purdue could end up playing a de facto road game in the second round.
No. 10 Missouri was a bubble team entering the tournament. Not only are the Tigers avoiding having to go to Dayton, they’ll be playing No. 7 Miami in St. Louis. That’s a head-scratching location decision by the committee.
Sun, March 15, 2026 at 3:16 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 16 LIU
No. 8 Villanova vs. No. 9 Utah State
No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 12 High Point
No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 13 Hawaii
No. 6 BYU vs. No. 11 Texas/NC State
No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 14 Kennesaw State
No. 7 Miami (Florida) vs. No. 10 Missouri
No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 15 Queens
NCAA tournament West region
Sun, March 15, 2026 at 3:09 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
The Red Storm could have easily been a No. 4 after beating UConn on Saturday night. UConn, meanwhile, is also in that region. And even though Duke will be the prohibitive favorite to win the region and make the Final Four, don’t totally rule out another UConn-St. John’s game in the Elite Eight.
Sun, March 15, 2026 at 3:08 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 Siena
No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 TCU
No. 5 St. John's vs. No. 12 Northern Iowa
No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 13 Cal Baptist
No. 6 Louisville vs. No. 11 South Florida
No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 14 North Dakota State
No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 UCF
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 15 Furman
NCAA men's tournament East Region
Sun, March 15, 2026 at 3:02 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
No surprise here, but the Blue Devils are the top seed in the NCAA tournament.
Sun, March 15, 2026 at 2:55 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
We are moments away from the selection show now!
Sun, March 15, 2026 at 2:50 PM PDT
Jeff Eisenberg
Who will secure the final No. 1 seed?
The big question after Florida’s SEC semifinal flop against Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon was whether the Gators had cost themselves the final No. 1 seed.
Did they open the door for UConn or Houston to leapfrog them and join Duke, Michigan and Arizona on the NCAA tournament’s top seed line?
Only a few hours later, Florida could breathe a little easier. Neither UConn nor Houston was able to seize its opportunity, and St. John’s avenged a recent blowout loss to the Huskies in the Big East title game at the same time as foul-plagued Arizona outlasted the Cougars to halt their impressive Big 12 tournament run.
What that means is Florida should be mailing thank-you cards to the Johnnies and Wildcats. The Gators appear to have maintained a narrow edge over both UConn and Houston despite exiting the SEC tournament with just a single win.
Sun, March 15, 2026 at 2:48 PM PDT
Nick Bromberg
South Florida could have found itself on the wrong side of the bubble had it lost the American title game, but the Bulls are in and will probably be a No. 10 or No. 11 seed as the American champion.
Wichita State’s only real hope to make the tournament was to beat the Bulls on Sunday.
VCU’s win over Dayton in the A-10 title game also made teams on the bubble breathe easier. The Flyers would have been a certified bid stealer with a win, and VCU would have been firmly in the mix for one of the final at-large spots.
Sun, March 15, 2026 at 2:40 PM PDT
Jeff Eisenberg
Every March, there are a few NCAA tournament teams that are glaringly more dangerous than their seed suggests.
It might be a juggernaut No. 1 seed that is the overwhelming favorite to win it all. Or a mid-tier team that struggled early but is peaking entering March. Or a tournament-proven-but-criminally-underseeded mid-major with a history of making life miserable for highly touted teams from a power conference.
The purpose of this now-annual column is to identify those potential opponents that NCAA tournament teams should want to avoid at all costs. Two years ago, we took some big swings that didn't really pan out. Last year, we correctly called out BYU as a scorching-hot No. 6 seed and Gonzaga and UConn as terrifying No. 8 seeds. The Cougars upset Wisconsin to advance to the Sweet 16, while the Zags and Huskies gave Houston and Florida maybe their biggest scares before the Final Four.
We’ll hope for more hits than misses this year.
Sun, March 15, 2026 at 2:39 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Bulls are dancing after winning the American conference title game over Wichita State on Sunday.
That wraps up all the automatic bids for the tournament.
Sun, March 15, 2026 at 2:33 PM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
Well, we knew the Boilermakers were making the dance, but they got the Big Ten’s automatic bid anyways to cap off a furious run through the conference tournament.
On Sunday, they delivered Michigan its third loss of the season in an 80-72 upset.
