2026 NCAA Tournament Bracketology: Preseason

The NCAA Tournament is one of the best events of the year. College basketball fans are looking forward to it even before the season begins. Who could make “The Big Dance” this season? Here is the 2026 NCAA Tournament Bracketology: Preseason.

This season, the First Four will be March 17-18. The first round will be March 19-20. After that, the second round will be March 21-22. The Sweet 16 will be held March 26-27, with the Elite Eight following that on March 28-30. This season’s Final Four will be April 4. The National Championship Game will be on Monday, April 6, 2025.

Note: May have to zoom. Automatic qualifiers are bolded. This will be updated throughout the day!

Seed List

1. Purdue, Houston, Duke, Florida

2. St. John’s, Kentucky, Louisville, Arkansas

3. Texas Tech, Michigan, Iowa State, UConn

4. Alabama, BYU, UCLA, San Diego State

5. Tennessee, Arizona, Illinois, Gonzaga

6. Michigan State, Oregon, Creighton, NC State

7. Texas, Kansas, UNC, Oklahoma

8. Ole Miss, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Missouri

9. Baylor, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Iowa

10. Mississippi State, Utah State, St. Mary’s, George Washington

11. USF, VCU, Washington (Play-in), Boise State (Play-in), Indiana (Play-in), Notre Dame (Play-in)

12. Akron, Harvard, Illinois State, Kennesaw State

13. Furman, McNeese St., Old Dominion, Little Rock

14. Portland State, Vermont, UC Santa Barbara, Cal Baptist

15. Omaha, Navy, Youngstown St., Towson

16. Siena, UNC Asheville, Queens (Play-in), Long Island (Play-in), Norfolk St. (Play-in), Jackson St. (Play-in)  

First Four Out: Memphis, Maryland, Texas A&M, Marquette

Next Four Out: Providence, SMU, Cincinnati, Syracuse  

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