2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

2026 NCAA Division I
men's basketball tournament
Season2025–26
Teams68
Finals siteLucas Oil Stadium,
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
NCAA Division I men's tournaments
«2025 2027»

The 2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament is an on going event where it involves 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the NCAA Division I men's college basketball national champion for the 2025–26 season. The 87th edition of the tournament began on March 17 and will conclude with the championship game on April 6, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Atlantic Sun champion Queens and WAC champion California Baptist made their tournament debuts. Queens qualified in its first year of eligibility, becoming only the fifth school since 1972 to achieve the feat.

Ohio Valley champion Tennessee State made its third-ever appearance, its first since 1994, while Big Sky champion Idaho will make its first appearance since 1990. Coastal Athletic champion Hofstra will make its first appearance since 2001.[a] MAC champion Akron and Southland champion McNeese will each make their third consecutive tournament appearance.

For the first time since 2022 there was a Philadelphia Big 5 school in the tournament. Teams from 33 U.S. states and the District of Columbia will participate.

For the second consecutive season, no top 4 seed lost in the first round. This was the first time since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 that this had happened.[1] The biggest upset in the first round was 5th seeded Wisconsin losing to 12th seed High Point.[2] Nebraska, High Point, Howard, and Prairie View each earned their first ever tournament wins, although Howard and Prairie View accomplished this in the First Four. Nebraska had previously been the only power conference team to have never won an NCAA tournament game.[3][4] The average margin of victory in the first round was 17.4 points, the highest since the tournament expanded in 1985. This coupled with the chalky results of the 2025 tournament has lead to a belief that mid-major programs are unable to compete with major conference programs in the NIL and transfer portal era. [5] However, #1 overall seed Duke did get a challenge from #16 seed Siena, trailing by 13 points before recovering to win the game by 6 points.[6]

Tournament procedure

A total of 68 teams entered the 2026 tournament. Thirty-one automatic bids were awarded to each program that won its conference's tournament. The remaining 37 teams received at-large bids, with selections extended by the NCAA selection committee on "Selection Sunday", March 15. The selection committee also seeded the entire field from 1 to 68.

Eight teams (the four-lowest seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at large-teams) played in the First Four. The winners of these games advanced to the main tournament bracket.

First four out
NET School Conference Record
48 Oklahoma SEC 19–15
38 Auburn 17–16
47 San Diego State Mountain West 22–11
41 Indiana Big Ten 18–14

Schedule and venues

Dayton
Buffalo
Greenville
Tampa
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
Portland
San Diego
St. Louis
2026 First Four (orange) and first and second rounds (green)
Chicago
Houston
San Jose
Washington, D.C.
Indianapolis
2026 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2026 tournament:[7]

First Four

First and Second rounds (Subregionals)

Regional Semifinals and Finals (Sweet sixteen and Elite eight)

National semifinals and Championship game (Final Four)

Indianapolis will host the Final Four for the ninth time, having previously hosted in 2021.[8]

Qualification and selection of teams

Automatic qualifiers

Teams who won their conference championships (31) automatically qualify.

Automatic qualifiers in the 2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
Conference Team Appearance Last bid
America East UMBC 3rd 2018
American South Florida 4th 2012
Atlantic 10 VCU 21st 2025
ACC Duke 48th 2025
Atlantic Sun Queens 1st Never
Big 12 Arizona 40th 2025
Big East St. John's 32nd 2025
Big Sky Idaho 5th 1990
Big South High Point 2nd 2025
Big Ten Purdue 37th 2025
Big West Hawai’i 6th 2016
CAA Hofstra 5th 2001
CUSA Kennesaw State 2nd 2023
Horizon Wright State 5th 2022
Ivy League Penn 25th 2018
MAAC Siena 7th 2010
MAC Akron 8th 2025
MEAC Howard 5th 2024
Missouri Valley Northern Iowa 9th 2016
Mountain West Utah State 26th 2025
NEC LIU 8th 2018
Ohio Valley Tennessee State 3rd 1994
Patriot Lehigh 6th 2012
SEC Arkansas 37th 2025
Southern Furman 8th 2023
Southland McNeese 5th 2025
SWAC Prairie View A&M 3rd 2019
Summit League North Dakota State 5th 2019
Sun Belt Troy 4th 2025
WAC California Baptist 1st Never
WCC Gonzaga 28th 2025

Seeds

The tournament seeds and regions were determined through the NCAA basketball tournament selection process and were published by the selection committee after the brackets were released in March.

East Regional – Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.
Seed School Conference Record Overall seed Berth type Last bid
1 Duke ACC 32–2 1 Automatic 2025
2 UConn Big East 29–5 6 At Large 2025
3 Michigan State Big Ten 25–7 9 At Large 2025
4 Kansas Big 12 23–10 15 At Large 2025
5 St. John's Big East 28–6 18 Automatic 2025
6 Louisville ACC 23–10 23 At Large 2025
7 UCLA Big Ten 23–11 28 At Large 2025
8 Ohio State Big Ten 21–12 31 At Large 2022
9 TCU Big 12 22–11 34 At Large 2024
10 UCF Big 12 21–11 38 At Large 2019
11 South Florida American 25–8 46 Automatic 2012
12 Northern Iowa Missouri Valley 23–12 49 Automatic 2016
13 California Baptist WAC 25–8 51 Automatic Never
14 North Dakota State Summit 27–7 55 Automatic 2019
15 Furman Southern 22–12 61 Automatic 2023
16 Siena MAAC 23–11 63 Automatic 2010
West Regional – SAP Center, San Jose, CA
Seed School Conference Record Overall seed Berth type Last bid
1 Arizona Big 12 32–2 2 Automatic 2025
2 Purdue Big Ten 27–8 8 Automatic 2025
3 Gonzaga WCC 30–3 11 Automatic 2025
4 Arkansas SEC 26–8 16 Automatic 2025
5 Wisconsin Big Ten 24–10 20 At Large 2025
6 BYU Big 12 23–11 24 At Large 2025
7 Miami (FL) ACC 25–8 27 At Large 2023
8 Villanova Big East 24–8 30 At Large 2022
9 Utah State Mountain West 28–6 33 Automatic 2025
10 Missouri SEC 20–12 39 At Large 2025
11* Texas SEC 18–14 42 At Large 2025
NC State ACC 20–13 41 At Large 2024
12 High Point Big South 30–4 50 Automatic 2025
13 Hawaii Big West 24–8 54 Automatic 2016
14 Kennesaw State CUSA 21–13 58 Automatic 2023
15 Queens ASUN 21–13 62 Automatic Never
16 LIU NEC 24–10 64 Automatic 2018
South Regional – Toyota Center, Houston, TX
Seed School Conference Record Overall seed Berth type Last bid
1 Florida SEC 26–7 4 At Large 2025
2 Houston Big 12 28–6 5 At Large 2025
3 Illinois Big Ten 24–7 10 At Large 2025
4 Nebraska Big Ten 26–6 13 At Large 2024
5 Vanderbilt SEC 26–8 17 At Large 2025
6 North Carolina ACC 24–8 22 At Large 2025
7 Saint Mary's WCC 27–5 26 At Large 2025
8 Clemson ACC 24–10 29 At Large 2025
9 Iowa Big Ten 21–12 36 At Large 2023
10 Texas A&M SEC 21–11 40 At Large 2025
11 VCU Atlantic 10 27–7 45 Automatic 2025
12 McNeese Southland 28–5 47 Automatic 2025
13 Troy Sun Belt 22–11 53 Automatic 2025
14 Penn Ivy 18–11 56 Automatic 2018
15 Idaho Big Sky 21–14 60 Automatic 1990
16* Prairie View A&M SWAC 18–17 68 Automatic 2019
Lehigh Patriot 18–16 67 Automatic 2012
Midwest Regional – United Center, Chicago, IL
Seed School Conference Record Overall seed Berth type Last bid
1 Michigan Big Ten 31–3 3 At Large 2025
2 Iowa State Big 12 27–7 7 At Large 2025
3 Virginia ACC 29–5 12 At Large 2024
4 Alabama SEC 23–9 14 At Large 2025
5 Texas Tech Big 12 22–10 19 At Large 2025
6 Tennessee SEC 22–11 21 At Large 2025
7 Kentucky SEC 21–13 25 At Large 2025
8 Georgia SEC 22–10 32 At Large 2025
9 Saint Louis Atlantic 10 28–5 35 At Large 2019
10 Santa Clara WCC 26–8 37 At Large 1996
11* Miami (OH) MAC 31–1 44 At Large 2007
SMU ACC 20–13 43 At Large 2017
12 Akron MAC 29–5 48 Automatic 2025
13 Hofstra CAA 24–10 52 Automatic 2001
14 Wright State Horizon 23–11 57 Automatic 2022
15 Tennessee State Ohio Valley 23–9 59 Automatic 1994
16* UMBC America East 24–8 66 Automatic 2018
Howard MEAC 23–10 65 Automatic 2024

*See First Four
Source:[9]

Tournament bracket

All times are listed in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4). Games on CBS are also on Paramount+, while games on TBS, TNT, and truTV are also on HBO Max.

Game summaries

First Four – Dayton, Ohio

The First Four games involve eight teams: the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams.

March 17 – Midwest Regional
   
16 UMBC 83
16 Howard 86
March 17 – West Regional
   
11 Texas 68
11 NC State 66
March 18 – South Regional
   
16 Prairie View A&M 67
16 Lehigh 55
March 18 – Midwest Regional
   
11 Miami (OH) 89
11 SMU 79

East regional – Washington, D.C.

First round
Round of 64
March 19–20
Second round
Round of 32
March 21–22
Regional semifinals
Sweet 16
March 27
Regional Final
Elite 8
March 29
            
1 Duke 71
16 Siena 65
1 Duke 5:15 p.m.
Greenville – Thu/Sat
9 TCU CBS
8 Ohio State 64
9 TCU 66
 
 
5 St. John's 79
12 Northern Iowa 53
5 St. John's 5:15 p.m.
San Diego – Fri/Sun
4 Kansas CBS
4 Kansas 68
13 California Baptist 60
 
 
6 Louisville 83
11 South Florida 79
6 Louisville 2:45 p.m.
Buffalo – Thu/Sat
3 Michigan State CBS
3 Michigan State 92
14 North Dakota State 67
 
 
7 UCLA 75
10 UCF 71
7 UCLA 8:45 p.m.
Philadelphia – Fri/Sun
2 UConn TNT
2 UConn 82
15 Furman 71
East regional final
CBS
March 29
TBD
East regional all-tournament team

South regional – Houston, Texas

First round
Round of 64
March 19–20
Second round
Round of 32
March 21–22
Regional semifinals
Sweet 16
March 26
Regional Final
Elite 8
March 28
            
1 Florida 114
16 Prairie View A&M 55
1 Florida 7:10 p.m.
Tampa – Fri/Sun
9 Iowa TBS
8 Clemson 61
9 Iowa 67
 
 
5 Vanderbilt 78
12 McNeese 68
5 Vanderbilt 8:45 p.m.
Oklahoma City – Thu/Sat
4 Nebraska TNT
4 Nebraska 76
13 Troy 47
 
 
6 North Carolina 78
11 VCU 82OT
11 VCU 7:50 p.m.
Greenville – Thu/Sat
3 Illinois CBS
3 Illinois 105
14 Penn 70
 
 
7 Saint Mary's 50
10 Texas A&M 63
10 Texas A&M 6:10 p.m.
Oklahoma City – Thu/Sat
2 Houston TNT
2 Houston 78
15 Idaho 47
South regional final
TBS/truTV
March 28
TBD
South regional all-tournament team

West regional – San Jose, California

First round
Round of 64
March 19–20
Second round
Round of 32
March 21–22
Regional semifinals
Sweet 16
March 26
Regional Final
Elite 8
March 28
            
1 Arizona 92
16 LIU 58
1 Arizona 7:50 p.m.
San Diego – Fri/Sun
9 Utah State truTV
8 Villanova 76
9 Utah State 86
 
 
5 Wisconsin 82
12 High Point 83
12 High Point 9:45 p.m.
Portland – Thu/Sat
4 Arkansas TBS/truTV
4 Arkansas 97
13 Hawai’i 78
 
 
6 BYU 71
11 Texas 79
11 Texas 7:10 p.m.
Portland – Thu/Sat
3 Gonzaga TBS/truTV
3 Gonzaga 73
14 Kennesaw State 64
 
 
7 Miami (FL) 80
10 Missouri 66
7 Miami (FL) 12:10 p.m.
St. Louis – Fri/Sun
2 Purdue CBS
2 Purdue 104
15 Queens 71
West regional final
TBS/truTV
March 28
TBD
West regional all-tournament team

Midwest regional – Chicago, Illinois

First round
Round of 64
March 19–20
Second round
Round of 32
March 21–22
Regional semifinals
Sweet 16
March 27
Regional Final
Elite 8
March 29
            
1 Michigan 101
16 Howard 80
1 Michigan 95
Buffalo – Thu/Sat
9 Saint Louis 72
8 Georgia 77
9 Saint Louis 102
1 Michigan
 
5 Texas Tech 91
12 Akron 71
5 Texas Tech 9:45 p.m.
Tampa – Fri/Sun
4 Alabama TBS
4 Alabama 90
13 Hofstra 70
 
 
6 Tennessee 78
11 Miami (OH) 56
6 Tennessee 6:10 p.m
Philadelphia – Fri/Sun
3 Virginia TNT
3 Virginia 82
14 Wright State 73
 
 
7 Kentucky 89OT
10 Santa Clara 84
7 Kentucky 2:45 p.m.
St. Louis – Fri/Sun
2 Iowa State CBS
2 Iowa State 108
15 Tennessee State 74
Midwest regional final
CBS
March 29
TBD
Midwest regional all-tournament team

Final Four - Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN

During the Final Four round, regardless of the seeds of the participating teams, the champion of the overall top seed's region (TBD, East Region) plays against the champion of the fourth-ranked top seed's region (TBD, South Region), and the champion of the second overall top seed's region (TBD, West Region) plays against the champion of the third-ranked top seed's region (TBD, Midwest Region).

National Semifinals
Final Four
Saturday, April 4
National Championship Game
Monday, April 6
      
East
South TBS/TNT/truTV
 
  TBS/TNT/truTV
West
Midwest TBS/TNT/truTV
  • Final Four (National semifinals)
  • National championship (Final)

Final Four all-tournament team

Record by conference

Conference Bids Record Win % FF R64 R32 S16 E8 F4 CG NC
SEC 10 9–2 .818 1 10 8
Big Ten 9 8–2 .800 9 7 1
Big 12 8 6–2 .750 8 6
ACC 8 4–4 .500 2 6 4
Atlantic 10 2 2–1 .667 2 2
Big East 3 2–1 .667 3 2
Mountain West 1 1–0 1.000 1 1
Big South 1 1–0 1.000 1 1
WCC 3 1–2 .333 3 1
MEAC 1 1–1 .500 1 1
SWAC 1 1–1 .500 1 1
MAC 2 1–2 .333 1 2
American 1 0–1 .000 1
Atlantic Sun 1 0–1 .000 1
Big Sky 1 0–1 .000 1
Big West 1 0–1 .000 1
CAA 1 0–1 .000 1
CUSA 1 0–1 .000 1
Horizon 1 0–1 .000 1
Ivy 1 0–1 .000 1
MAAC 1 0–1 .000 1
MVC 1 0–1 .000 1
NEC 1 0–1 .000 1
OVC 1 0–1 .000 1
Southern 1 0–1 .000 1
Southland 1 0–1 .000 1
Summit 1 0–1 .000 1
Sun Belt 1 0–1 .000 1
WAC 1 0–1 .000 1
America East 1 0–1 .000 1
Patriot 1 0–1 .000 1
  • The R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the round of 64, round of 32, Sweet 16 and Elite Eight (regional semifinals and finals), Final Four and championship game (national semifinal and final), and national champion, respectively.
  • The "Record" column includes wins in the First Four for TBD.
  • The "Record" column also includes losses in the First Four for TBD and TBD.
  • The TBD and TBD each had one representative, eliminated in the First Four with a record of 0–1.
  • The TBD each had one representative, eliminated in the first round with a record of 0–1.

Tournament notes

Upsets

Per the NCAA, an upset occurs "when the losing team in an NCAA tournament game was seeded at least five seed lines better than the winning team".[10] The 2026 tournament has a total of three upsets through day two.

Upsets in the 2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
Round West Midwest South East
Round of 64 No. 12 High Point defeated No. 5 Wisconsin, 83–82
No. 11 Texas defeated No. 6 BYU, 79–71
None No. 11 VCU defeated No. 6 North Carolina, 82–78 OT None
Round of 32 None
Sweet 16 None
Elite 8 None
Final 4 None
National Championship None

Tournament records

Game officials

First Four - Dayton, OH

  • UMBC vs. Howard – Michael Kitts, Josue Nieves, Evon Burroughs
  • Texas vs. NC State – Nate Harris, Michael Greenstein, Marques Pettigrew
  • Prairie View A&M vs. Lehigh – Scott Brown, Greg Evans, Courtney Green
  • Miami (OH) vs. SMU – James Ford, Edwin Young, Ronald Groover

First and second rounds (Subregionals)

Regional semifinals and final (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)

National semifinals and finals (Final Four and National Championship)

  • Indianapolis
    • Semifinal Game 1 –
    • Semifinal Game 2 –
    • National Title Game –

Media coverage

Television

CBS Sports and TNT Sports have US television rights to the tournament.[11][12] As part of a cycle that began in 2016, TBS will televise the 2026 Final Four and the National Championship Game.

In November 2025, TNT Sports and ESPN announced an agreement to allow ESPN's Dick Vitale to call First Four games on truTV alongside TNT Sports' Charles Barkley. In exchange, Vitale and Barkley called a December 13, 2025 game on ESPN between Indiana and Kentucky.[13]

CBS Mornings co-host and The NFL Today analyst Nate Burleson will replace Ernie Johnson for the first two weeks of the tournament, as Johnson announced his semi-retirement from hosting March Madness to focus on his increasing Inside the NBA duties for ESPN and ABC under a sub-licensing agreement from TNT Sports. Johnson will continue to host the Final Four and National Championship Game.[14]

Television channels

  • Selection Show – CBS
  • First Four – truTV
  • First and Second Rounds – CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV
  • Regional Semifinals and Finals – CBS and TBS/truTV
  • National Semifinals and Finals (Final Four and National Championship) – TBS, TNT and truTV

Streaming

Studio hosts

  • Nate Burleson (New York City) – First and Second rounds and regionals
  • Adam Zucker (New York City) – First and Second rounds and regionals
  • Adam Lefkoe (Atlanta) – First Four, First and Second rounds, and regional semifinals
  • Ernie Johnson (Indianapolis) – Final Four and national championship game
  • Jamie Erdahl (New York City) – First and Second rounds (game breaks)

Studio analysts

  • Charles Barkley (New York City and Indianapolis) – First and Second rounds, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
  • Seth Davis (Atlanta and New York City) – First and Second rounds and regional semifinals
  • Clark Kellogg (New York City and Indianapolis) – First and Second rounds, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
  • Jamal Mashburn (Atlanta) – First Four, First and Second rounds and regional semifinals
  • Renee Montgomery (New York City) – First and Second rounds and regional semifinals
  • Bruce Pearl (Atlanta) – First Four, First and Second rounds and regional semifinals
  • Jalen Rose (Atlanta) – First Four, First and Second rounds and regional semifinals
  • Kenny Smith (New York City and Indianapolis) – First and Second rounds, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
  • Gene Steratore (New York City and Indianapolis) (Rules Analyst) – First Four, First and Second rounds, regionals, Final Four and national championship game

Broadcast assignments

Radio

Westwood One will have exclusive coverage of the entire tournament.

Television ratings

Most watched tournament games

(#) Tournament seedings and region in parentheses.

Rank Round Date and time (ET) Matchup Network Viewers (millions) TV rating
TBD

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Hofstra had received an automatic bid to the 2020 tournament for winning that year's CAA tournament before the former was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

  1. ^ Luckett, Adam (March 21, 2026). "Friday was absolute chalk, making NCAA Tournament history". Kentucky Sports Radio. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  2. ^ https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game/_/gameId/401856480/high-point-wisconsin
  3. ^ https://defector.com/howards-first-ncaa-tournament-win-was-a-long-time-coming
  4. ^ https://sports.yahoo.com/mens-college-basketball/breaking-news/article/no-4-nebraska-gets-its-first-mens-ncaa-tournament-win-in-school-history-with-victory-over-no-13-troy-183858387.html
  5. ^ https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/concerning-stat-proves-ncaa-tournament-122103249.html
  6. ^ https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game/_/gameId/401856478/siena-duke
  7. ^ "NCAA announces host site selections from 2022-23 to 2025-26". NCAA. October 16, 2020.
  8. ^ "Final Four sites selected for 2023 through 2026". NCAA. July 16, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  9. ^ Lyons, Dan (March 15, 2026). "NCAA Tournament Selection Committee Releases Official 1–68 Seed Rankings, From Duke to Prairie View". SI.com. Retrieved March 16, 2026. March Madness has arrived. Here is how the selection committee ranked all 68 programs in the bracket.
  10. ^ Wittry, Andy (March 15, 2023). "Here's how to pick March Madness men's upsets, according to the data". NCAA. Archived from the original on March 12, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  11. ^ Bonesteel, Matt (April 12, 2016). "CBS And Turner lock down NCAA Tournament Through 2032". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  12. ^ "CBS Sports and TNT Sports Announce 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Commentator Teams". ncaa.com. March 4, 2026. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  13. ^ Bradley, Colin (December 1, 2025). "Legendary hoops icons Dick Vitale and Charles Barkley team up for two must-see college basketball telecasts this season". ESPN Press Room. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  14. ^ Lerner, Drew (February 19, 2026). "Nate Burleson to host March Madness coverage for CBS Sports". Awful Announcing. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
  15. ^ "Max To Keep Live Sports And News Within Standard And Premium Subscription Tiers At No Additional Cost To Consumers". Pressroom. February 26, 2025. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
  16. ^ Lerner, Drew (March 18, 2026). "Jason Benetti to replace Brian Anderson during NCAA Tournament first round". Awful Announcing. Retrieved March 18, 2026.