NCAA Tournament 2026: Top Seeds, Bubble Teams, and Early Matchups

0:00On March 15, the 2026 NCAA tournament bracket is out, and the top spots went to Duke, Arizona, Michigan, and Florida as the four number. One seeds. Duke dominated the ACC with both the regular season and conference tournament titles. Arizona did the same in the Big 12. Michigan led the Big 10 and Florida topped the SEC during the regular season. All four powerhouses have a real shot at reaching the final four again this year. The bubble was one of the messiest ever, with the selection committee leaning hard on wins above bubble as the deciding metric. That put teams like Miami of Ohio into the field as the number 11 seed, their first trip since 2007 thanks to strong road wins. Despite no top tier victories, Santa Clara also punched a ticket as the number 10 seed, marking their return since 1996 and giving the West Coast Conference three. Bids. Fans and coaches reacted with a mix of cheers and frustration over the close calls. Ohio State earned a number eight seed under second year coach Jake Debler, getting back to the dance for the first time since 2022.

1:07On the flip side, Auburn stayed out with 16 losses the most ever for a bubble team, while Oklahoma missed despite a late surge due to a week. Overall resume. New Mexico and San Diego State from the Mountain West also got left behind, dropping that conference to just one bid with Utah State. Meanwhile, SMU and Texas head to the first four based on solid wins above bubble scores right around even. With the bracket set, all eyes turn to those early matchups and the chance for another clean sweep by the top seeds. Get your picks in and see how it shakes out.