Bracketology - 3/15/2026 - FINAL

Due to things going on, I will not be able to make an update before Sunday's games. So my final bracketology is here now. I do have contingencies, but they only involve auto-bids. Everything else should be set.

1 Seeds

1 Duke

2 Michigan

3 Arizona

4 Florida

2 Seeds

5 Houston

6 UConn

7 Iowa St

8 Michigan St

3 Seeds

9 Purdue

10 Illinois

11 Nebraska

12 Virginia

4 Seeds

13 Gonzaga

14 Alabama

15 Kansas

16 Vanderbilt

5 Seeds

17 St Johns

18 Texas Tech

19 Arkansas

20 Wisconsin

6 Seeds

21 North Carolina

22 Tennessee

23 Louisville

24 BYU

7 Seeds

25 Kentucky

26 UCLA

27 St Marys

28 Miami (FL)

8 Seeds

29 Villanova

30 Utah St

31 Clemson

32 Georgia

9 Seeds

33 TCU

34 Ohio St

35 Iowa

36 St Louis

10 Seeds

37 UCF

38 Texas A&M

39 NC State

40 Mizzou

11 Seeds

41 Miami (OH)

42 Santa Clara

43 VCU

44 SMU

45 Texas

46 USF

12 Seeds

47 Akron

48 McNeese

49 Yale

50 Northern Iowa

13 Seeds

51 High Point

52 Hofstra

53 Cal Baptist

54 Hawaii

14 Seeds

55 NDSU

56 Troy

57 Wright St

58 Kennesaw St

15 Seeds

59 Tennessee St

60 Furman

61 Idaho

62 Siena

16 Seeds

63 Queens

64 Long Island

65 Howard

66 UMBC

67 Lehigh

68 Prairie View A&M

Last Four In

Miami (OH)

Santa Clara

SMU

Texas

First Four Out

SDSU

Auburn

Oklahoma

Indiana

This bracket was done assuming VCU, USF, and Yale win Sunday. Contingencies are as follows:

If Penn wins: Penn is a 13, High Point is a 12

If VCU and Wichita St win: Wichita St is a 12, Akron is an 11

If Dayton and USF win: VCU is still in as an 11, Texas is OUT, USF is still an 11, and Dayton is an 11

If Dayton and Wichita St win: VCU is still in as an 11, Texas is OUT, Dayton is an 11, Wichita St is a 12, and Akron is an 11

Bracketology - 3/9/2026

As conference tournaments hit full swing, there will be movement on the seed list, but less so than you would imagine.

Conference tournaments are not final exams. They don't count for 25% of the resume. They are normal tests, with each game having the same value as a game in November.

So when an overexcited commentator declares a team is tourney bound based on one game, don't place too much stock in that. Conference tourneys are just a delicious appetizer before the main course coming soon.

As always, go to http://bracketmatrix.com/ for more brackets! 

1 Seeds

1 Duke

2 Michigan

3 Arizona

4 Florida

2 Seeds

5 UConn

6 Houston

7 Michigan St

8 Illinois

3 Seeds

9 Iowa St

10 Nebraska

11 Purdue

12 Alabama

4 Seeds

13 Gonzaga

14 Virginia

15 Kansas

16 Texas Tech

5 Seeds

17 Vanderbilt

18 Arkansas

19 St Johns

20 North Carolina

6 Seeds

21 Wisconsin

22 Tennessee

23 Louisville

24 BYU

7 Seeds

25 St Marys

26 Villanova

27 Kentucky

28 Georgia

8 Seeds

29 Miami (FL)

30 UCLA

31 Utah St

32 Clemson

9 Seeds

33 Iowa

34 St Louis

35 Ohio St

36 Texas A&M

10 Seeds

37 Miami (OH)

38 TCU

39 NC State

40 UCF

11 Seeds

41 Mizzou

42 Texas

43 Santa Clara

44 VCU

45 SMU

46 Virginia Tech

12 Seeds

47 USF

48 Yale

49 Northern Iowa

50 SFA

13 Seeds

51 High Point

52 Liberty

53 Utah Valley

54 Hofstra

14 Seeds

55 NDSU

56 UC Irvine

57 ETSU

58 Troy

15 Seeds

59 Wright St

60 Portland St

61 Queens

62 Merrimack

16 Seeds

63 Tennessee St

64 Long Island

65 Howard

66 UMBC

67 Lehigh

68 Bethune-Cookman

Last Four In

Santa Clara

VCU

SMU

Virginia Tech

First Four Out

Indiana

Auburn

Stanford

New Mexico

Bracketology - 3/2/2026

 If you're reading this, you already know what month it is, so I'll spare you the details, you know the excitement.

Few things are consistent in March, but one is the bubble. As in, the bubble is always weak, and the teams on it lose games they shouldn't. This year is no exception.

With the exception of 2024 (which had all the bid thieves), the bubble is always filled with teams that had their opportunities to establish their place in the field, but did not utilize them due to being mediocre teams. These teams know the stakes, but often cannot get out of their own way.

Take Auburn, for example. Auburn has a great schedule, solid metrics, and a fantastic road win at Florida. They're also 15-14, and have lost 7 of their last 8. The number of losses does matter at some point, and several teams will play their way off the bubble just by virtue of losing too much. Thems the breaks.

And, unsurprisingly, I think Miami (OH) should get in over the bubble, provided they don't bottom out.

As always, go to http://bracketmatrix.com/ for more brackets!

1 Seeds

1 Duke

2 Michigan

3 Arizona

4 UConn

2 Seeds

5 Florida

6 Houston

7 Illinois

8 Michigan St

3 Seeds

9 Iowa St

10 Purdue

11 Nebraska

12 Texas Tech

4 Seeds

13 Kansas

14 Gonzaga

15 Alabama

16 Virginia

5 Seeds

17 Vanderbilt

18 North Carolina

19 Arkansas

20 St Johns

6 Seeds

21 Tennessee

22 BYU

23 Kentucky

24 Wisconsin

7 Seeds

25 Louisville

26 St Marys

27 Villanova

28 Utah St

8 Seeds

29 St Louis

30 Miami (FL)

31 Clemson

32 Iowa

9 Seeds

33 NC State

34 UCF

35 Georgia

36 Texas

10 Seeds

37 Mizzou

38 Miami (OH)

39 Ohio St

40 UCLA

11 Seeds

41 SMU

42 Texas A&M

43 TCU

44 Santa Clara

45 VCU

46 New Mexico

12 Seeds

47 USF

48 Belmont

49 Yale

50 Liberty

13 Seeds

51 SFA

52 High Point

53 Hawaii

54 UNCW

14 Seeds

55 Cal Baptist

56 NDSU

57 Navy

58 ETSU

15 Seeds

59 Troy

60 Austin Peay

61 Wright St

62 Portland St

16 Seeds

63 Merrimack

64 Long Island

65 Howard

66 UMBC

67 Tennessee St

68 Bethune-Cookman

Last Four In

TCU

Santa Clara

VCU

New Mexico

First Four Out

Virginia Tech

Auburn

Indiana

San Diego St