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BRACKET BREAKDOWN: March 6th

This is March.

Between now and Selection Sunday, each Friday during the regular season I’ll give a “BRACKET BREAKDOWN” with my 68 projected teams for the 2026 NCAA Tournament along with my Top 16 seeds as well as emerging trends.

The team who’s currently in first place in their respective league will be listed as that league’s “automatic qualifier”.

The Current Field

America East (1)
UMBC (AQ)
American Conference (1)
South Florida (AQ)
ASUN (1)
Central Arkansas (AQ)
Atlantic 10 (1)
Saint Louis (AQ)
ACC (8)
Duke (AQ), Louisville, North Carolina, Clemson, SMU, Virginia, Miami, NC State
Big 12 (8)
Arizona (AQ), BYU, Texas Tech, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, UCF, TCU
Big East (3)
UConn (AQ), St. John’s, Villanova
Big Sky (1)
Portland State (AQ)
Big South (1)
High Point (AQ)
Big Ten (10)
Michigan (AQ), Illinois, Nebraska, Purdue, Michigan State, Iowa, Wisconsin, UCLA, Indiana, Ohio State
Big West (1)
Hawaii (AQ)
CAA (1)
UNCW (AQ)
Conference-USA (1)
Liberty (AQ)
Horizon League (1)
Wright State (AQ)
Ivy League (1)
Yale (AQ)
MAAC (1)
Merrimack (AQ)
MAC (1)
Miami (OH) (AQ)
MEAC (1)
Howard (AQ)
Missouri Valley (1)
Belmont (AQ)
Mountain West (1)
Utah State (1)
NEC (1)
LIU (AQ)
OVC (1)
Tennessee State (AQ)
Patriot League (1)
Navy (AQ)
SEC (11)
Florida (AQ), Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Kentucky, Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas A&M, Texas, Missouri
Southern (1)
East Tennessee State (AQ)
Southland (1)
Stephen F. Austin (AQ)
SWAC (1)
Bethune Cookman (AQ)
Summit (1)
North Dakota State (AQ)
Sun Belt (1)
Troy (AQ)
WCC (3)
Gonzaga (AQ), Santa Clara, Saint Mary’s
WAC (1)
Utah Valley (AQ)

First Four Out

Cal, Auburn, VCU, Cincinnati

Top 16 Seeds

1: Arizona (No. 1 overall seed), Michigan, Duke, UConn
2: Florida, Illinois, Michigan State, Houston
3: Purdue, Iowa State, Nebraska, Gonzaga
4: Texas Tech, Alabama, Kansas, Virginia

Five Things To Know

  • Florida has never been a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons.
  • North Carolina’s Hubert Davis was Friday’s guest on INSIDE COLLEGE BASKETBALL NOW. To view the full interview, click HERE, starting at 10 AM ET on Friday.
  • Santa Clara will need to get to the finals of the WCC Tournament — which means it has to beat Saint Mary’s for a second time — in order to be in really good shape for an at-large bid on Selection Sunday.
  • The Mountain West has been a multi-bid league every year since 2017, but it may not be if Utah State wins the Mountain West Tournament next week in Las Vegas. The two bubble teams from this conference — New Mexico and San Diego State — are in dire straits after a plethora of shaky losses.
  • Seton Hall can put itself “in position to be in position” for an at-large bid if it beats St. John’s tonight at the Prudential Center in Newark.

Leftovers