Men’s Bracketology 2/7/2026

The biggest change in this update is Illinois moving up to a 1 seed after UConn lost to St. John’s. It’s a bit weird to make that swap- UConn does have the head to head win- but Illinois’ elite road wins at Nebraska and at Purdue are hard to ignore. And regardless, the Illinois/Connecticut debate should shake itself out today- if Illinois wins at Michigan State, they clearly belong on the 1 line, and if they lose, UConn will reclaim their spot.

1: Arizona, Michigan, Duke, Illinois

2: Connecticut, Nebraska, Iowa State, Houston

3: Purdue, Vanderbilt, Michigan State, Kansas

4: Florida, Gonzaga, Virginia, Texas Tech

5: Alabama, BYU, Tennessee, St. John’s

6: Iowa, Arkansas, North Carolina, Clemson

7: Louisville, Utah State, Saint Louis, Villanova

8: Kentucky, Auburn, Texas A&M, NC State

9: UCF, St. Mary’s, Wisconsin, USC

10: SMU, Indiana, Georgia, Santa Clara

11: UCLA, (Miami (FL)/Ohio State), (New Mexico/Texas), Miami (OH)

12: Belmont, Tulsa, Liberty, Yale

13: McNeese, High Point. Hawai’i, Utah Valley

14: UNC Wilmington, East Tennessee State, North Dakota State, Wright State

15: Troy, Portland State, Austin Peay, Siena

16: Navy, UT-Martin, (LIU/Bethune-Cookman), (Vermont/Howard)

First Four Out: San Diego State, Oklahoma State, Seton Hall, California

Next Four Out: Virginia Tech, Missouri, Baylor, VCU

Also Considered: Washington, LSU, George Mason, Nevada, West Virginia, TCU

Moving In: Wright State

Moving Out: Oakland

Bids by Conference:

Big 10: 11

SEC: 10

ACC: 8

Big 12: 7

Big East: 3

West Coast: 3

Mountain West: 2