Men’s Bracketology 3/15/2026 PM (FINAL)

Welcome to Selection Sunday! There’s nothing quite like the thrill of watching the bracket get revealed after a full season of putting these projections together.

I'm disagreeing with the consensus by having Auburn in the field as opposed to Texas. As I discussed yesterday, the committee has talked a lot about becoming more data-driven over the years, and the metrics say to include Auburn. I think the "16 loss" precedent that everyone is talking about is not that important- it's not an official selection criteria.

Best of luck to my fellow bracketologists, and I'll be back later in the week with my annual bracket picking guide.

1: Duke, Michigan, Arizona, Florida

2: Houston, Connecticut, Iowa State, Michigan State

3: Illinois, Purdue, Gonzaga, Nebraska

4: Alabama, Virginia, Kansas, Vanderbilt

5: Texas Tech, St. John’s, Arkansas, Tennessee

6: Wisconsin, BYU, North Carolina, Louisville

7: Kentucky, Miami (FL), Clemson, UCLA

8: St. Mary’s, Ohio State, Utah State, Georgia

9: Villanova, TCU, Iowa, Saint Louis

10: NC State, Santa Clara, Texas A&M, UCF

11: VCU, (Missouri/SMU), (Miami (OH)/Auburn), South Florida/Wichita State winner

12: Akron, McNeese, High Point, Northern Iowa

13: Cal Baptist, Hawai’i, Hofstra, North Dakota State

14: Troy, Wright State, Pennsylvania, Kennesaw State

15: Tennessee State, UMBC, Furman, Idaho

16: Queens, Siena, (LIU/Howard), (Lehigh/Prairie View A&M)

First Four Out: Texas, Oklahoma, San Diego State, New Mexico

Next Four Out: Indiana, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, Stanford

Moving In: Pennsylvania

Moving Out: Yale

Bids by Conference:

SEC: 10

Big 10: 9

ACC: 8

Big 12: 8

Big East: 3

West Coast: 3

Atlantic 10: 2

Mid-American: 2