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2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

The 2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament is an ongoing event involving 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the NCAA Division I men's college basketball national champion for the 2025–26 season. The 87th edition of the tournament began on March 17 and will conclude with the championship game on April 6, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Atlantic Sun champion Queens and Western Athletic Conference (WAC) champion California Baptist made their tournament debuts. Queens qualified in its first year of eligibility, becoming only the fifth school since 1972 to achieve the feat.

Ohio Valley champion Tennessee State made its third-ever appearance, its first since 1994, while Big Sky champion Idaho made its first appearance since 1990. Coastal Athletic champion Hofstra made its first appearance since 2001. Mid-American Conference (MAC) champion Akron and Southland champion McNeese each made their third consecutive tournament appearance.

For the first time since 2022 there was a Philadelphia Big 5 school in the tournament, with both Villanova and Penn qualifying. Teams from 33 U.S. states and the District of Columbia participated.

For the second consecutive season, all top four seeds advanced to the second round. This was the first time since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 that this had happened. The biggest upset in the first round was 5th seeded Wisconsin losing to 12th seed High Point. Nebraska, High Point, Howard, and Prairie View A&M each earned their first ever tournament wins, although Howard and Prairie View A&M accomplished this in the First Four. Nebraska had previously been the only power conference team to have never won an NCAA tournament game. The average margin of victory in the first round was 17.4 points, the highest since the tournament expanded in 1985. This coupled with higher seeds' tendency to win during the 2025 tournament has lead to a belief that mid-major programs are unable to compete with major conference programs in the NIL and transfer portal era. However, No. 1 overall seed Duke did get a challenge from No. 16 seed Siena, trailing by 13 points before recovering to win the game by six points. Additionally, for the 18th straight year, a double digit seed made the Sweet 16, although for the third consecutive year no 12-seed or lower team made the Sweet 16, and for the fourth consecutive year only one double digit seed made the Sweet 16. For the second straight season, no mid-major teams made the Sweet 16.

The Final Four comprises #1 seed Michigan, #1 seed Arizona, #2 seed Connecticut and #3 seed Illinois. While Illinois is the lowest numbered seed to make the Final Four in two years, the Final Four was noted for not having a real Cinderella story.

Tournament procedure

A total of 68 teams entered the 2026 tournament. Thirty-one automatic bids were awarded to each program that won its conference's tournament. The remaining 37 teams received at-large bids, with selections extended by the NCAA selection committee on "Selection Sunday", March 15. The selection committee also seeded the entire field from 1 to 68.

Eight teams (the four-lowest seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at large-teams) played in the First Four. The winners of these games advanced to the main tournament bracket.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2026 tournament:

First Four

First and Second rounds (Subregionals)

Regional Semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

National semifinals and Championship game (Final Four)

Indianapolis will host the Final Four for the ninth time, having previously hosted in 2021.

Qualification and selection of teams

Automatic qualifiers

Teams who won their conference championships (31) automatically qualify.

Bids by state

Tournament bracket

All times are listed in Eastern Daylight Time (). Games on CBS are also on Paramount+, while games on TBS, TNT, and truTV are also on HBO Max.

Game summaries

First Four – Dayton, Ohio

The First Four games involve eight teams: the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams.

East regional – Washington, D.C.

East regional final
East regional all-tournament team

South regional – Houston, Texas

South regional final
South regional all-tournament team

West regional – San Jose, California

West regional final
West regional all-tournament team

Midwest regional – Chicago, Illinois

Midwest regional final
Midwest regional all-tournament team

Final Four – Indianapolis, Indiana

During the Final Four round, regardless of the seeds of the participating teams, the champion of the overall top seed's region (No. 2 UConn, East Region) plays against the champion of the fourth overall top seed's region (No. 3 Illinois Fighting Illini, South Region), and the champion of the second overall top seed's region (No. 1 Arizona Wildcats, West Region) plays against the champion of the third-ranked top seed's region (No. 1 Michigan Wolverines, Midwest Region).

  • Final Four (National semifinals)
  • National championship (Final)

Final Four all-tournament team

Record by conference

  • The FF, R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the First Four, round of 64, round of 32, Sweet 16 and Elite Eight (regional semifinals and finals), Final Four and championship game (national semifinal and final), and national champion, respectively. The sum of the number of teams a conference placed in each round therefore does not equal the number of bids a conference received.

Tournament notes

Upsets

Per the NCAA, an upset occurs "when the losing team in an NCAA tournament game was seeded at least five seed lines better than the winning team". The 2026 tournament had a total of six upsets.

Tournament records

Game officials

First Four - Dayton, OH

  • UMBC vs. Howard – Michael Kitts, Josue Nieves, Evon Burroughs
  • Texas vs. NC State – Nate Harris, Michael Greenstein, Marques Pettigrew
  • Prairie View A&M vs. Lehigh – Scott Brown, Greg Evans, Courtney Green
  • Miami (OH) vs. SMU – James Ford, Edwin Young, Ronald Groover

First and second rounds (Subregionals)

  • Greenville, SC
  • Round of 64
  • Ohio State vs. TCU – Chad Barlow, Bill Covington Jr., Michael Greenstein
  • Duke vs. Siena – Ed Corliss, Brian Dorsey, Mark Schnur
  • North Carolina vs. VCU – Clarence Armstrong, Kellen Miliner, Paul Szelc
  • Illinois vs. Pennsylvania – Nate Harris, Gregory Nixon, Alfred Smith
  • Round of 32
  • Duke vs. TCU – Clarence Armstrong, Gregory Nixon, Paul Szelc
  • Illinois vs. VCU – Bill Covington Jr., Brian Dorsey, Michael Greenstein
  • Oklahoma City, OK
  • Round of 64
  • Troy vs. Nebraska – Evon Burroughs, Jeb Hartness, Tyler Kumpf
  • McNeese vs. Vanderbilt – Roger Ayers Jr., Brooks Wells, Lucas Santos
  • Saint Mary's vs. Texas A&M – Mike Littlewood, DG Nelson, Doug Shows
  • Houston vs. Idaho – AJ Desai, Patrick Evans, Darron George
  • Round of 32
  • Nebraska vs. Vanderbilt – AJ Desai, Mike Littlewood, Doug Shows
  • Houston vs. Texas A&M – Roger Ayers Jr., Jeb Hartness, Brooks Wells
  • Buffalo, NY
  • Round of 64
  • Louisville vs. South Florida – Steven Anderson, Lee Cassell, Chris Pasci
  • Michigan State vs. North Dakota State – Jeffrey Anderson, Olandis Poole, Justin Porterfield
  • Michigan vs. Howard – Michael Irving, Tommy Morrissey, Bharat Ramnanan
  • Georgia vs. Saint Louis – Kevin Brill, Tim Clougherty, Owen Shortt
  • Round of 32
  • Michigan State vs. Louisville – Michael Irving, Tommy Morrissey, Owen Shortt
  • Michigan vs. Saint Louis – Jeffrey Anderson, Steven Anderson, Lee Cassell
  • Portland, OR
  • Round of 64
  • High Point vs. Wisconsin – Marques Pettigrew, Kelly Pfeifer, Jemel Spearman
  • Arkansas vs. Hawaii – John Gaffney, Christopher Merlo, Vladimir Voyard-Tadal
  • BYU vs. Texas – James Breeding, Verne Harris, Larry Scirotto
  • Gonzaga vs. Kennesaw State – Wil Howard, Byron Jarrett, Antinio Petty
  • Round of 32
  • Arkansas vs. High Point – James Breeding, Byron Jarrett, Larry Scirotto
  • Gonzaga vs. Texas – John Gaffney, Marques Pettigrew, Vladimir Voyard-Tadal
  • St. Louis, MO
  • Round of 64
  • Kentucky vs. Santa Clara – Todd Austin, Steve McJunkins, Tony Padilla
  • Iowa State vs. Tennessee State – Deldre Carr, Tim Smith, Earl Walton
  • Purdue vs. Queens – Anthony Burris, Tony Chiazza, Greg Evans
  • Miami (FL) vs. Missouri – Courtney Green, Sean Hull, Kipp Kissinger
  • Round of 32
  • Kentucky vs. Iowa State – Todd Austin, Tony Chiazza, Kipp Kissinger
  • Purdue vs. Miami (FL) – Courtney Green, Tony Padilla, Earl Walton
  • Tampa, FL
  • Round of 64
  • Akron vs. Texas Tech – Eric Curry, Joe Lindsay, Randy Richardson
  • Alabama vs. Hofstra – Michael Palau, Rob Rorke, Bert Smith
  • Iowa vs. Clemson – Ron Groover, Chuck Jones, Jason Phillips
  • Florida vs. Prairie View A&M – Amy Bonner, DJ Carstensen, Nathan Farrell
  • Round of 32
  • Texas Tech vs. Alabama – DJ Carstensen, Nathan Farrell, Ron Groover
  • Florida vs. Iowa – Joe Lindsay, Randy Richardson, Bert Smith
  • San Diego, CA
  • Round of 64
  • Arizona vs. LIU – Steve Divine, Keith Kimble & Bret Smith
  • Utah State vs. Villanova – KB Burdett Jr., Andy O’Brien, Matt Potter
  • St. John's vs. Northern Iowa – Pat Adams, Rick Crawford, Nathan Hall
  • Kansas vs. Cal Baptist – Jason Baker, Pat Driscoll, Chance Moore
  • Round of 32
  • Arizona vs. Utah State – Patrick Adams, Pat Driscoll, Chance Moore
  • Kansas vs. St. John's – Keith Kimble, Matt Potter, Bret Smith
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Round of 64
  • Virginia vs. Wright State – Jeff Clark, Brian McNutt, Brian O'Connell
  • Tennessee vs. Miami (OH) – Isaac Barnett, Bart Lenox, Doug Sirmons
  • UCLA vs. UCF – Tony Henderson, Tommy Johnson, Michael Reed
  • UConn vs. Furman – Don Daily, Anthony Jordan, Edwin Young
  • Round of 32
  • Virginia vs. Tennessee – Don Daily, Tony Henderson, Michael Reed
  • UConn vs. UCLA – Bart Lenox, Brian O’Connell, Doug Sirmons

Regional semifinals and final (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)

  • Houston, TX (South)
  • Sweet 16
  • Houston vs Illinois – Byron Jarrett, Marques Pettigrew, Paul Szelc
  • Nebraska vs Iowa – Brian O'Connell, Doug Sirmons, Earl Walton
  • Elite 8
  • Illinois vs Iowa – John Gaffney, Michael Irving, Tony Padilla
  • San Jose, CA (West)
  • Sweet 16
  • Purdue vs Texas – Jeb Hartness, Randy Richardson, Bert Smith
  • Arizona vs Arkansas – Steven Anderson, Lee Cassell, Kipp Kissinger
  • Elite 8
  • Arizona vs Purdue – DJ Carstensen, Michael Greenstein, Joe Lindsay
  • Chicago, IL (Midwest)
  • Sweet 16
  • Michigan vs. Alabama – Pat Adams, Brian Dorsey, Tommy Morrissey
  • Iowa State vs Tennessee – Courtney Green, Tony Henderson, Brooks Wells
  • Elite 8 –
  • Michigan vs Tennessee – Jeffrey Anderson, Bart Lenox, Gregory Nixon
  • Washington D.C. (East)
  • Sweet 16
  • Duke vs St. John's – Pat Driscoll, Ron Groover, Doug Shows
  • UConn vs Michigan State – James Breeding, AJ Desai, Keith Kimble
  • Elite 8
  • Duke vs UConn – Roger Ayers Jr., Tony Chiazza, Michael Reed

National semifinals and finals (Final Four and National Championship)

  • Indianapolis
  • UConn vs Illinois, Semifinal Game 1 –
  • Arizona vs Michigan, Semifinal Game 2 –
  • TBD vs TBD, National championship game –

Media coverage

Television

CBS Sports and TNT Sports have US television rights to the tournament. As part of a cycle that began in 2016, TBS will televise the 2026 Final Four and the National Championship Game.

In November 2025, TNT Sports and ESPN announced an agreement to allow ESPN's Dick Vitale to call First Four games on truTV alongside TNT Sports' Charles Barkley. In exchange, Vitale and Barkley called a December 13, 2025 regular season game on ESPN between Indiana and Kentucky.

CBS Mornings co-host and The NFL Today analyst Nate Burleson will replace Ernie Johnson for the first two weeks of the tournament, as Johnson announced his semi-retirement from hosting March Madness to focus on his increasing Inside the NBA duties for ESPN and ABC under a sub-licensing agreement from TNT Sports. Johnson will continue to host the Final Four and National Championship Game.

Television channels

  • Selection Show – CBS
  • First Four – truTV
  • First and Second Rounds – CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV
  • Regional Semifinals and Finals – CBS and TBS/truTV
  • National Semifinals and Finals (Final Four and National Championship) – TBS, TNT and truTV

Streaming

  • HBO Max (only TBS, TNT, and truTV games), ad free tiers only.
  • Paramount+ (only CBS games)

Studio hosts

  • Nate Burleson (New York City) – First and Second rounds and regionals
  • Adam Zucker (New York City) – First and Second rounds
  • Adam Lefkoe (Atlanta and Indianapolis) – First Four, First and Second rounds, regional semifinals and Final Four
  • Ernie Johnson (Indianapolis) – Final Four and national championship game
  • Jamie Erdahl (New York City) – First and Second rounds (game breaks)

Studio analysts

  • Charles Barkley (New York City and Indianapolis) – First and Second rounds, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
  • Seth Davis (New York City) – First and Second rounds
  • Clark Kellogg (New York City and Indianapolis) – First and Second rounds, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
  • Jamal Mashburn (Atlanta and Indianapolis) – First Four, First and Second rounds, regional semifinals and Final Four
  • Renee Montgomery (New York City) – First and Second rounds
  • Candace Parker (Indianapolis) – Final Four
  • Bruce Pearl (Atlanta, New York City and Indianapolis) – First Four, First and Second rounds, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
  • Jalen Rose (Atlanta and Indianapolis) – First Four, First and Second rounds, regional semifinals and Final Four
  • Kenny Smith (New York City and Indianapolis) – First round, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
  • Gene Steratore (New York City and Indianapolis) (Rules Analyst) – First Four, First and Second rounds, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
  • Chris Webber (Indianapolis) – Final Four

Broadcast assignments

Radio

Westwood One will have exclusive coverage of the entire tournament.

First Four

First and Second rounds

Regional semifinals and finals

  • Spero Dedes and Fran Fraschilla – South Regional at Houston, Texas
  • Ryan Radtke and P. J. Carlesimo – West Regional at San Jose, California
  • Kevin Kugler and Jordan Cornette – Midwest Regional at Chicago, Illinois
  • Scott Graham and Tom Crean – East Regional at Washington, D.C.

National semifinals and finals

  • Kevin Kugler, Robbie Hummel, P. J. Carlesimo, and Andy Katz – Final Four and National Championship at Indianapolis, Indiana

Television ratings

Most watched tournament games

See also

Notes

References