Andy Katz’s first bracket predictions for the 2026-27 men’s basketball season

March Madness will look a little different in 2027, with the NCAA tournament expanding to 76 teams. With the expansion, Andy Katz has shared his first bracket predictions for 2027 and his top 44 teams.

👉 EXPANSION: How the 76-team tournament will work

Take a look at Andy Katz’s first bracket prediction for 2026-27 below:

Seed
East
South
Midwest
West

1
Duke
Florida
Michigan
Illinois

16
Merrimack/Southern
Central Connecticut/Howard
Montana State/Vermont
Tennessee State/North Dakota

8
Iowa
Ohio State
Texas A&M
Saint Louis

9
Auburn
North Carolina
Providence
Baylor

5
Purdue
Southern Cal.
Nebraska
Iowa State

12
West Virginia/Villanova
Utah State/UCF
South Florida
Santa Clara

4
Alabama
Houston
Kansas
Louisville

13
Harvard
Illinois State
Miami (OH)
Liberty

6
Miami (Fla.)
St. John’s
Gonzaga
Indiana

11
Arizona State/Oklahoma
Clemson/TCU
Kentucky/Maryland
New Mexico

3
Michigan State
Vanderbilt
Virginia
Texas

14
High Point
Charleston
UC Irvine
McNeese

7 
UCLA
BYU
VCU
Missouri

10
Xavier
Ole Miss
Marquette/Texas Tech
Wisconsin

2
Arkansas
UConn
Tennessee
Arizona

15
Mercer/Central Arkansas
Navy
Marshall
Green Bay/Queens

Andy Katz’s field of 76

Here is Katz’s full seed list in order, from one through 76.

 
Team (seed)
AQ Conference

1
Duke (1) 
(AQ ACC)

2
Florida (1)
(AQ SEC)

3
Michigan (1)
(AQ Big Ten)

4
Illinois (1)
 

5
Tennessee (2)
 

6
UConn (2)
(AQ Big East)

7
Arizona (2)
(AQ Big 12)

8
Arkansas (2)
 

9
Texas (3)
 

10
Michigan State (3)
 

11
Vanderbilt (3)
 

12
Virginia (3)
 

13
Kansas (4)
 

14
Houston (4)
 

15
Louisville (4)
 

16
Alabama (4)
 

17
Nebraska (5)
 

18
Iowa State (5)
 

19
Purdue (5)
 

20
USC (5)
 

21
Gonzaga (6)
(AQ Pac-12)

22
St. John’s (6)
 

23
Miami, Fla. (6)
 

24
Indiana (6)
 

25
Missouri (7)
 

26
VCU (7)
(AQ A10)

27
UCLA (7)
 

28
BYU (7)
 

29
Saint Louis (8)
 

30
Ohio State (8)
 

31
Iowa (8)
 

32
Texas A&M (8)
 

33
North Carolina (9)
 

34
Providence (9)
 

35
Baylor (9)
 

36
Auburn (9)
 

37
Wisconsin (10)
 

38
Xavier (10)
 

39
Ole Miss (10)
 

40
Marquette (10)
 

41
Texas Tech (10)
 

42
Kentucky (11)
 

43
Maryland (11)
 

44
New Mexico (11)
(AQ MWC)

45
Arizona State (11)
 

46
Oklahoma (11)
 

47
Clemson (11)
 

48
TCU (11)
 

49
West Virginia (12)
 

50
Villanova (12)
 

51
Utah State (12)
 

52
UCF (12)
 

53
South Florida (12)
(AQ American)

54
Santa Clara (12)
(AQ WCC)

55
Miami, Ohio (13)
(AQ MAC)

56
Illinois State (13)
(AQ MVC)

57
Harvard (13)
(AQ Ivy)

58
Liberty (13)
(AQ CUSA)

59
McNeese (14)
(AQ Southland)

60
Charleston (14)
(AQ CAA)

61
UC Irvine (14)
(AQ Big West)

62
High Point (14)
(AQ Big South)

63
Marshall (15)
(AQ Sun Belt)

64
Navy (15)
(AQ Patriot)

65
Mercer (15)
(AQ Southern)

66
Central Arkansas (15)
(AQ UAC)

67
Green Bay (15)
(AQ Horizon)

68
Queens (15)
(AQ ASun)

69
Tennessee State (16)
(AQ OVC)

70
North Dakota (16)
(AQ Summit)

71
Montana State (16)
(AQ Big Sky)

72
Vermont (16)
(AQ America East)

73
Central Connecticut (16)
(AQ NEC)

74
Howard (16)
(AQ MEAC)

75
Merrimack (16)
(AQ MAAC)

76
Southern (16)
(AQ SWAC)