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)
Andy Katz is an NCAA.com correspondent. Katz worked at ESPN for 18 years as a college basketball reporter, host and anchor. He’s covered every Final Four since 1992, and the sport since 1986 as a freshman at Wisconsin. He is a former president of the United States Basketball Writers Association. Katz can also be seen covering college basketball on Big Ten Network during the regular season. Follow him on Twitter at @theandykatz.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions.
