Florida, Michigan State climb in new 2026 March Madness men’s basketball bracket predictions

We have officially entered March, and before the real madness begins, Andy Katz shares his new bracket predictions. Michigan, UConn, Arizona and Duke remain the No. 1 seeds as Florida and Michigan State climb up to No. 2 seeds.

Take a look at his newest predicted 68-team field below.

RANKINGS: AP Top 25 Poll | NET rankings

2026 March Madness bracket predictions

SEED
EAST
SOUTH
MIDWEST
WEST

1
Duke
UConn
Michigan
Arizona

16
Bethune-Cookman/Howard
Tennessee State
UMBC/LIU
Portland State

8
UCF
Miami (Fla.)
Utah State
Clemson

9
Georgia
Iowa
NC State
Missouri

5
Arkansas
North Carolina
Vanderbilt
St. John’s

12
Yale
South Florida
Belmont
Liberty

4
Kansas
Alabama
Virginia
Gonzaga

13
UNC Wilmington
High Point
Stephen F. Austin
Utah Valley

6
Kentucky
Tennessee
Louisville
BYU

11
UCLA
New Mexico/Indiana
Santa Clara/TCU
Miami (Ohio)

3
Texas Tech
Iowa State
Nebraska
Purdue

14
Hawaii
North Dakota State
Troy
Navy

7
Saint Louis
Saint Mary’s
Wisconsin
Villanova

10
Texas A&M
SMU
Texas
Ohio State

2
Michigan State
Illinois
Houston
Florida

15
Merrimack
East Tennessee State
Wright State
Central Arkansas

Conferences with multiple teams in Katz’s bracket predictions

Conference
Total
Teams

Big Ten
10
Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Purdue, UCLA, Wisconsin

SEC
10
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt

ACC
8
Clemson, Duke, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), North Carolina, NC State, SMU, Virginia

Big 12
8
Arizona, BYU, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, TCU, Texas Tech, UCF

Big East
3
St. John’s, UConn, Villanova

West Coast
3
Gonzaga, Santa Clara, Saint Mary’s

Mountain West
2
New Mexico, Utah State

Andy Katz’s field of 68

Here is Katz’s full seed list in order, from one through 68:

 
School(Seed)
Automatic Qualifier

1
Duke (1)
AQ ACC

2
Michigan (1)
AQ Big Ten

3
Arizona (1)
AQ Big 12

4
UConn (1)
AQ Big East

5
Florida (2)
AQ SEC

6
Houston (2)
 

7
Michigan State (2)
 

8
Illinois (2)
 

9
Iowa State (3)
 

10
Purdue (3)
 

11
Nebraska (3)
 

12
Texas Tech (3)
 

13
Alabama (4)
 

14
Kansas (4)
 

15
Gonzaga (4)
AQ WCC

16
Virginia (4)
 

17
Vanderbilt (5)
 

18
Arkansas (5)
 

19
St. John’s (5)
 

20
North Carolina (5)
 

21
Tennessee (6)
 

22
Louisville (6)
 

23
Kentucky (6)
 

24
BYU (6)
 

25
Wisconsin (7)
 

26
St. Mary’s (7)
 

27
Saint Louis (7)
AQ A10

28
Villanova (7)
 

29
Miami (Fla.) (8)
 

30
Clemson (8)
 

31
UCF (8)
 

32
Utah State (8)
AQ MW

33
Iowa (9)
 

34
Georgia (9)
 

35
Missouri (9)
 

36
NC State (9)
 

37
Texas (10)
 

38
Ohio State (10)
 

39
SMU (10)
 

40
Texas A&M (10)
 

41
UCLA (11)
 

42
Miami (Ohio) (11)
AQ MAC

43
Santa Clara (11)
 

44
TCU (11) 
 

45
New Mexico (11)
 

46
Indiana (11)
 

47
South Florida (12)
AQ American

48
Belmont (12)
AQ MVC

49
Yale (12)
AQ Ivy

50
Liberty (12)
AQ CUSA

51
Stephen F. Austin (13)
AQ Southland

52
High Point (13)
AQ Big South

53
UNC Wilmington (13)
AQ CAA

54
Utah Valley (13)
AQ WAC

55
Hawaii (14)
AQ Big West 

56
North Dakota State (14)
AQ Summit

57
Navy (14)
AQ Patriot

58
Troy (14)
AQ Sun Belt

59
Merrimack (15)
AQ MAAC

60
East Tennessee State (15)
AQ Southern

61
Wright State (15)
AQ Horizon

62
Central Arkansas (15)
AQ ASUN

63
Portland State (16)
AQ Big Sky

64
Tennessee State (16)
AQ OVC

65
UMBC (16)
AQ America East

66
LIU (16)
AQ NEC

67
Bethune-Cookman (17)
AQ SWAC

68
Howard (17)
AQ MEAC

First four out:  Auburn, VCU, San Diego State, Virginia Tech