Men’s March Madness 2026 auto-bids tracker: 11 NCAA Tournament spots up for grabs Saturday

In the final days before Selection Sunday, 31 of the 68 spots in the 2026 men’s NCAA Tournament will be clinched by teams winning their conference’s automatic bids.

Championship week is a smorgasbord of nonstop basketball. We’re tracking every conference tournament and will update as the week progresses with what you need to know about the teams going to the NCAA Tournament.

Bids clinched

(Most recent winners first)

Big Sky: Idaho

Record: 21-14, 9-9 Big SkyLast tournament appearance: 1990All-time tournament record: 1-4What to know: After two regular-season battles were settled in the final seconds by two possessions apiece, Idaho wanted no part of that thrill against Montana in the dying embers of its first conference championship berth since 2014. In its 77-66 victory, the Vandals stamped their first Big Sky title and correspondingly their first ticket to the NCAA Tournament since the turn of the century — both achievements that came before any player on the roster was born and when coach Alex Pribble, who has piloted the program from 11 to 14 to 21 wins, was just five years old.

Patriot: Lehigh

Record: 18-16, 11-7 PatriotLast tournament appearance: 2012All-time tournament record: 1-5What to know: For the first time since CJ McCollum and the 15-seed Mountain Hawks upset 2-seed Duke back in 2012, Lehigh has punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Brett Reed was on the sideline for that one as well, currently in his 19th season and making his third trip to March Madness. The 2-seed Hawks beat 4-seed Boston University squad in the title game after Boston upset Navy in the semifinals, despite the Midshipmen running away with the regular season title at 17-1 in league play. Lehigh survived its own scare in the quarterfinals, defeating Holy Cross on a half-court buzzer-beater by leading scorer Nasir Whitlock.

Southland: McNeese

Record: 28-5, 19-3 SouthlandLast tournament appearance: 2025All-time tournament record: 1-4What to know: The Cowboys are going dancing for a third straight season. McNeese knocked off regular-season champs Stephen F. Austin with a dominant win in the Southland title game, paced by senior guard Javohn Garcia with a career-high 31 points. After back-to-back trips under Will Wade, including a first-round upset of Clemson last year, first-year coach Bill Armstrong has McNeese there again, riding a 10-game winning streak that featured a triple-overtime win over UT Rio Grande Valley in the Southland semifinals. Led by conference freshman of the year Larry Johnson, McNeese’s return to the Tournament also means the return of manager and March Madness legend Amir “Aura” Khan.

Legends are made in March‼️#GeauxPokes | #BayouBandits pic.twitter.com/6oyos3Edvv

— McNeese Men’s Basketball (@McNeeseMBB) March 1, 2026

WCC: Gonzaga

Record: 30-3, 16-2 WCCLast tournament appearance: 2025All-time tournament record: 47-27What to know: Believe it or not, the Zags are flying under the radar a bit this year, the 27th time they’ve qualified for the NCAA Tournament under Mark Few, after a 79-68 win over Santa Clara in the WCC tournament championship. Gonzaga has been banged up all season, and big man Braden Huff is still nursing a left knee injury. If the Zags are going to make their 14th Sweet 16 since 2000, they’ll need WCC player of the year Graham Ike to have a huge month and get help from freshmen guards Davis Fogle and Mario Saint-Supéry, who have shown flashes of brilliance but struggle with consistency, especially as scorers. The Zags have long been known as one of the best offensive programs in the country but if they win in the NCAA Tournament this year, it’ll be because of their defense.

MAAC: Siena

Record: 23-11, 13-7 MAACLast tournament appearance: 2010All-time tournament record: 4-6What to know: Welcome back to the NCAA Tournament, Saints! And the same greeting to Gerry McNamara, a Syracuse legend from the Orange’s 2003 title team who is now Siena’s head coach. Siena looked ready to return to the NCAA Tournament in 2020 before COVID-19 canceled the MAAC Tournament before the semifinals. The Saints did it with their defense, as they held Merrimack to just 54 points in the title game, in part due to center Riley Mulvey’s five blocked shots. After losing senior forward Antonio Chandler to an eligibility ruling in late February, the Saints are essentially a five-man team: the starters played 194 of a possible 200 minutes on Tuesday night. That lineup still has plenty of size and talent, though, and it is led by point guard Justice Shoats (13.3 points per game, 4.4 assists per game) and physical wing Gavin Doty (17.7 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game).

Horizon: Wright State

Record: 23-11, 15-5 HorizonLast tournament appearance: 2022All-time tournament record: 1-4What to know: As a bevy of other No. 1 seeds fall in conference tournaments all over the country, Wright State survived the Horizon’s tricky format and prevailed over a feisty Detroit Mercy squad, 66-63, in Tuesday’s championship game. A key block from Horizon Freshman of the Year Kellen Pickett clinched the victory, helping the Raiders erase a 12-point second-half deficit. Head coach Clint Sargent has been at Wright State as an assistant since 2016, and he took over the head job for Scott Nagy when Nagy left for Southern Illinois in 2024. The Raiders have the best offense in the league, with six players averaging at least 8.3 points per game. They are led by another freshman, Michael Cooper, and six of their top seven scorers are freshmen or sophomores.

CAA: Hofstra

Record: 24-10, 12-6 CAALast tournament appearance: 2001All-time tournament record: 0-4What to know: The Pride’s NCAA Tournament drought was scheduled to end six years ago, the last time Hofstra won the Colonial Athletic Association tournament, but COVID-19 canceled that postseason. As such, it’s been a long 25 years since Hofstra went dancing, and now the Pride could make the most of their appearance — given that they’re projected as a 13 seed, and 13-over-4 has become a more common upset the past few years. Hofstra is led by 47-year-old coach Speedy Claxton, now in his fifth season at his alma mater. He is widely considered the best player in program history and was on the roster when the Pride went to the 2000 NCAA Tournament under then-coach Jay Wright.

Southern: Furman

Record: 22-12, 10-8 SoConLast tournament appearance: 2023All-time tournament record: 2-8What to know: The Paladins are going dancing after winning as a 6-seed in the SoCon tournament, knocking off 1-seed East Tennessee State and 3-seed Samford on their way to a second March Madness appearance under coach Bob Richey. The last time Furman made the tournament, it upset 4-seed Virginia as a 13-seed on a game-winning 3-pointer that famously snatched the soul right out of broadcast commentator Stan Van Gundy.

“DID WE JUST SEE WHAT WE THINK WE JUST SAW?!”

Kevin Harlan nearly FELL OUT OF HIS CHAIR. Dan Bonner and @realStanVG were STUNNED.

The crew’s reaction to Furman’s dramatic win over Virginia was incredible. pic.twitter.com/Jym88PALq8

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 20, 2023

Sun Belt: Troy

Record: 22-11, 12-6 Sun BeltLast tournament appearance: 2025All-time tournament record: 0-3What to know: The regular-season champs and top-seeded Trojans are headed back to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season under coach Scott Cross, and just the fourth time since the program moved to Division I in 1993-94. With an automatic bye to the semifinals in the Sun Belt’s stepladder bracket, Troy finally slowed down a 10-seed Georgia Southern team that won five games in five days to reach the championship. The Trojans are led by third-year players Thomas Dowd and Victor Valdes. It’s a family affair at Troy: Cross’s son, Austin, is a redshirt freshman off the bench, while starters Cooper and Cobi Campbell are brothers, and their dad, Scott Campbell, is an assistant coach. The Trojans lost to Kentucky in the first round of last year’s tournament.

Summit: North Dakota State

Record: 27-7, 14-2 SummitLast tournament appearance: 2019All-time tournament record: 2-4What to know: Nothing like an in-state battle for the right to go dancing. North Dakota State beat rival North Dakota for the third time this season to clinch the Summit league bid, setting a school record for wins (27) in the process. The Bison will have one of the most balanced scoring attacks in the field, with six players who average 9.2 points or more. They are currently projected as a 14 seed, and 14-over-3 upsets only happen roughly 14 percent of the time, but if they surprise someone this month, could 12th-year coach David Richman, who earned his second Summit League coach of the year award this season, be up for a bigger job?

Atlantic Sun: Queens

Record: 21-13, 13-5 ASUNLast tournament appearance: NeverAll-time tournament record: 0-0What to know: History was guaranteed either way in the ASUN title game, in which Queens and Central Arkansas pushed each other to overtime for the right to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Camren Hunter poured in a school-record 46 points for Central Arkansas, but Queens regained control in OT. Queens — located in Charlotte, N.C., and a Division II school until 2022 — prevailed after a program-best regular-season record.

Big South: High Point

Record: 30-4, 15-1 Big SouthLast tournament appearance: 2025All-time tournament record: 0-1What to know: After two decades wandering through mediocrity, High Point broke through last March, toppling Winthrop in the Big South tournament to punch its first NCAA Tournament ticket. A year later, the Panthers secured another trip to the Big Dance by downing the Eagles once again. High Point did it even after losing architect Alan Huss — whose two seasons at the helm produced the best record in program history — and eight of the team’s top nine scorers. First-year coach Flynn Clayman reshaped his roster through the transfer portal and molded it into the Big South’s top offensive and defensive team, powering the Panthers back into March Madness.

Missouri Valley: Northern Iowa

Record: 23-12, 11-9 MVCLast tournament appearance: 2016All-time tournament record: 5-8What to know: The Panthers were not supposed to be the MVC’s auto-bid winner, but after top-seeded Belmont lost in the quarterfinals, they pounced on the opportunity. UNI knocked off third-seeded Illinois State and second-seeded Bradley (in double overtime) to reach the MVC championship game, then shot a sizzling 63 percent from the field to beat Illinois-Chicago 84-69 in a game UIC never led. Now coach Ben Jacobsen, in his 20th year at UNI, is headed to his fifth NCAA Tournament with a roster full of home-grown talent. The Panthers have five players from Iowa, including Trey Campbell, who led UNI with 23 points in the championship.

Ohio Valley: Tennessee State

Record: 23-9, 15-5 OVCLast tournament appearance: 1994All-time tournament record: 0-2What to know: Yes, it’s been 32 years since this Nashville, Tenn.-based HBCU reached the sport’s biggest stage. And it took just one season of Nolan Smith’s coaching to get there. The former Duke star, NBA first-round pick and Memphis and Louisville assistant coach wasn’t able to do much with the TSU roster after replacing Brian “Penny” Collins. But he has elicited star-level play out of returning seniors Aaron Nkrumah — the OVC Player of the Year — and Travis Harper II. He has the Tigers pressuring on defense and playing with pace, ranking in the top 21 nationally in steal percentage and opponent turnover percentage. It’s one of the best coaching jobs in the nation.

Northeast: LIU

Record: 23-10, 15-3 NECLast tournament appearance: 2018All-time tournament record: 0-7What to know: Long Island University, led by longtime NBA guard and native New Yorker Rod Strickland, is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 after defeating Wagner 64-56 in the NEC semifinals. LIU earned the bid before playing in the final because Mercyhurst, which is ineligible for the postseason in its second season as a Division I program, won the other semifinal. Strickland, who played 17 seasons in the NBA, is in his fourth season and has improved LIU’s record every year since a 3-26 debut in 2022-23. LIU is projected to be a No. 16 seed. The Sharks (fins up!) have the NEC defensive player of the year in guard Greg Gordon and leading scorer Jamal Fuller, from Toronto, played in the NCAA Division II tournament when he was at Academy of Art in San Francisco.