The 2026 men’s NCAA tournament bracket was revealed on March 15 during Selection Sunday.
Complete March Madness schedule for the men’s 2026 NCAA tournament
First round games for the NCAA tournament will begin on Thursday March, 19.
March Madness always brings the upsets, buzzer-beaters, Cinderellas and memorable moments. This year looks like another wide open tournament, with many strong teams across the top conferences. A total of 68 teams made the tournament field. Of those 64, 31 are automatic qualifiers from conference tournament winners. Here is a list of every automatic bid who qualified for the 2026 tournament.
As of now, Michigan and Duke are the betting odds frontrunners to win the National Championship, followed by Arizona and Florida. Last season, Florida beat Houston in the National Championship and the Gators will be looking to see if they can repeat, just like UConn did in 2023 and 2024.
The Michigan Wolverines, Duke Blue Devils, Arizona Wildcats and Florida Gators all earned No. 1 seeds for the 2026 NCAA tournament.
Games will kick off in Dayton, Ohio for the First Four round on Tuesday, March 17 and 18. First round games will start on Thursday, March 19 and continue on Friday, March 20. This year’s Final Four will take place in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Below is the complete schedule for the 2026 NCAA tournament:
2026 NCAA tournament schedule, dates
Here is the schedule:
- Selection Sunday: Sunday, March 15
- First Four: March 17-18
- First round: March 19-20
- Second round: March 21-22
- Sweet 16: March 26-27
- Elite Eight: March 28-29
- Final Four: April 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
- NCAA championship game: April 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
Final Four
Saturday, April 4
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 3 Illinois | 6:09 p.m. ET | TBS
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 1 Arizona | 8:40 p.m. ET | TBS
Elite Eight
Sunday, March 29
No. 1 Michigan 95, No. 6 Tennessee 62
No. 2 UConn 73, No. 1 Duke 72
Saturday, March 28
No. 3 Illinois 71, No. 9 Iowa 59
No. 1 Arizona 79, No. 2 Purdue 64
Sweet 16 games
Friday, March 27
No. 1 Duke 80, No. 5 St. John’s 75
No. 1 Michigan 90, No. 4 Alabama 77
No. 2 UConn 67, No. 3 Michigan State 63
No. 6 Tennessee 76, No. 2 Iowa State 62
Thursday, March 26
No. 2 Purdue 79, No. 11 Texas 77
No. 9 Iowa 77, No. 4 Nebraska 71
No. 1 Arizona 109, No. 4 Arkansas 88
No. 3 Illinois 65, No. 2 Houston 55
Second Round games
Sunday, March 22
No. 2 Purdue 79, No. 7 Miami 69
No. 2 Iowa State 82, No. 7 Kentucky 63
No. 5 St. John’s 67, No. 4 Kansas 65
No. 6 Tennessee 79, No. 3 Virginia 72
No. 9 Iowa 73, No. 1 Florida 72
No. 1 Arizona 78, No. 9 Utah State 66
No. 2 UConn 73, No. 7 UCLA 57
No. 4 Alabama 90, No. 5 Texas Tech 65
Saturday, March 21
No. 1 Michigan 95, No. 9 St. Louis 72
No. 3 Michigan State 77, No. 6 Louisville 69
No. 1 Duke 81, No. 9 TCU 58
No. 2 Houston 88, No. 10 Texas A&M 57
No. 11 Texas 74, No. 3 Gonzaga 68
No. 3 Illinois 76, No. 11 VCU 55
No. 4 Nebraska 74, No. 5 Vanderbilt 72
No. 4 Arkansas 94, No. 12 High Point 88
First Round games
Friday, March 20
No. 7 Kentucky 89, No. 10 Santa Clara 84 (OT)
No. 5 Texas Tech 91, No. 12 Akron 71
No. 1 Arizona 92, No. 16 LIU 58
No. 3 Virginia 82, No. 14 Wright State 73
No. 2 Iowa State 108, No. 15 Tennessee State 74
No. 4 Alabama 90, No. 13 Hofstra 70
No. Utah State 86, No. 8 Villanova 76
No. 6 Tennessee 78, vs. No. 11 Miami (Oh) 56
No. 9 Iowa 67, No. 8 Clemson 61
No. 5 St. John’s 79, No. 12 Northern Iowa 53
No. 7 UCLA 75, No. 10 UCF 71
No. 2 Purdue 104, No. 15 Queens 71
No. 1 Florida 114, No. 16 Prairie View A&M 54
No. 4 Kansas 68, No. 13 Cal Baptist 60
No. 2 UConn 82, No. 15 Furman 71
No. 7 Miami (FL) 80, No. 10 Missouri 66
Thursday, March 19
No. 9 TCU 66, No. 8 Ohio State 64
No. 4 Nebraska 76, No. 13 Troy 47
No. 6 Louisville 83, No. 11 South Florida 79
No. 12 High Point 83, No. 5 Wisconsin 82
No. 1 Duke 71, 16 Siena 65
No. 5 Vanderbilt 78, No. 12 McNeese 68
No. 3 Michigan State 92, No. 14 North Dakota State 67
No. 4 Arkansas 97, No. 13 Hawaii 78
No. 11 VCU 82, No. 6 North Carolina 78 (OT)
No. 1 Michigan 101, No. 16Howard 80
No. 11 Texas 79, No. 6 BYU 71
No. 10 Texas A&M 63, No. 7 Saint Mary’s 50
No. 3 Illinois 105, No. 14 Penn 70
No. 9 St. Louis 102, No. 8 Georgia 77
No. 3 Gonzaga 73, No. 14 Kennesaw State 64
No. 2 Houston 78, No. 15 Idaho 47
First Four games
Wednesday, March 18
No. 16 Prairie View A&M 67, No. 16 Lehigh 55
No. 11 Miami (Oh) 89, No. 11 SMU 79
Tuesday March, 17
No. 16 Howard 86, No. 16 UMBC 83
No. 11 Texas 68, No. 11 NC State 66
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