Choice Sunday is almost right here, because the 68-team bracket for the 2026 males’s NCAA Event shall be introduced on March 15, starting at 6 p.m. EST and airing on CBS.
As convention tournaments proceed on Saturday and into Sunday afternoon, groups are jockeying for increased seeds within the Huge Dance. Quite a few bubble squads, in the meantime, will anxiously await whether or not their names are known as on Choice Sunday.
Listed here are 5 key storylines earlier than the bracket is revealed.
High seeds and No. 1 general seed
Three groups have locked up No. 1 seeds in March Insanity. They’re Duke, Arizona and Michigan. These are additionally the three squads in play for the No. 1 general seed, with the Blue Devils the possible front-runner. The fourth No. 1 seed is anticipated to come back down to a few contenders: Florida, UConn and Houston. The Gators have the sting right here.
Miami (Ohio): In or out?
Ahhh, the nice Miami (Ohio) debate. The RedHawks completed the 2025-26 common season at an ideal 31-0. Nevertheless, in its first recreation on the Mid-American Convention (MAC) Event, No. 1 seed Miami (Ohio) was upset by UMass. The RedHawks are simply No. 64 in the NCAA NET rankings, they usually have not performed a quadrant-one opponent. They’re forecast as a No. 11 seed, per the Bracket Matrix. Are the RedHawks probably the greatest at-large groups on the market? Most likely not. Are they deserving of a bid? Completely.
Which convention will reign supreme?
Final spring, the Southeastern Convention set a report when 14 of its 16 members heard their identify known as on Choice Sunday. In 2026, the SEC may have the edge, in the interim, when it comes to getting essentially the most invitations to the upcoming NCAA Event. However proper on the SEC’s heels are the opposite power-conference leagues: the Huge Ten Convention, the much-improved Atlantic Coast Conference and the Huge 12 Convention.
These bubble groups are possible toast
Nationwide analysts say that the lower line for bubble squads is comparatively weak for this spring’s area of 68. A few of these colleges which have almost definitely seen their bubble burst embrace Oklahoma, Auburn, Indiana, New Mexico, California, Stanford and Virginia Tech. Sorry. There’s at all times subsequent yr.
Bid stealers doubtlessly on Sunday
A number of leagues will maintain the championship contests of their convention tournaments on Sunday. Would possibly we see a bid thief or two? Title games to monitor on Sunday embrace the Ivy League Event, the Atlantic 10 Convention Event and the American Convention Event.
