March Madness is finally here. Here’s everything you need to know to get ready for tournament chaos

By CNN Newsource

Published March 15, 2026 3:35 pm

By Dana O’Neil, CNN

(CNN) — Just as the CBS music is the call to gather for all basketball worshipers on the high holy day of Selection Sunday, the wounded are required to wail about the unrighteous committee members who wronged them.

Or this year, let Bruce Pearl do it for them.

Let’s just not, folks. Anyone who did not make the NCAA Tournament needs to just take their NIT bid and like it. If ever a season offered up an argument against tournament expansion, it was this one. The first four out – Oklahoma, Auburn, San Diego State and Indiana – all had double-digit losses and only one (San Diego State) had crossed the 20-win threshold.

The bubble was, by even the most faithful bubble watchers, unwatchable.

So, no. Just no.

There was, really, only one bit of drama to this entire bracket unveiling: Would Miami (OH) get an at-large bid?

Cap tip to the committee for keeping the uncomplicated decision uncomplicated. At 31-1, the Red Hawks would have been the first team since the bracket expanded in 1985 with two or fewer losses to miss the tournament. Instead, they are off to what is essentially a home game, driving an hour up the road to Dayton for a first-round date with SMU. Hoops-crazed Dayton long has done a terrific job hosting the First Four. This one shouldn’t be tough.

Godspeed, Mustangs.

And so here we are, at the best three weeks of the sporting calendar. The time when teachers gain popularity points for airing local team’s games, and kindly bosses understand that Thursday is an excusable sick day. Sometimes Friday, too.

We have a bracket. A beautiful bouncing baby bracket, all perfect and pure, just waiting for you to muck it up with ridiculous picks and red pen etched through team names in anger.

So, as you prep for the inevitable bracket abomination, here are some observations and maybe even a few picks.*

*Caveat: When she was an elementary schooler, my daughter annually picked the bracket based on mascot matchups . She won almost every year with deep analysis like the one she employed in 2012 to decide 12-seed Stephen F. Austin against 5-seed VCU. The Lumberjacks, she reasoned, had an axe and thereby would take it to the Rams. Stephen F. Austin won in overtime.

Weird seeds

OK, so it wouldn’t be Selection Sunday if we didn’t find a few things to grumble about.

The 5-seed line is where it’s at. An historic place for upsets to begin with, the 5-line includes a pair of legit head scratchers. St. John’s is 15th in the NET ranking and just won both the Big East regular-season and tournament title. Admittedly this isn’t 1985, but the Red Storm absolutely thumped UConn, a 2-seed, to win the title, and have won their last six.

Vanderbilt has beaten three Quad 1 teams in the last week – Tennessee twice and an absolute destruction of 1-seed Florida in the SEC Tournament semifinals

Beyond the five, Missouri sure got a nice treat. The bubble-watching Tigers not only were in as a very comfortable 10-seed; they get a virtual home game in St. Louis.

Can anyone beat the top seeds?

Well yes, apparently, since Vanderbilt (Florida) and Purdue (Michigan) just did.

As recently as last week, the line between maybe the top six teams – throwing in Houston and UConn – and everyone else seemed drawn pretty severely. And then we got the memory that this is March, and no matter how much these guys are getting paid, they’re still college kids.

One loss does not eliminate a season’s work, but it’s also important to keep an eye on the teams that are figuring it out, as opposed to the ones who are coasting by.

To wit, Purdue. Way back when, the Boilermakers opened the season as the No. 1 team in the nation. And then games happened and the Boilers tumbled and slid in wildly uncharacteristic ways. They lost games at Mackey Arena – they lost senior night (!) at Mackey, sliding all the way to a 7-seed in their own conference tournament.

But the team that so long has had a love-hate relationship with March (see Fairleigh Dickinson, circa 2023), might actually be doing the month right. Purdue is maybe playing its best basketball of the season, rolling all the way up to a 2-seed and a first-round date with Queens College in St. Louis. Playmaker extraordinaire Braden Smith is one dime away from breaking Bobby Hurley’s all-time assist record and big man Oscar Cluff suddenly is playing like he’s … well, a Purdue big man. He’s averaged 17 points and nine rebounds in the conference tourney.

The Final Four, remember, is in Indianapolis – about an hour’s ride from West Lafayette.

Frequent flier miles

Last week the NCAA sent a memo to all of its members warning them about the expected fallout due to a shortage of charter planes. Pack your patience was the theme, the memo warning about departure times as early as 8 a.m. and as late as 11 p.m. and even possible refueling for cross-country flights.

So maybe they can offer up a little carpooling in the air. St. John’s, LIU and Villanova – who all exist a good Northeast Corridor rail line ride away from one another – are all headed to San Diego.

On the flip side UCLA, which is an two-hour ride (or 19, depending on L.A. traffic) away from San Diego, is off to Philly. No one loves a travel conspiracy theory more than Mick Cronin. Should the Bruins get by Central Florida, they’ll get UConn, which will have a slight home arena advantage. Expect prop bets on which coach gets thrown out first.

Finally, Texas and NC State get to travel to Dayton for a First Four game on Tuesday and the winner then heads to Portland for a Thursday game. That seems … messy?

Thank you, transfer portal

In 2024, we were denied the beautiful wonder that is Robbie Avila in the NCAA Tournament. Cream Abdul Jabbar, as he was affectionately nicknamed, and his Indiana State teammates were denied an at-large spot amid a bid-stealing flurry in the conference tournaments that year.

But after his coach moved up to St. Louis, Avila followed and this year he and the Billikens are in the NCAA Tournament. St. Louis will play Georgia on Thursday in Buffalo in a game I wouldn’t count the Billikens out of. Avila has been battling a plantar fascia injury (as someone who had surgery on her plantar fascia, it is miserable) but he played 30 minutes or more in each of St. Louis’ two Atlantic 10 Tournament games and has a few days to rest up.

Both are high-wire offenses. The first to 100 might win this one.

Upsets to watch*

Back to the 5-12 line, this one in the Midwest: Akron loves to shoot threes. I mean, LOVES to shoot threes. Nearly half of their shots are from beyond the arc and in normal circumstances, that wouldn’t matter against the grind-you-like-a-mortar-and-pestle defense that is Texas Tech. But the Red Raiders horribly lost their best player, JT Toppin, to a knee injury and while head coach Grant McCasland has done a great job keeping things together, their defense is not nearly as good without him.

Had it not won the Atlantic 10 Tournament, VCU was apparently in danger of not making the field. Now that the Rams are in, don’t be surprised if they pull off the upset over North Carolina. The Tar Heels are playing without their star, Caleb Foster, who came back from a hand injury only to injure his thumb in practice. Serbian big man Lazar Djokovic has been playing well for the Rams and at 6-foot-11, offers up some much-needed size.

Without Richie Saunders, done with a knee injury, BYU defends no one. As in abject refusal. Ordinarily, AJ Dybantsa makes up for it. The freshman is the nation’s leading scorer, twice went for 40 or more points, and averaged 31 in the Big 12 Tournament. Granted Texas and NC State have not done a whole lot to inspire down the stretch – hence why they are in the First Four – but teams that get a win in Dayton often exit with a little swagger. That could be tricky for the Cougars in Portland.

Also a non-upset to watch: Nebraska, the only power conference team to never win an NCAA Tournament ends its streak here. The Cornhuskers will beat Troy.

*See note at the top about my daughter

Here are the full matchups for the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments:

Men’s tournament

East

No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 Siena at 2:50 p.m. ET on Thursday in Greenville, South Carolina. Duke is the tournament’s top overall seed. (CBS)
No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 TCU at 12:15 p.m. ET on Thursday in Greenville (CBS)
No. 5 St. John’s vs. No. 12 Northern Iowa 7:10 p.m. ET on Friday in San Diego, California (CBS)
No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 13 California Baptist University 9:45 p.m. ET on Friday in San Diego (CBS)
No. 6 Louisville vs. No. 11 South Florida at 1:30 p.m. ET on Thursday in Buffalo, New York (TNT)
No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 14 North Dakota State at 4:05 p.m. ET on Thursday in Buffalo (TNT)
No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 University of Central Florida 7:25 p.m. ET on Friday in Philadelphia (TBS)
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 15 Furman 10 p.m. ET on Friday in Philadelphia (TBS)

West

No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 16 Long Island University at 1:35 p.m. ET on Friday in San Diego (TNT)
No. 8 Villanova vs. No. 9 Utah State at 4:10 p.m. ET on Friday in San Diego (TNT)
No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 12 High Point at 1:50 p.m. ET on Thursday in Portland, Oregon (TBS)
No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 13 Hawaii at 4:25 p.m. ET on Thursday in Portland (TBS)
No. 6 BYU vs. No. 11 Texas/North Carolina State at 7:25 p.m. ET on Thursday in Portland (TBS). Texas and North Carolina State will play in the First Four at 9:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio on truTV.
No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 14 Kennesaw State 10 p.m. ET on Thursday in Portland (TBS)
No. 7 Miami (Florida) vs. No. 10 Missouri 10:10 p.m. ET on Friday in St. Louis (truTV)
No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 15 Queens at 7:35 p.m. ET on Friday in St. Louis (truTV)

Midwest

No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 16 University of Maryland, Baltimore County/Howard on Thursday in Buffalo (CBS). UMBC and Howard will play in the First Four on at 6:40 p.m. ET Tuesday in Dayton on truTV.
No. 8 Georgia vs. No. 9 Saint Louis at 9:45 p.m. ET on Thursday in Buffalo (CBS)
No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 12 Akron at 12:40 p.m. ET on Friday in Tampa, Florida (truTV)
No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 13 Hofstra at 3:15 p.m. ET on Friday in Tampa (truTV)
No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 11 Miami (Ohio)/SMU at 4:25 p.m. ET Friday in Philadelphia (TBS). Miami and SMU will play in the First Four at 9:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday in Dayton.
No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 14 Wright State at 1:50 p.m. ET on Friday in Philadelphia (TBS)
No. 7 Kentucky vs. No. 10 Santa Clara at 12:15 p.m. ET on Friday in St. Louis (CBS)
No. 2 Iowa State vs. No. 15 Tennessee State at 2:50 p.m. ET on Friday in St. Louis (CBS)

South

No. 1 Florida vs. No. 16 Prairie View A&M/Lehigh at 9:25 p.m. ET Friday in Tampa (TNT). Prairie View A&M and Lehigh will play in the First Four at 6:40 p.m. ET on Wednesday in Dayton, which will air on truTV.
No. 8 Clemson vs. No. 9 Iowa 6:50 p.m. ET on Friday in Tampa (TNT)
No. 5 Vanderbilt vs. No. 12 McNeese at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday in Oklahoma City (truTV)
No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 13 Troy at 12:40 p.m. ET on Thursday in Oklahoma City (truTV)
No. 6 North Carolina vs. No. 11 VCU 6:50 p.m. ET on Thursday in Greenville (TNT)
No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 14 University of Pennsylvania 9:25 p.m. ET on Thursday in Greenville (TNT)
No. 7 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 10 Texas A&M 7:35 p.m. ET on Thursday in Oklahoma City (truTV)
No. 2 Houston vs. No. 15 Idaho at 10:10 p.m. ET on Thursday in Oklahoma City (truTV)

Last four in, first four out for the men’s bracket

The CBS broadcast revealed on Sunday that the last four teams put into the bracket were North Carolina State, Texas, SMU and Miami (Ohio). The first four teams left out of the bracket were Oklahoma, Auburn, San Diego State and Indiana.

Women’s tournament

Regional 1 – Fort Worth

No. 1 UConn vs. No. 16 University of Texas-San Antonio on Saturday in Storrs, Connecticut
No. 8 Iowa State vs. No. 9 Syracuse on Saturday in Storrs
No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 13 Western Illinois on Friday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
No. 5 Maryland vs. No. 12 Murray State on Friday in Chapel Hill
No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 14 Howard on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio
No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Fairfield on Saturday in Columbus
No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 15 High Point on Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee
No. 7 Illinois vs. No. 10 Colorado on Saturday in Nashville

Regional 2 – Sacramento

No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 16 California Baptist University on Saturday in Los Angeles
No. 8 Oklahoma State vs. No. 9 Princeton on Saturday in Los Angeles
No. 4 Minnesota vs. No. 13 Green Bay on Friday in Minneapolis
No. 5 Ole Miss vs. No. 12 Gonzaga in Minneapolis
No. 3 Duke vs. No. 14 Charleston on Friday in Durham, North Carolina
No. 6 Baylor vs. No. 11 Nebraska/Richmond on Friday in Durham. Nebraska and Richmond will play in the First Four on Wednesday
No. 2 LSU vs. No. 15 Jacksonville on Friday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
No. 7 Texas Tech vs. No. 10 Villanova on Friday in Baton Rouge

Regional 3 – Fort Worth

No. 1 Texas vs. No. 16 Missouri State/Stephen F. Austin on Friday in Austin, Texas. Missouri State and Stephen F. Austin will play in the First Four on Wednesday.
No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 9 Virginia Tech on Friday in Austin
No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 13 Miami (Ohio) on Saturday in Morgantown, West Virginia
No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 12 James Madison in Morgantown
No. 3 Louisville vs. No. 14 Vermont on Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky
No. 6 Alabama vs. No. 11 Rhode Island on Saturday in Louisville
No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 15 Holy Cross on Friday in Ann Arbor, Michigan
No. 7 North Carolina State vs. No. 10 Tennessee on Friday in Ann Arbor

Regional 4 – Sacramento

No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 16 Southern/Samford on Saturday in Columbia, South Carolina. Southern and Samford will play in the First Four on Thursday.
No. 8 Clemson vs. No. 9 USC on Saturday in Columbia
No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 13 Idaho on Friday in Norman, Oklahoma
No. 5 Michigan State vs. No. 12 Colorado State on Friday in Norman
No. 3 TCU vs. No. 14 University of California-San Diego on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas
No. 6 Washington vs. No. 11 South Dakota State on Friday in Fort Worth
No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 15 Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday in Iowa City, Iowa
No. 7 Georgia vs. No. 10 Virginia/Arizona State on Saturday in Iowa City. Virginia and Arizona State will play in the First Four on Thursday.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

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