March Madness has officially begun, with the regular season over and conference tournaments in full swing. They will all lead up to the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament, with the matchups getting locked down on Selection Sunday. Before March 15 rolls around, though, it’s prime Bracketology season, when the entire college basketball world makes their picks for who will play who.
Taking the consensus bracketologist projections, NET rankings, our own prognostication and other factors into account, here is how DraftKings currently thinks the bracket will shape up:
East Regional (Washington DC)
- Duke vs. 16. Merrimack
8. UCLA vs. 9. TCU
5. Vanderbilt vs. 12. SF Austin
4. Virginia vs. 13. Hofstra
6. Wisconsin vs. 11. NC State / Missouri
3. Iowa State vs. 14. North Dakota State
7. Miami (FL) vs. 10. Santa Clara
2. Illinois vs. 15. Wright State
Midwest Regional (Chicago)
- Michigan vs. 16. Howard / UMBC
8. Clemson vs. 9. St. Louis
5. St. John’s vs. 12. Yale
4. Kansas vs. 13. Liberty
6. Tennessee vs. 11. SMU
3. Purdue vs. 14. Troy
7. Villanova vs. 10. Miami (OH)
2. Houston vs. 15. Queens
South Regional (Houston)
- Florida vs. 16. Long Island / Bethune Cookman
8. Utah State vs. 9. Iowa
5. Arkansas vs. 12. South Florida
4. Texas Tech vs. 13. Utah Valley
6. BYU vs. 11. Texas / Indiana
3. Nebraska vs. 14. Portland State
7. Kentucky vs. 10. UCF
2. UConn vs. 15. Furman
West Regional (San Jose)
- Arizona vs. 16. Lehigh
8. Georgia vs. 9. Ohio State
5. North Carolina vs. 12. High Point
4. Alabama vs. 13. Northern Iowa
6. Louisville vs. 11. VCU
3. Gonzaga vs. 14. UC Irvine
7. Saint Mary’s vs. 10. Texas A&M
2. Michigan State vs. 15. Tennessee State
NCAA Tournament Bubble
Last Four Byes
- UCF
- Santa Clara
- VCU
- SMU
Last Four In
- NC State
- Texas
- Indiana
- Missouri
First Four Out
- Virginia Tech
- San Diego State
- Stanford
- Auburn
