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Prepare to build your March Madness bracket.
Selection Sunday has arrived, meaning the 2026 NCAA Tournament is on the horizon. On Sunday, the official field for March Madness will be unveiled, with 31 teams receiving automatic bids to the big dance, and another 37 set to appear with an at-large bid.
The bracket will be revealed live on CBS, with some teams feeling a bit more comfortable about their March Madness chances heading into Sunday than others. While Duke, Michigan and Arizona will have strong shots at a No. 1 seed, teams like VCU, Missouri and New Mexico are projected right on the bubble.
Once the bracket is officially locked in, the NCAA Tournament will soon begin with the First Four. From there, expect to see shocking upsets, dominance from college stars and the kind of back-and-forth action that makes college basketball’s postseason bracket an annual event. Once Selection Sunday has concluded, all predictions can be made.
The Sporting News is tracking the 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket reveal throughout Selection Sunday. Here’s the latest on the field, seeding and more.
MARCH MADNESS HQ: Full TV schedule | Field of 68 projections | Printable bracket
March Madness bracket 2026
PRINTABLE: Get your 2026 March Madness bracket here
This section will be updated as the bracket is revealed.
First Four
| Game | Matchup | Date |
| 1 | TBD vs. TBD | March 17 |
| 2 | TBD vs. TBD | March 17 |
| 3 | TBD vs. TBD | March 18 |
| 4 | TBD vs. TBD | March 18 |
Midwest Region
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West Region
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East Region
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South Region
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SN AWARDS: All-America team | Boozer Player of the Year | Lloyd Coach of the Year
NCAA bracket live updates from Selection Sunday
1:15 p.m. – Let’s take a look at the scores across the board, as the entire slate has headed into timeouts.
- Ivy: UPenn 47-46 Yale (15:17 left in second half)
- A10: VCU 10-5 Dayton (14:48 left in first half)
- SEC: Vanderbilt 9-7 Arkansas (15:25 left in first half)
1:04 p.m. – With the A10 and SEC finals having kicked off, it’s never too early to look ahead at this afternoon’s Big Ten Championship. CBS’s Clark Kellogg says No. 18 Purdue may hold the slight edge over No. 3 Michigan.
“Purdue is positioned defensively to give Michigan a much stiffer test today.”@ClarkKelloggCBS points out that Purdue has looked better defensively recently. pic.twitter.com/DRMUJHkoSi
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 15, 2026
12:57 p.m. – According to CBS’s Seth Davis, if Dayton were to defeat VCU today, a bubble team may have its bid stolen away.
“If Dayton wins this game, one of those bubble teams will be unfortunately on the outside looking in.”@SethDavisHoops thinks Dayton would steal a bid from a bubble team if they win the @Atlantic10 Championship Game today. pic.twitter.com/8oxXgb66Lt
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 15, 2026
12:53 p.m. – As the Ivy League championship is in halftime, two more conference championships are set to kick off at 1:00 p.m. ET. Dayton and VCU are set to clash to determine who will best the Atlantic 10 conference, while Vanderbilt vs. Arkansas will show if it is either the Commodores or the Razorbacks year to rule the SEC.
12:49 p.m. – Halftime has hit in Newman Arena (Cornell) in Ithaca, NY, and the Quakers take a 41-39 lead to the locker room. Virginia transfer TJ Power has been cruising in the first half, with 23 points (his most in a half ever) on 8/15 shooting and eight rebounds. If Power stays out of foul trouble, he may be able to carry UPenn to the upset and their first NCAA Tournament appearance in eight years.
12:38 p.m. – With just under four minutes to go in the first half, UPenn’s TJ Power has 23 points and seven rebounds. The Quakers currently hold a 34-30 lead over the Ivy League’s best team. If UPenn wins today, it would guarantee their first appearance in an NCAA Tournament since 2018.
12:07 p.m. – Yale and UPenn kick Sunday’s action off as the first championship of the day on ESPN2. The Bulldogs have gone 24-5 (11-3 in Ivy), while the Quakers are 17-11 (9-5 in Ivy). Yale is looking to dance in three straight NCAA Tournaments.
12:05 p.m. – History will be made either way in this afternoon’s SEC Championship. Vanderbilt and Arkansas have both gone over a decade without taking the SEC crown. Today, that changes for one of the programs.
A decade-plus drought will be broken today in the SEC (1 PM ET on on ESPN and the ESPN App) 👀
Vanderbilt’s last SEC Tournament title: 2012
Arkansas’ last SEC Tournament title: 2000
If Arkansas wins, John Calipari would become the first coach to win the SEC Tournament with… pic.twitter.com/BxUzWBeYG1
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) March 15, 2026
12:00 p.m. – Selection Sunday is finally here. In case you missed last night’s conference games, Duke defeated Virginia 74-70, St. John’s routed UConn 72-52, and Vanderbilt upset Florida handily 91-74 to reach their first SEC title game in 14 years.
Sunday’s Conference Championship schedule
| Conference | Matchup | Time | Result |
| Ivy League | UPenn vs. Yale | 12:00 p.m. ET | TBA |
| Atlantic 10 | Dayton vs. VCU | 1:00 p.m. ET | TBA |
| SEC | Vanderbilt vs. Arkansas | 1:00 p.m. ET | TBA |
| AAC | Wichita State vs. USF | 3:15 p.m. ET | TBA |
| Big Ten | Purdue vs. Michigan | 3:30 p.m. ET | TBA |
2026 NCAA Tournament autobids
- America East: UMBC
- American: TBD
- Atlantic 10:
- ACC: Duke
- ASUN: Queens (NC)
- Big 12: Arizona
- Big East: St. John’s
- Big Sky: Idaho
- Big South: High Point
- Big Ten: TBD
- Big West: Hawaii
- CAA: Hofstra
- Conference USA: Kennesaw State
- Horizon League: Wright State
- Ivy League: TBD
- MAAC: Siena
- MAC: Akron
- MEAC: Howard
- Missouri Valley: UNI
- Mountain West: Utah State
- Northeast: LIU
- Ohio Valley: Tennessee State
- Patriot League: Lehigh
- SEC: TBD
- SoCon: Furman
- Southland: McNeese
- SWAC: Prairie View A&M
- Summit League: North Dakota State
- Sun Belt: Troy
- West Coast: Gonzaga
- WAC: Cal Baptist
Biggest NCAA Tournament snubs
This section will be updated with top March Madness snubs after the bracket is revealed.
March Madness bracket predictions 2026
Here are the latest 2026 NCAA Tournament projections entering Selection Sunday, according to SN college basketball expert Bill Bender:
No. 1 seeds
- Duke (32-2, 17-1 ACC)
- Michigan (31-2, 19-1 Big Ten)
- Arizona (32-2, 16-2 Big 12)
- Florida (26-7, 16-2 SEC)
Last four in
- UCF (21-11, 9-9 Big 12)
- Texas (18-14, 9-9 SEC)
- SMU (20-13, 8-10 ACC)
- Missouri (20-12, 10-8 SEC)
First four out
- San Diego State (22-11, 14-6 MWC)
- Auburn (17-16, 7-11 SEC)
- Indiana (18-14, 9-11 Big Ten)
- New Mexico (23-10, 13-7 MWC)
Read our full Field of 68 predictions here.
How to watch Selection Sunday show
The one-hour Selection Sunday show will air at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 15.
The entire March Madness bracket will be revealed throughout the course of the show, with Adam Zucker leading CBS’ Selection Sunday coverage from New York alongside analysts Clark Kellogg, Jay Wright and Seth Davis.
Once the bracket is unveiled, NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee Chair Bubba Cunningham will join the broadcast to discuss the selections.
When does March Madness start in 2026?
- First four: March 17-18
- Round 1: March 19-20
The 2026 NCAA Tournament begins March 17-18 with the First Four play-in games. The first and second rounds will be held from March 19-22 followed by the Sweet 16 (March 26-27) and Elite Eight (March 28-29) a week later. This year’s Final Four will take place April 4-6 from Indianapolis.
March Madness schedule 2026
Here’s a look at the tentative March Madness schedule by round. This section will be updated with complete matchups, times and TV information when it is announced.
| Round | Date |
| First Four | March 17-18 |
| Round 1 | March 19-20 |
| Round 2 | March 21-22 |
| Sweet 16 | March 26-27 |
| Elite Eight | March 28-29 |
| Final Four | April 4 |
| National championship | April 6 |