My 2026 March Madness Bracket Picks
Every year I fill out a bracket knowing full well it’ll be busted by Thursday night. But that’s the whole point. You commit to something on paper, defend it to your friends, and then watch a 12-seed from a school you’ve never heard of tear the whole thing apart.
Here’s where I landed this year.
East Region
The East is loaded. Duke and UConn on the same side of the bracket feels cruel, but I’m riding UConn’s experience to the Elite Eight and beyond.
Northern Iowa over St. John’s is my first upset pick. St. John’s has been inconsistent down the stretch and N. Iowa plays that suffocating mid-major defense that gives tournament teams fits.
UConn over Duke in the Elite Eight. I keep going back and forth on this one, but UConn in March just hits different. They’ve been here before and it shows.
West Region
Arizona’s the top seed but I’ve got Miami pulling off upsets to make the Elite Eight. Hear me out.
No real chaos in the first round here. Utah St. over Villanova is borderline, but the Mountain West has been tough this year.
Miami’s run ends in the Elite Eight. Arizona’s just too deep. But Miami over Purdue and Gonzaga back-to-back would be a great story.
South Region
Florida’s the top seed but Houston is my pick to come out of this region. The Cougars defend like they take it personally.
VCU over North Carolina. VCU lives for this. Havoc ball in March is a nightmare matchup for a team like UNC that can get careless with the ball.
Houston’s defense is the kind of thing that wears you down over four games. Florida’s good, but Houston in a grind-it-out Elite Eight game? I’ll take the Cougars.
Midwest Region
This is where I get weird. Akron over Texas Tech, Michigan to the Final Four, and yes, I believe in it.
Akron over Texas Tech is my big upset pick. Every year there’s a 12-over-5 that feels obvious in hindsight. This is the one.
Akron’s run ends in the Sweet 16, but what a ride. Michigan’s balanced offense and Big Ten toughness carry them through.
The Final Four
Houston over Michigan for the title. I know, I know. Michigan’s had a great year and the storylines are there. But Houston’s defense is championship-level, and Kelvin Sampson’s teams don’t crack under pressure. The Cougars win it all.
Check back in three weeks to see how badly this aged.