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Andy Katz | krikya18.com Correspondent | January 20, 2026

2026 March Madness men's bracket predictions: Andy Katz's first NCAA tournament projections of the year

Final buzzer bench reactions from last 20 years of March Madness

With March Madness fast approaching, Andy Katz unveiled his first NCAA tournament bracket predictions of the season with Arizona, Duke, UConn and Nebraska grabbing the No. 1 seeds. 

Take a look at his predicted 68-team field below. 

RANKINGS: AP Top 25 Poll | NET rankings

SEED West MIDWEST EAST SOUTH
1 Arizona Nebraska Duke UConn
16 Bethune-Cookman/UMES Navy Saint Peter’s/Vermont LIU
         
8 Utah State Miami (Fla.) Wisconsin SMU
9 USC Saint Louis Kentucky Saint Mary's
         
5 Clemson Kansas Arkansas Alabama
12 Yale Murray State Florida Atlantic Liberty
         
4 Florida Vanderbilt Texas Tech Virginia
13 Troy UNC Wilmington Utah Valley Stephen F. Austin
         
6 Villanova St. John's Louisville North Carolina
11 Missouri/New Mexico Stanford/Baylor Ohio State Miami (Ohio)
         
3 Michigan State Illinois Iowa State BYU
14 North Dakota State Wright State UT Martin Portland State
         
7 UCF Iowa Georgia Tennessee
10 Texas A&M Auburn Seton Hall San Diego State
         
2 Gonzaga Houston Purdue Michigan
15 UC Irvine East Tennessee State Winthrop Queens

Conferences with multiple teams in Katz's bracket predictions

Conference Total Teams Teams
SEC 10 Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
Big Ten 9 Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Purdue, USC, Wisconsin
Big 12 8

Arizona, BYU, Baylor, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Tech, UCF

ACC 8 Clemson, Duke, Miami (Fla.), Louisville, North Carolina, SMU, Stanford, Virginia
Big East 4 Seton Hall, St. John’s, UConn, Villanova
Mountain West 3 New Mexico, San Diego State, Utah State
West Coast 2 Gonzaga, Saint Mary's

  Andy Katz's field of 68

Here is Katz’s full seed list in order, from one through 68: 

  1. Arizona (1) AQ Big 12
  2. Duke (1) AQ ACC
  3. UConn (1) AQ Big East
  4. Nebraska (1)
  5. Michigan (2)
  6. Purdue (2)
  7. Houston (2)
  8. Gonzaga (2) AQ WCC
  9. Iowa State (3)
  10. Michigan State (3)
  11. BYU (3)
  12. Illinois (3)
  13. Vanderbilt (4)
  14. Virginia (4)
  15. Florida (4) AQ SEC
  16. Texas Tech (4)
  17. Alabama (5)
  18. Kansas (5)
  19. Clemson (5)
  20. Arkansas (5)
  21. St. John’s (6)
  22. Louisville (6)
  23. Villanova (6)
  24. North Carolina (6)
  25. Georgia (7)
  26. Tennessee (7)
  27. Iowa (7)
  28. UCF (7)
  29. Utah State (8)
  30. SMU (8)
  31. Miami (Fla.) 8
  32. Wisconsin (8)
  33. Kentucky (9)
  34. Saint Louis (9) AQ A10
  35. USC (9)
  36. St. Mary’s (9)
  37. Auburn (10)
  38. Texas A&M (10)
  39. Seton Hall (10)
  40. San Diego State (10) AQ MWC
  41. Ohio State (11)
  42. Miami (Ohio) (11) AQ MAC
  43. Stanford (11)
  44. Baylor (11)
  45. Missouri (11)
  46. New Mexico (11)
  47. Murray State (12) AQ MVC
  48. Liberty (12) AQ CUSA
  49. Yale (12) AQ Ivy
  50. Florida Atlantic (12) AQ American
  51. Utah Valley (13) AQ WAC
  52. UNC Wilmington (13) AQ CAA
  53. Stephen F. Austin (13) AQ Southland
  54. Troy (13) AQ Sun Belt
  55. UT Martin (14) AQ OVC
  56. North Dakota State (14) AQ Summit
  57. Portland State (14) AQ Big Sky
  58. Wright State (14) AQ Horizon
  59. Winthrop (15) AQ Big South
  60. UC Irvine (15) AQ Big West
  61. Queens (15) AQ ASUN
  62. East Tennessee State (15) AQ Southern 
  63. LIU (16) AQ NEC
  64. Navy (16) AQ Patriot
  65. Saint Peter’s (16) AQ MAAC
  66. Vermont (16) AQ America East
  67. Bethune-Cookman (16) AQ SWAC
  68. Maryland Eastern-Shore (16) AQ MEAC

First four out: Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, George Mason, Santa Clara

👀 FOLLOW: Scoreboard | AP rankings | Stats
🏆 HISTORY: Title winners | MOP winners | Most tournament titles
📝 EXPLAINERS: NET rankings | Field of 68
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The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions.

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