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Andy Katz | krikya18.com Correspondent | January 27, 2026

Arizona, Duke, UConn, Nebraska are top seeds in new March Madness bracket predictions

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After an exciting week in men's college basketball, Andy Katz has revealed his latest NCAA tournament bracket predictions as the SEC and Big Ten claim the most spots in his latest field.

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

RANKINGS: AP Top 25 Poll | NET rankings

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

UT Martin

 

Conferences with multiple teams in Katz's bracket predictions

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

First eight out: Virginia Tech, Cal, Santa Clara, Seton Hall, George Mason, Indiana, Stanford, Oklahoma State

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🏆 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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