Who makes the Dance?
A team's résumé can look very different depending on which metric you start with. Compare the evidence, see my bracket, and build your own field.
Duke, Florida, Illinois, and UConn lead the board.
ESPN BPI's top line: a straight ranking, no committee judgment. NET arrives in early December.
Selection Sunday · Mar 14, 2027See all 16 lines
374 Grant's bracket 2026 field · Paymon score, 68-team format of 408 possible · my 2026 field, built by hand
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Men's · 2026
DukeACC
1My seed
1Committee
Exact
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Women's · 2026
UConn
–My seed
1Committee
No pick on record
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Men's · 2026
VanderbiltSEC
3My seed
5Committee
Two seeds too high
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Men's · 2026
Utah StateMountain West
7My seed
9Committee
Two seeds too high
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Women's · 2026
South Carolina
–My seed
1Committee
No pick on record
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Men's · 2026
MichiganBig Ten
1My seed
1Committee
Exact
Examples I picked from the 2026 field, not a forecast. Men's cards show my seed beside the committee's; women's cards show the committee's only, as I have no graded women's bracket yet.
Start here
- Learn the Selection Process How the men's and women's committees select teams, compare résumés and assign seeds. How selection works
- The Forecast My projected field and seeds, alongside team sheets and a comparison with your bracket. See the bracket forecast
- Build Your Bracket in the Bracket Studio Compare résumés, build your seed list, and save or share your bracket. Open the studio
The 76-team field reaches about 10 spots deeper.
76 seats: 32 automatic bids and 44 at large, 8 more at-large bids than the 68-team field.
NET rank of the last at-large team in. Hollow is the 68-team field, solid is 76.
- 2021 Ranked 47 under the 68-team field, 57 under 76 +10
- 2022 Ranked 48 under the 68-team field, 58 under 76 +10
- 2023 Ranked 47 under the 68-team field, 60 under 76 +13
- 2024 Ranked 42 under the 68-team field, 53 under 76 +11
- 2025 Ranked 46 under the 68-team field, 54 under 76 +8
- 2026 Ranked 46 under the 68-team field, 53 under 76 +7
- Median 46.5 to 55.5 +10
End of season, 2021 to 2026. A yardstick, not a forecast: the committee weighs more than NET, and no 76-team field exists yet.