2026 Men's Final Bracket

My final bracket before Selection Sunday, scored against the official NCAA field. Every seed line below is graded with the Paymon Scoring System, which rewards exact placement over just picking the right 68 teams. This is one completed season, not yet a track record. Full methodology on the model page.

374
Paymon score
52
Exact seed line
6 pts each
14
One seed off
4 pts each
2
Two+ off
3 pts each
68/68
Teams selected
100% of 68-team field
Built for the 68-team format (last used 2026) · Max score: 408 pts · The 76-team era raises the max to 456 · Scores across formats are not directly comparable
1
Duke✓ 1
Michigan✓ 1
Arizona✓ 1
Florida✓ 1
2
Houston✓ 2
Iowa State✓ 2
UConn✓ 2
Purdue✓ 2
3
Gonzaga✓ 3
Michigan State✓ 3
Illinois✓ 3
Vanderbilt✗ 5
4
Virginia~ 3
Nebraska✓ 4
Arkansas✓ 4
Alabama✓ 4
5
St. John's✓ 5
Kansas~ 4
Texas Tech✓ 5
Wisconsin✓ 5
6
North Carolina✓ 6
Tennessee✓ 6
Louisville✓ 6
BYU✓ 6
7
Miami (FL)✓ 7
Utah State✗ 9
Clemson~ 8
Kentucky✓ 7
8
Saint Mary's~ 7
Villanova✓ 8
UCLA✓ 7
Ohio State✓ 8
9
Saint Louis✓ 9
Georgia~ 8
TCU✓ 9
Iowa✓ 9
10
NC State~ 11
UCF✓ 10
Texas A&M✓ 10
Miami (OH)~ 11
11
Missouri~ 10
VCU✓ 11
Santa Clara~ 10
SMU✓ 11
Texas✓ 11
McNeese State~ 12
12
South Florida~ 11
Akron✓ 12
Northern Iowa✓ 12
High Point✓ 12
13
Cal Baptist✓ 13
Hofstra✓ 13
North Dakota St.~ 14
Hawai'i✓ 13
14
Pennsylvania✓ 14
Troy~ 13
Wright State✓ 14
Kennesaw State✓ 14
15
Idaho✓ 15
Tennessee State✓ 15
Furman✓ 15
Queens✓ 15
16
Siena~ 15
Howard✓ 16
Long Island✓ 16
UMBC✓ 16
Lehigh✓ 16
Prairie View A&M✓ 16

Bubble

Last Four In
Missouri Santa Clara SMU Texas
First Four Out
Auburn Oklahoma San Diego State Indiana
Next Four Out
Virginia Tech Seton Hall New Mexico California
Also Considered
Cincinnati Oklahoma St. Stanford West Virginia