Jeff Borzello makes his picks for the 2026 NCAA tournament, from the First Four through the Final Four.
For the past three decades or so, I've printed out a blank bracket on Selection Sunday to fill out as the NCAA tournament is announced. I used to hem and haw over my selections for days, and it never worked out, so now we're taking tinkering out of the process and revealing my bracket picks .
.. instantly. So here's my true instant bracket, filled out as the field was announced. And I promise not to make any changes. No second-guessing here!The subplots in the East are wildly intriguing -- and it doesn't take long to get rolling. There's a potential second-round coaching matchup between Rick Pitino and Bill Self. What will Pitino have up his sleeve to slow down? There's a potential second-round sideline spectacle between Dan Hurley and Mick Cronin. And look at the point guards in the bottom half of the region: UConn's I anticipate the matchups will go according to seed in the first round, but I'm going with St. John's over Kansas in the second. The Red Storm had a case to be seeded ahead of Kansas after winning both the Big East regular-season and conference tournament championships, and they seem to have put the UConn blowout loss deep in the rearview mirror. That sets up a showdown between Duke and St. John's in the Sweet 16, and a terrific individual matchup between In the bottom of the region, we're buying back into UConn. The Huskies have often had more success outside the Big East, and the bottom half of the region sets up well for Hurley's team. If healthy, a surging UCLA team could be the stiffest matchup for UConn, but the Huskies have enough. And I'm going with UConn over Duke in the Elite Eight, with the Huskies getting to the Final Four -- and preventing a national semifinal with all four 1-seeds again.There's serious star power in the West. There's Arizona's slew of potential first-round picks. There's Wisconsin's elite backcourt duo ofThe most logical upset potential in this region comes from High Point, although if it becomes a battle of offenses, the Panthers aren't going to outscore the Badgers. Boyd and Blackwell are performing at far too high a level right now to lose in that scenario. Then their second-round game against Arkansas -- which has perhaps the most Kemba Walker-like player in this tournament with Acuff, who just carried the Razorbacks to an SEC tournament title -- should be one of the games of the tournament.In the Elite Eight, we're once again going with the top-two seeds. Arizona is playing as well as any contender, and Purdue really found top form in the Big Ten tournament. The Wildcats should edge the Boilermakers in this one.Miami is in -- and in Dayton! But taking a step back, this region sets up really well for Michigan and Iowa State to battle in the Elite Eight for a trip to Indianapolis.Iowa State will likely have to go through plenty of size throughout the bracket, especially against Virginia's vaunted shot blocker Also in the Midwest: A potential 12-over-5 upset watch is in order for Akron against a Texas Tech team that hasn't looked the same sincewith an ACL injury. Then there's Alabama, which has one of the elite takeover guards in the country inWith the way this region took shape, though, it seems Michigan is Final Four bound. Despite the Wolverines' recent struggles, this is a team built to win games in March.There are a couple of very intriguing potential rematches that stick out in the South. There's a potential Sweet 16 showdown between Florida and Vanderbilt, which just met in the SEC tournament semifinals, where the Commodores won by 17. And there's a potential Elite Eight matchup between Florida and Houston, which would be a rematch of last year's national championship game -- except this time, it would take placeThere's potential for multiple upsets throughout this region. McNeese is a high-octane group with high-major athleticism, and the Cowboys can give Vanderbilt a game. Troy is a well-coached unit that played in the NCAA tournament last year, and the Trojans will go against a Nebraska team without a tournament win in program history. VCU, which just won the Atlantic 10 tournament, is a real threat to North Carolina. The South has three Final Four-caliber teams ready to duke it out. Florida, the reigning champ, is the favorite. And a Sweet 16 matchup between Illinois and Houston should be one of the best games of the tournament. We'll go with the Gators to get back to the Final Four, though. Todd Golden's team has too much inside for a Houston team that isn't quite as imposing defensively as it has been in recent years. The Gators' backcourt will have their hands full with the Cougars' electric perimeter trio ofkept Duke out of my Final Four -- and my bracket from having all four 1-seeds advancing to the Final Four for the second year in a row. I'm banking on UConn to find top form now that the Huskies are out of Big East play. They have size, balance, depth and the shotmakers -- but their run will end against the same team that knocked them out a year ago. Florida was humbled by Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament semifinals, but prior to that game, the Gators were playing arguably better than they were down the stretch of last season's title run. Their frontcourt trio of The other side of the bracket will feature the two best teams in the country: Arizona and Michigan. Prior to Cason's injury, the Wolverines looked like the odds-on favorite to cut down the nets. Without Cason, Dusty May needs six straight high-level games from Cadeau. Is the North Carolina transfer up to the task? Arizona has been playing lights-out sinceis as clutch and touch as it gets late in games. They also have the size to battle Michigan up front. Arizona moves on.
Tcu-Horned-Frogs Queens-University-Royals South-Florida-Bulls Kansas-Jayhawks Idaho-Vandals Gonzaga-Bulldogs Illinois-Fighting-Illini St-Johns-Red-Storm Clemson-Tigers High-Point-Panthers Uconn-Huskies Nebraska-Cornhuskers Miami-Hurricanes Pennsylvania-Quakers Houston-Cougars Purdue-Boilermakers Villanova-Wildcats Long-Island-University-Sharks Utah-State-Aggies California-Baptist-Lancers North-Carolina-Tar-Heels Saint-Marys-Gaels Missouri-Tigers Arkansas-Razorbacks Nc-State-Wolfpack Siena-Heights-Saints Hawaii-Rainbow-Warriors Florida-Gators Duke-Blue-Devils North-Dakota-State-Bison Lehigh-Mountain-Hawks Arizona-Wildcats Texas-Longhorns Troy-Trojans Furman-Paladins Mcneese-Cowboys Kennesaw-State-Owls Ohio-State-Buckeyes Iowa-Hawkeyes Northern-Iowa-Panthers Byu-Cougars Vanderbilt-Commodores Mens-College-Basketball Texas-A-M-Aggies Vcu-Rams Louisville-Cardinals Michigan-State-Spartans Wisconsin-Badgers News-Ncaa-Tournament Ucf-Knights Prairie-View-A-M-Panthers Ucla-Bruins 18718897
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