NCAA bracket predictions: Model reveals surprising March Madness 2026 tournament picks
The Florida Gators are the defending national champions and look like contenders in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. The Gators are the No. 1 seed in the South Region of the 2026 March Madness bracket after winning the SEC regular season title. Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh were key contributors to last year’s team and returned to lead the Gators in 2026. Additionally, they will play close to home in the first weekend of the 2026 NCAA bracket in Tampa.
Florida is one of 10 SEC teams included in the 2026 NCAA Tournament this season and the conference is hoping for another strong showing in March Madness after putting a record seven teams in the Sweet 16 last season. Now that the 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket is out, you have until Thursday to enter the 2026 March Madness bracket picks. Before making any March Madness 2026 bracket predictions, be sure to check out the 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket picks from SportsLine’s proven computer model.
Their proven projection model has simulated every tournament match 10,000 times. He recently completely crushed his March Madness picks, beating more than 91 percent of all CBS Sports brackets in four of the last seven tournaments. It was everywhere in UConn’s championship run two years ago and won 12 teams in the Sweet 16 last year. He also correctly predicted all four Final Four teams in 2025.
He also knows how to spot an upheaval. The same model has produced brackets that have pulled off 25 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception in 2016.
Now, with the reveal of the 2026 NCAA bracket, the model simulates the matchups and its results are available. You can only see it on SportsLine.
Three March Madness 2026 bracket games to watch
One of the most intriguing March Madness 2026 matchups to watch: No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 TCU in the East Region. Jake Diebler guided the Buckeyes to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2022 in his second season at the helm. Ohio State went 21-12 overall this season and 12-8 in Big Ten play. Meanwhile, Jaime Dixon will be making his fifth NCAA Tournament appearance since taking over the Horned Frogs in 2016. TCU is 22-11 overall this season and 11-7 in the Big 12 and has won six of its last seven games entering the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Another 2026 NCAA Tournament game to watch is No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 UCF in the East Region. UCLA will be making its 54th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament and this is the fifth time in seven years that Mick Cronin has taken the Bruins dancing since he took over. UCLA went 23-11 overall this season and 13-7 in the Big Ten, while UCF is 21-11 and 9-9 in the Big 12. Head coach Johnny Dawkins will lead the Knights to their second March Madness appearance in his 10th season at the helm in Orlando.
Another March Madness 2026 game to watch: No. 6 Louisville vs. No. 11 South Florida in the East Region. Pat Kelsey ended a five-year NCAA Tournament drought in his first season at Louisville’s helm last season and he’s taking the Cardinals dancing again. Louisville went 23-10 overall this season and was 11-7 in the ACC while South Florida went 25-8 overall and won the AAC regular season and tournament titles. This is Bryan Hodgson’s first season leading the Bulls and the program’s first tournament appearance since 2013. You can only see the model’s picks in the 2026 NCAA bracket here.
How to make 2026 NCAA bracket predictions
Who wins each tournament-defining match? And which teams will make surprising runs through the 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket? With the model’s track record of making upset calls, you’ll want to see which stunners he calls this year before locking in the 2026 NCAA bracket picks.
So, what is the optimal bracket for the 2026 NCAA Tournament? And which NCAA Cinderella Tournament teams will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which double-digit seeds you can confidently back, all from the model that called all four Final Four teams in 2025.
