March Madness Bracket REVEALED: Duke Is No. 1 Overall Seed — Full 68-Team Field & First Round Schedule

The wait is over! The 68-team bracket for the 2026 NCAA tournament is here, kicking off the best three weeks of the year: March Madness! (The New York Times)

🏆 The Four No. 1 Seeds

ACC champion Duke earned the top overall seed in the tournament as the No. 1 team in the East Region. Momentum mattered for Purdue, which was granted the No. 2 seed in the West after beating Michigan 80-72 for the Big Ten championship Sunday. (The New York Times)

Region

No. 1 Seed

Record

🔵 East

Duke

32-2

🔴 West

Arizona

32-2

🟡 Midwest

Michigan

31-3

🟢 South

Florida

26-7

👑 Duke — The Team to Beat

Duke enters March Madness with a 32-2 record and an 11-game winning streak, with its most recent win coming against Virginia in the ACC Tournament Championship. Duke is facing Siena in a first-round matchup on Thursday, March 19. (Daily Mail)

But there's a warning! Duke has UConn and Michigan State — two of the 11 KenPom-certified national championship contenders — before even reaching the Final Four. Duke is the best team in the country and has the hardest path to the championship. (The New York Times)

💰 Championship Odds

Michigan enters the tournament with a slight odds edge (+325 via BetMGM) over ACC champion Duke (+333), followed by Big 12 winner Arizona (+425) and last year's champion, Florida (+600). (The New York Times)

🏀 East Region — Full Bracket

No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 Siena

No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 TCU

No. 5 St. John's vs. No. 12 Northern Iowa

No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 13 Cal Baptist

No. 6 Louisville vs. No. 11 South Florida

No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 14 North Dakota State

No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 UCF

No. 2 UConn vs. No. 15 Furman (The New York Times)

🫧 Last 4 Teams IN & OUT

The last four teams to make the tournament were North Carolina State (20-13), Texas (18-14), SMU (20-13) and Miami of Ohio (31-1). The last four teams to miss the tournament were Oklahoma (19-15), Auburn (17-16), San Diego State (22-11) and Indiana (18-14). (The New York Times)

📅 Schedule

The "First Four" games will be played Tuesday, March 17 and Wednesday, March 18 in Dayton, Ohio, ahead of the four regions beginning first-round play Thursday and Friday. (The New York Times)

Round

Dates

First Four

March 17-18 — Dayton, OH

Round of 64

March 19-20

Round of 32

March 21-22

Sweet 16

March 27-28

Elite Eight

March 29-30

Final Four

April 4 — Indianapolis

Championship

April 6 — Indianapolis

Who is your pick to win it all? Drop your Final Four below! 🏆👇