Men’s Bracketology: 2026 NCAA Tournament
By Joe Lunardi Updated: 07/29/2025 at 7:00 a.m. ET
What do bracketologists do in the college basketball offseason? The answer, of course, is work on forecasting next season’s field of 68! We’ve been tracking every transfer, portal maneuver and NBA draft entry (and exit) in a comprehensive database of rosters that we use to project the offensive and defensive efficiency of each team and its rank within every conference. The result is an updated bracket each month until October.
Bracket Watch
The announcement flew under the radar a bit, but Grand Canyon’s accelerated move from the WAC to the Mountain West for the upcoming season is quite significant from a bracket perspective. The most obvious implication is that a team other than GCU, which captured four of the WAC’s past five automatic bids, will represent the conference in the 2026 NCAA tournament. Utah Valley is our choice for the moment, but the Wolverines also will be headed out — to the Big West next summer. The more intriguing question revolves around the Lopes’ prospects in the Mountain West. The MW has garnered a whopping 15 at-large bids since the COVID-19 season, but the league will lose San Diego State, Utah State, Boise State and Colorado State — four of the five annual contenders — as well as Fresno State after this season. GCU will be among those counted on to pick up the slack. The Lopes will have the necessary resources long term, but an at-large bid this season might be asking a lot.
On the Bubble
68-Team Bracket
MIDWEST (CHICAGO)
Oklahoma City
Portland
Greenville
Philadelphia
WEST (SAN JOSE)
Greenville
San Diego
St. Louis
Portland
EAST (WASHINGTON D.C.)
Tampa
Buffalo
Oklahoma City
Buffalo
SOUTH (HOUSTON)
St. Louis
Tampa
San Diego
Philadelphia
Conference Breakdown
Photo illo by ESPN Illustration, additional photos courtesy of Getty Images, Associated Press, Imagn, USA TODAY Sports, Icon Sportswire, EPA/Shutterstock
