Why Duke has a ‘very, very difficult’ draw in the East (1:29)
Jay Bilas, Jay Williams and Seth Greenberg examine potential roadblocks for Duke in the East Region. (1:29)
Mar 15, 2026, 06:29 PM ET
Duke is the top overall seed for this year’s men’s NCAA tournament, bringing an 11-game winning streak, a 32-2 record and player of the year favorite Cameron Boozer into the three-week hoops free-for-all known as March Madness.
The Blue Devils, who top the East Region, were joined in the top four by Arizona in the West, Michigan in the Midwest and defending national champion Florida in the South.
According to NCAA selection committee chairperson Keith Gill, Michigan’s loss to Purdue in the Big Ten final moments before the brackets were revealed ultimately dropped the Wolverines from the No. 2 overall seed to No. 3.
In the day’s biggest nail-biter, Miami (Ohio) made the field as a No. 11 seed, but just barely. The RedHawks, with a 31-1 record but the 339th-ranked strength of schedule, were one of the last teams in the field and they face a First Four game Wednesday against SMU in Dayton, Ohio, not terribly far from home.
Gill said the committee had the RedHawks ranked above the other First Four teams –NC State, Texas and SMU — although Miami (Ohio) was ranked behind those teams in the listed 1-68 ranking.
Among those left out of the field were San Diego State, Indiana, Oklahoma and Auburn.
Injuries also impacted how teams were ranked, according to Gill, and no team suffered more both in the bracket and on the court than North Carolina. The Tar Heels are a No. 6 seed after losing star Caleb Wilson to a broken thumb. JT Toppin‘s season-ending knee injury was also a factor in Texas Tech’s No. 5 seeding.
The East region is stacked with big names, including UConn as the 2-seed. Hall of Fame coaches Tom Izzo from Michigan State, Bill Self from Kansas and Rick Pitino from Big East champion St. John’s lead the next teams up in the 16-team bracket.
In the West, Arizona will look to make its first Final Four since 2001, but it will have to go through a region that features Purdue — which went from a 3-seed to a 2-seed with its win over Michigan — Gonzaga, Arkansas and Wisconsin.
In the Midwest, Michigan — led by Big Ten player of the year Yaxel Lendeborg — is vying for the Big Ten’s first national championship since Michigan State in 2000. It went into the conference tournament with an average winning margin of 19.4 points per game but was pushed in Chicago, winning two games by a total of seven points before losing 80-72 to Purdue in the championship game.
In the South, a potential championship final rematch between the Gators and the second-seeded Cougars looms with the added twist that the regional final will be played in Houston’s hometown. Third-seeded Illinois and fourth-seeded Nebraska will be looking to play spoiler.
The SEC led the way in terms of teams placed in the field of 68 with 10 total, four short of its record from last year. The Big Ten followed with nine, the ACC and Big 12 with eight apiece — an unsurprising result in an era of massive conference expansion and NIL compensation drawing top players to the biggest spenders.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
