Bracketology 2026: March Madness Predictions (Version 10.2)

Posted on March 10, 2026 by Jon Teitel

For our latest CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK VIDEO NOTEBOOK – CLICK HERE

We are 5 days away from Selection Sunday as we continue to make our NCAA tourney predictions. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel correctly picked 66 of the 68 teams that made the 2025 tourney: 62 of his 66 were within 1 spot of their actual seed and 52 were right on the money. He will spend the upcoming days predicting which 68 teams will hear their names called on March 15th. See below for his list of who would make the cut if they picked the field today and if you agree or disagree then feel free to tweet us. To see how he stacks up with other websites (ranked 7th out of 186 bracket veterans over the past 5 years), check out: www.bracketmatrix.com

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SEED: TEAM (CONFERENCE)
1: Duke (ACC)
1: Michigan (Big 10)
1: Arizona (Big 12)
1: Florida (SEC)

2: Connecticut (Big East)
2: Houston (Big 12)
2: Michigan State (Big 10)
2: Illinois (Big 10)

3: Iowa State (Big 12)
3: Nebraska (Big 10)
3: Purdue (Big 10)
3: Alabama (SEC)

4: Gonzaga (WCC)
4: Virginia (ACC)
4: Kansas (Big 12)
4: Texas Tech (Big 12)

5: Vanderbilt (SEC)
5: Arkansas (SEC)
5: St. John’s (Big East)
5: North Carolina (ACC)

6: Tennessee (SEC)
6: Wisconsin (Big 10)
6: Louisville (ACC)
6: BYU (Big 12)

7: Kentucky (SEC)
7: St. Mary’s (WCC)
7: Miami FL (ACC)
7: Villanova (Big East)

8: Georgia (SEC)
8: Clemson (ACC)
8: UCLA (Big 10)
8: Utah State (MWC)

9: Iowa (Big 10)
9: St. Louis (A-10)
9: TCU (Big 12)
9: Ohio State (Big 10)

10: Texas A&M (SEC)
10: NC State (ACC)
10: UCF (Big 12)
10: Santa Clara (WCC)

11: Missouri (SEC)
11: Miami OH (MAC)
11: Texas (SEC)
11: SMU (ACC)
11: VCU (A-10)
11: Indiana (Big 10)

12: South Florida (American)
12: Yale (Ivy)
12: Stephen F. Austin (Southland)
12: High Point (Big South): AUTO-BID

13: Northern Iowa (MVC): AUTO-BID
13: Liberty (C-USA)
13: Utah Valley (WAC)
13: Hofstra (CAA)

14: UC Irvine (Big West)
14: North Dakota State (Summit): AUTO-BID
14: Troy (Sun Belt): AUTO-BID
14: Furman (SoCon): AUTO-BID

15: Portland State (Big Sky)
15: Wright State (Horizon)
15: Merrimack (MAAC)
15: Tennessee State (OVC): AUTO-BID

16: Queens (Atlantic Sun): AUTO-BID
16: Boston University (Patriot)
16: LIU (NEC): AUTO-BID
16: UMBC (America East)
16: Howard (MEAC)
16: Bethune-Cookman (SWAC)

1ST 4 OUT
Auburn (SEC)
New Mexico (MWC)
Stanford (ACC)
Virginia Tech (ACC)

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Championship Week Video Notebook – Day 8

Posted on March 10, 2026 by David Griggs

Check out the HOOPS HD SURVIVAL BOARD, which shows who is a lock, who is on the bubble, and who needs the auto-bid

Also, don’t miss our CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT PAGE, which has brackets, times, and viewing information for all 31 conference tournaments

Check out our new HOOPS HD TEAM SHEETS AND DEFCON RATINGS for all 364 D1 teams

Finally, be sure to keep an eye on our most recent BRACKET PROJECTIONS

We have two more tickets punched!! Troy won the Sun Belt and Furman pulled off an upset over East Tennessee State to win the SoCon. It was also Semifinal Day in the Horizon League and CAA and we had some incredible games in those tournaments. We run down all the action and preview tomorrow’s matchups as both the Big 12 and Big Ten are about to get underway.

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…

WEST COAST CHAMPIONSHIP:

CAA CHAMPIONSHIP:

HORIZON LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP:

METRO ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP:

NEC CHAMPIONSHIP:

SOUTHLAND SEMIFINALS:

BIG SKY SEMIFINALS:

AMERICA EAST SEMIFINALS:

CONFERENCE USA OPENING ROUND:

SWAC 2ND ROUND:

ACC 1ST ROUND:

BIG 12 1ST ROUND:

BIG TEN 1ST ROUND:

Posted in Championship Week Video Notebook, News and Notes, Podcasts, Videocasts | 1 Comment

Hoops HD Bracket Rundown – March 9th

Posted on March 9, 2026 by David Griggs

A full Hoops HD panel have all submitted their own individual seedlists. They were then cross country scored by Chad to form a master seedlist, and it is revealed to the panel Selection Sunday style team by team and line by line. They discuss, assess, and debate each team as they are revealed. See who the #1 seeds are, who the rest of the protected seeds are, who is on the bubble, and who just missed it.

Below is a final copy of The Bracket, but don’t look at it until you’ve watched the show!!

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show.

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All-Access at the CAA Tournament in DC: Semifinal Monday

Posted on March 9, 2026 by Jon Teitel

Conference tournaments are about basketball but also so much more: the fans, parents, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The CAA Tournament tips off this weekend in Washington, DC, and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD will be covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of articles in the week ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage with a recap of the semifinal doubleheader on Monday.

GAME #1: Campbell-Monmouth
Solid pregame dinner: chicken/veggies/meatballs/pita bread/hummus/lemon cake/lemonade.

Let’s tip off the 1st game of the semifinal doubleheader:

Both teams came out ice-cold, shooting a combined 5-21 through the 1st 7 minutes. Campbell G Jeremiah Johnson made a trio of layups and a 3-PT shot to keep his team in it, but they dug themsevles a huge hole by somehow committing 15(!) TO during the 1st 20 minutes. Monmouth big men Stefanos Spartalis/Andrew Ball combined for 17 PTS (all in the paint) to give their team a 30-24 lead going into intermission.

In the 2nd half the Camels could not make a 3 to save their life (0-11 3PM until the final minute of action), while Monmouth guards Justin Ray/Kavion McClain combined for 26 PTS in the final 20 minutes as the Hawks hung on for a 74-64 victory.

In the postgame press conference I asked Monmouth coach King Rice what his own college coach (Hall of Famer Dean Smith) taught him about what it takes to win a conference tourney title game (King won 2 against his archrival Duke as a player for UNC in 1989/1991). He said that so many people are pulling for him to win it tomorrow. He did not think it would take that long, but maybe he did not win 1 before because he was too cocky, and the Lord does not make any mistakes. The biggest difference between the 2 is that Coach Smith did not curse (King does!). Smith would say that nobody will give you the title, you have to go take it. If you tippy-toe around it then your opponent will snatch it from you:

GAME #2: Towson-Hofstra
I am sure that it was a fun game, but weeknight double-headers are a young man’s game and I had a podcast to do. At least I did not miss anything…right…RIGHT?!

https://x.com/NCAABuzzerBters/status/2031207467988955629?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

That is a wrap for tonight, check back tomorrow night for the title game between Monmouth and Hofstra!

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All-Access at the CAA Tournament in DC: HoopsHD interviews Hofstra cheerleader Emma Koehler

Posted on March 9, 2026 by Jon Teitel

Conference tournaments are about basketball but also so much more: the fans, parents, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The CAA Tournament tips off this weekend in Washington, DC, and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD will be covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of articles in the week ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage with an interview of Hofstra cheerleader Emma Koehler.

You grew up in Levittown, NY: what made you choose Hofstra? I actually transferred there while I was an undergrad because it was close to home and is a great school.

You majored in Psychology and are now pursuing a Masters’ in School Counseling within the Counseling and Mental Health Professions program: how did you choose those subjects? I always wanted to help people and felt that psychology was a good field to do that. As far as counseling, it is just something I love and allows me to connect with students.

What is the post-graduation plan? Hopefully to become a school counselor at any level.

You are on the cheerleading team: how long have you been cheering for? Since I was 5 years old.

You were named to the Dean’s List last spring: how do you balance your work on the cheer squad with your work in the classroom? Time management skills: since I also have 2 jobs I need a plan so that I can stay organized.

The Pride had a losing record last year but have won 22 games this year: is it easier to cheer for the team when they are doing well on the court? It is defintely eaiser: there is so much more fun energy in the arena so it makes things a lot better.

What has been the highlight of your season so far: beating Pitt/Syracuse in December, Senior Night, other? The Stony Brook game at the end of February was fun. We had a youth clinic before the game and got to have the little girls cheer with us, plus we got to perform our own skills (which is something we rarely do).

How does your school decide who gets to go to DC, and what will it mean to you to see your group doing its thing in front of a national TV audience? We get to pick whether we want to come, so the people who are basketball fans usually say yes. It is amazing to cheer the team on and showcase what we can do.

Hofstra has not played in the NCAA tourney since 2001: how big a deal would it be to finally get there 25 years later? It would be very special, and is a great opportunity for our team/school.

Any predictions for the Pride this week? We are going to win!

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All-Access at the CAA Tournament in DC: HoopsHD interviews Monmouth band member Tara Dalessio

Posted on March 9, 2026 by Jon Teitel

Conference tournaments are about basketball but also so much more: the fans, parents, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The CAA Tournament tips off this weekend in Washington, DC, and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD will be covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of articles in the week ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage with an interview of Monmouth band member Tara Dalessio

You grew up in New Jersey: what made you choose Monmouth? I 1st heard about it through my high school. I liked that it was by the beach and that they have a close-knit community.

You are majoring in business administration marketing & management: how did you choose those subjects? I started as a marine biology major but later to get involved in sports, and want to stay involved in marketing in the sports industry.

You are a SR: do you have a post-graduation plan? Not right now, but I want to work in the sports industry, perhaps in the Monmouth athletic department.

1 of your hobbies is watching sports: what is your favorite team/sport to watch? All the Monmouth sports teams, of course. Outside of school I am a hockey fan and root for all the Philly sports teams so I love the Flyers.

What instrument do you play, and how did you 1st get into it? I play alto saxophone: I started in 4th grade and grew to love it. Jazz initially pulled me in and now I have played it for many years.

You are manager of the band: what kind of responsibilities does that involve? I makes sure that everything runs smoothly and I collaborate with other band members to make sure we look good on social media. It is almost like being a voice from our students to the band director.

The Hawks have not made the NCAA tourney in 20 years: is it harder to be in the band when the team is not doing so well on the court? It is definitely a lot of fun when they are doing good, but our support does not change no matter how they are doing. We hope they take our energy and let it run because we are really hungry to win this tourney.

What has been the highlight of your season so far: winning 6 of your final 8 regular season games, Senior Night, other? It is hard to say. This tourney has been a highlight since we made it this far. Senior night was fun yet bittersweet as it was my last hurrah.

How does your school decide who gets to go to DC, and what will it mean to you to see your group doing its thing in front of a national TV audience? We want to have as much spirit as possible and to bring as much energy as possible to the court. It is awesome to see ourselves on TV because not everyone get that opportunity.

Any predictions for the Hawks this week? I do not want to jinx it but am hoping for a win. I believe in them and know they are a good group of guys who want it, so I have high hopes for tonight…and tomorrow!

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