Bracketology 2026: March Madness Predictions (Version 10.7)

Posted on March 15, 2026 by Jon Teitel

For our latest CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK VIDEO NOTEBOOK where we review all of yesterday’s conference tournamnet action, preview the five championship games today, and give you brackets and other important information – CLICK HERE

For John Stalica’s recap of our Hoops HD Mock Selection Committee – CLICK HERE

Today is the final day to make NCAA tourney predictions: Selection Sunday! 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 today predicting which 68 teams will hear their names called tonight. See below for his list of who will make the cut 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): AUTO-BID
1: Michigan (Big 10)
1: Arizona (Big 12): AUTO-BID
1: Florida (SEC)

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

3: Purdue (Big 10)
3: Illinois (Big 10)
3: Gonzaga (WCC): AUTO-BID
3: Nebraska (Big 10)

4: Vanderbilt (SEC)
4: Virginia (ACC)
4: Alabama (SEC)
4: Kansas (Big 12)

5: St. John’s (Big East): AUTO-BID
5: Arkansas (SEC)
5: Texas Tech (Big 12)
5: Wisconsin (Big 10)

6: Tennessee (SEC)
6: North Carolina (ACC)
6: Louisville (ACC)
6: BYU (Big 12)

7: Kentucky (SEC)
7: Miami FL (ACC)
7: St. Mary’s (WCC)
7: UCLA (Big 10)

8: Clemson (ACC)
8: Utah State (MWC): AUTO-BID
8: Georgia (SEC)
8: Villanova (Big East)

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

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

11: Missouri (SEC)
11: Miami OH (MAC)
11: VCU (A-10)
11: SMU (ACC)
11: Texas (SEC)
11: South Florida (American)

12: Akron (MAC): AUTO-BID
12: McNeese (Southland): AUTO-BID
12: Yale (Ivy)
12: Northern Iowa (MVC): AUTO-BID

13: High Point (Big South): AUTO-BID
13: Hofstra (CAA): AUTO-BID
13: Cal Baptist (WAC): AUTO-BID
13: Hawaii (Big West): AUTO-BID

14: North Dakota State (Summit): AUTO-BID
14: Troy (Sun Belt): AUTO-BID
14: Wright State (Horizon): AUTO-BID
14: Kennesaw State (C-USA): AUTO-BID

15: Tennessee State (OVC): AUTO-BID
15: Idaho (Big Sky): AUTO-BID
15: Furman (SoCon): AUTO-BID
15: Siena (MAAC): AUTO-BID

16: Queens (Atlantic Sun): AUTO-BID
16: UMBC (America East): AUTO-BID
16: LIU (NEC): AUTO-BID
16: Howard (MEAC): AUTO-BID
16: Lehigh (Patriot): AUTO-BID
16: Prairie View (SWAC): AUTO-BID

1ST 4 OUT
Auburn (SEC)
Indiana (Big 10)
New Mexico (MWC)
San Diego State (MWC)

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Tourney Talk: HoopsHD interviews Stephen F. Austin SR G Ashlyn Traylor-Walker

Posted on March 15, 2026 by Jon Teitel

Last Thursday Stephen F. Austin beat McNeese 71-59 in the Southland tourney women’s title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Ladyjacks lost back-to-back games in late-January but bounced back to make the NCAA tourney for the 3rd time in the past 6 years. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Stephen F. Austin SR G Ashlyn Traylor-Walker about being the OT hero in the conference tourney semifinal and making the NCAA tourney.

As a freshman at Radford in 2023 you were named conference ROY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It meant a lot. Radford was my only offer coming out of high school, so it was really special to me.

Why did you decide to transfer in 2024, and what made you choose SFA? I knew that I was growing as a person and needed a place that would support that growth. I leaned on the Lord, and SFA was the only place that I visited.

You play for Coach Leonard Bishop: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He is very passionate and wants to win, so we are the same in those aspects. He taught me how to contain my passion in the right way and taught the whole team how to win.

Last year as co-captain you led the conference with 4.7 APG: what is the secret to being a good PG? I do not know if there is a secret, but since I am a dynamic player the defense has to worry about me going downhill. That opens up the floor for my teammates, and I try to find them when they are open: I give credit to my teammates for knocking down those shots.

Take me through the 2026 Southland tourney:
In the semifinals you scored 16 PTS including the final 6 of the game to clinch a 5-PT OT win over Lamar: how were you able to save your team’s season? Our defense led to offense and we threw some different stuff at them toward the end that they were not prepared for.

In the title game you scored 8 PTS in a win over McNeese: what did it mean to you to win a title, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? It meant a lot, especially to go back-to-back. I was most excited for the people who were not here last year because the 1st time I won it was the best experience ever…although winning it again was also pretty nice. We definitely had a dance party in the locker room!

You faced some good teams in non-conference play including Abilene Christian/Louisiana Tech: which of them impressed you the most? Our game against Abilene Christian was really good for us. They are always a solid team so anytime you beat them it is an accomplishment. We also beat Houston, who is a Big 12 team, so that stands out to me as well.

Your team’s 36.8 FG% allowed is top-25 in the nation: what is the key to playing good defense? We work on our offense and defense every day in practice. You do not see a lot of other teams play a 2-3 zone like we do because our rotations are not in the style that most people are used to.

Your sisters Kayana/Pashence/Adelyn all played college basketball: who is the best athlete in the family? I think that we are all good in our own ways. Kayana is the best player, but I am the best all-around athlete!

What kind of seed do you think you deserve, and what kind of seed do you think you will get? That is in the Lord’s hands at this point, but whatever seed we get we will go out and play like we always do.

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The 2026 Hoops HD Selection Committee – Saturday, March 14th

Posted on March 15, 2026 by John Stalica

Tonight was our third night of committee meetings; this was our busiest night to date. We began the day with three at-large bids available; Ole Miss’s loss to Arkansas came as a relief to everyone on the bubble since a bid thief would no longer come out of the SEC. The Atlantic 10 was a different story since Dayton defeated Saint Louis on a last-second shot and could steal a bid on Selection Sunday with a win against VCU.

As for the voting itself, we had Mother Miami, Texas and VCU as carryover teams from the previous round of voting. We debated all of the teams Under Consideration; nobody ended up being motioned off of the Under Consideration board. After debate, each Committee member nominated six teams and submitted choices to Chad (our Chairman). The top four teams that were added to the nomination board were New Mexico, San Diego State, SMU and South Florida (in the event they lose to Wichita State in the American title game).

In the final round of voting, Mother Miami and VCU were voted into the at-large field; there was a tie between SMU and Texas for the final spot and the final contingency spot (in the event that the A-10 doesn’t result in a stolen bid). SMU got the guaranteed at-large spot and Texas ended up getting the contingency bid; Texas would move to the First Four Out in the event that Dayton wins the A-10 title. Our first four teams out ended up being San Diego State, South Florida (at-large), New Mexico and Florida State. Auburn would be the other team moving up in the event that South Florida wins the American.

Our next task was to continue seeding the field; we included teams that were still alive (i.e. Louisiana Tech, Toledo, UC-Irvine, Utah Valley) at the time of voting. We ended up seeding 73 teams at the time, but at the time of posting the list went down to 71 teams. It will ultimately become 68 teams once the Ivy League, A-10 and American championship games go final and we will have two contingency brackets – one for South Florida winning the autobid and one for Wichita State winning the auto bid.

Update (2:15 AM) – We added California Baptist to the field after an incredible finish in the WAC Championship. The Lancers hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 30 seconds left; Utah Valley had a chance to tie the game in regulation and MISSED a dunk with 2.7 seconds on the clock. CBU ran out the clock for their first NCAA Division I Tournament bid.

We also did an initial scrub of the Master Seed List; click on the above graphic to see where things stood through games of Saturday night. We will meet at 2:30 PM later today to do a final scrub of the seed list and bracket the field based on what happens in this afternoon’s games. Keep an eye on our website for our final bracket as well as Jon Teitel’s final NCAA Tournament Bracket projection!

Posted in Bracketology, Championship Week Video Notebook, Commentary, News and Notes | Tagged | 1 Comment

Championship Week Video Notebook – Day 13

Posted on March 14, 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 365 D1 teams

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

There were eleven championship games today. Duke held off Virginia in a thriller in the ACC. Arizona held off a comeback from Houston to win the Big 12. Akron needed to come from behind against Toledo to win the MAC. There was a ton of other excitement, including a thriller in the Atlantic 10 in the Arch Baron Cup semifinals. We discuss all that and previoew tomorrow’s action.

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

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP:

SEC CHAMPIONSHIP:

ATLANTIC 10 CHAMPIONSHIP:

AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP:

IVY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP:

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Bracketology 2026: March Madness Predictions (Version 10.6)

Posted on March 14, 2026 by Jon Teitel

For our latest CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK VIDEO NOTEBOOK, which contains recaps and previews of all the conference tournaments, all the ongoing conference tournament brackets, and other important links and info – CLICK HERE

We are 1 day 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 this weekend 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: Purdue (Big 10)
3: Nebraska (Big 10)
3: Gonzaga (WCC): AUTO-BID

4: Virginia (ACC)
4: Vanderbilt (SEC)
4: Alabama (SEC)
4: Kansas (Big 12)

5: Texas Tech (Big 12)
5: Arkansas (SEC)
5: St. John’s (Big East)
5: Wisconsin (Big 10)

6: Tennessee (SEC)
6: North Carolina (ACC)
6: Louisville (ACC)
6: BYU (Big 12)

7: Kentucky (SEC)
7: Miami FL (ACC)
7: St. Mary’s (WCC)
7: Clemson (ACC)

8: UCLA (Big 10)
8: Villanova (Big East)
8: Georgia (SEC)
8: Utah State (MWC)

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

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

11: Missouri (SEC)
11: Miami OH (MAC)
11: SMU (ACC)
11: VCU (A-10)
11: Texas (SEC)
11: South Florida (American)

12: Akron (MAC)
12: Yale (Ivy)
12: McNeese (Southland): AUTO-BID
12: High Point (Big South): AUTO-BID

13: Northern Iowa (MVC): AUTO-BID
13: Utah Valley (WAC)
13: Hofstra (CAA): AUTO-BID
13: UC Irvine (Big West)

14: North Dakota State (Summit): AUTO-BID
14: Troy (Sun Belt): AUTO-BID
14: Wright State (Horizon): AUTO-BID
14: Tennessee State (OVC): AUTO-BID

15: Furman (SoCon): AUTO-BID
15: Idaho (Big Sky): AUTO-BID
15: Louisiana Tech (C-USA)
15: Siena (MAAC): AUTO-BID

16: Queens (Atlantic Sun): AUTO-BID
16: UMBC (America East)
16: LIU (NEC): AUTO-BID
16: Prairie View (SWAC)
16: Howard (MEAC)
16: Lehigh (Patriot): AUTO-BID

1ST 4 OUT
Auburn (SEC)
Indiana (Big 10)
New Mexico (MWC)
San Diego State (MWC)

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Tourney Talk: HoopsHD interviews Lehigh JR G Nasir Whitlock

Posted on March 14, 2026 by Jon Teitel

Last Wednesday Lehigh beat Boston University 74-60 in the Patriot League tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to next week’s NCAA tournament. The Mountain Hawks were 12-16 in mid-February, but have won 6 in a row since then to make the NCAA tourney for the 1st time since 2012. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Lehigh JR G Nasir Whitlock about being named conference tourney MVP and making the NCAA tourney.

You were born/raised in Minnesota: what made you choose Lehigh? It was a combination of basketball and academics for me. The coaching staff was great, so it felt like the best situation for me.

You play for Coach Brett Reed: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? His competitiveness: sometimes I can sense that he has to turn it down for us because he always wants to win. His biggest thing with me was to help me improve all the facets of my game to make me a well-rounded player.

You played in 31 games as a freshman: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? My role as a freshman was to come off the bench and be a sparkplug as a PG. I just tried to get some scoring going and bring some energy to the court. It was my 1st time coming off the bench in a while, so I had to adjust to that, but it ended up giving me some confidence.

Last month you tied a career-high with 33 PTS/12-16 FG in an 8-PT win over American: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? My teammates found me at the right time: American was doubling our big men in the post, so my teammates passed the ball out to me and I had a couple of open looks early on. As a player it is always good when you can get in the zone, but I credit my teammates for making the right plays.

You led the league this season with 21 PPG: what is the secret to being a great scorer? Letting it come to you rather than forcing it. The more I let the game come to me, the more effective a scorer I am. I just get into the flow of the game, which is what the best scorers are able to do.

Last Wednesday in the Patriot title game you scored a team-high 18 PTS in a win over Boston University: how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most? There were 4 of us who scored 14+ PTS that night so our offense was very well-rounded. I did not play my best (5-13 FG), but just tried to clear my mind, treat it like any other game, and be aggressive.

You were also named tourney MVP: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It meant a lot and is a blessing, but I was just focused on the win. The MVP award also could have gone to 2 of my teammates who ended up making the all-tournament team (Hank Alvey/Joshua Ingram).

After only starting 2 games combined during your 1st 2 years you started all 34 (and counting) this year: what is the biggest difference between being a starter and coming off the bench? Being a starter allows you to find your way into the flow of the game, but if you come off the bench then you need to make an impact right away.

Your opening game this season featured your most impressive opponent this season (Houston): what makes the Cougars such a great team? Their defense and how hard they play, which travels anywhere. They have so much communication and hold each other accountable.

What kind of seed do you think you deserve, and what kind of seed do you think you will get? I think we will get a 16 seed. I do not pay much attention to predictions, so we will just go out and play.

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