Here is my initial bracket projection of the 2026-27 season. There have been some games today and yesterday, but this projection doesn't put much weight into those at this point given the extremely small sample size so it's basically a preseason projection. I had another strong showing last season and am now up to #23 on the bracket matrix rankings. Some changes to the tourney this year with it expanding to 76 teams.
1 Seeds: DUKE, FLORIDA, ILLINOIS, Arizona
2 Seeds: HOUSTON, Michigan St, Kansas, CONNECTICUT
3 Seeds: Virginia, GONZAGA, Louisville, Iowa St
4 Seeds: Texas Tech, Tennessee, Miami FL, Alabama
5 Seeds: Vanderbilt, Michigan, Nebraska, Arkansas
6 Seeds: Texas, UCLA, Kentucky, St John's
7 Seeds: BYU, Purdue, Indiana, Villanova
8 Seeds: Ohio St, Marquette, Missouri, Baylor
9 Seeds: Texas A&M, USC, Cincinnati, Auburn
10 Seeds: Iowa, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Georgia, Creighton
11 Seeds: GRAND CANYON, West Virginia, Clemson, Maryland, NC State, VCU
12 Seeds: TCU, Providence, Virginia Tech, Xavier, HIGH POINT, WICHITA ST
13 Seeds: SAINT MARY'S, AKRON, MCNEESE ST, ILLINOIS CHICAGO
14 Seeds: UC SANTA BARBARA, UNC WILMINGTON, WESTERN KENTUCKY, PENN
15 Seeds: MONTANA ST, FURMAN, WRIGHT ST, ST. THOMAS, JAMES MADISON, TARLETON ST
16 Seeds: HOWARD, QUEENS, VERMONT, AMERICAN, MERRIMACK, BETHUNE COOKMAN, TENNESSEE ST, LIU
Last 4 In:
TCU
Providence
Virginia Tech
Xavier
First 4 Out:
Saint Louis
Utah St
Oklahoma St
Oregon
Next 4 Out:
Ole Miss
New Mexico
SMU
LSU
