SI College Basketball: Inside the Brackets

Who will cut down the nets in Indianapolis and Phoenix? Duke and UConn are the top seeds, but what comes next?

The Madness is here.  The NCAA men's and women's brackets are completed, and understanding them can boost your tournament excitement or heartache, so dive into the details. Duke is the men's overall No. 1 seed, and UConn earned the top spot on the women's side. On the men's side, Pat Forde gives you 40 things to watch throughout the tournament. Do you need help picking a winning bracket? Bryan Fischer gives the teams with the easiest path, while Michael McDaniel gives you key injuries to consider before making your decision. Some teams are looking from the outside, as Kevin Sweeney breaks down who was left out of the dance. Emma Baccellieri and Michael Rosenberg debate which No. 1 seed in the women's field has the toughest path to the Final Four? Could we see a first-round upset?  Make sure you sign up for the SI College Hoops Bracket Challenge. Also, be sure to read this newsletter every day for daily coverage of the men's and women's NCAA tournaments until the men's champion cuts the nets. Forward to a friend. On to the newsletter. 🏀 MEN'S TOURNAMENT East Duke UConn Michigan St. Kansas St. John's Louisville UCLA Ohio St. TCU UCF S. Florida N. Iowa Cal Baptist N. Dakota St. Furman Siena South Florida Houston Illinois Nebraska Vanderbilt North Carolina St. Mary's Clemson Iowa Texas A&M VCU McNeese Troy Penn Idaho Prairie View A&M/ Lehigh Midwest Michigan Iowa State Virginia Alabama Texas Tech Tennessee Kentucky Georgia Saint Louis Santa Clara Miami (Ohio)/SMU Akron Hofstra Wright St. Tenn. St. UMBC/ Howard West Arizona Purdue Gonzaga Arkansas Wisconsin BYU Miami Villanova Utah St. Missouri Texas/ NC State High Point Hawai'i Kennesaw State Queens LIU MEN'S TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK FULL MEN'S BRACKET ON SI.COM  Forde Minutes Jim Dedmon/Imagn Images Everything You Need to Know About Men's March Madness By Pat Forde Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, where some luckless schlub is going to have tickets directly behind massive Carlos Boozer, who stands up all game watching his sons play: The bracket is live, launching the best three weeks in sports. Don't let the many forced Capital One buddy commercials and adrenaline-sapping replay reviews drag you down; embrace the madness. It's time to seize the joy, win your bracket pool and forever establish your Ball Knower credentials. Forde Minutes is here to help you differentiate your ABCs (Aday Mara, Brayden Burries, Chris Cenac), from your XYZs (Xaivian Lee, Yaxel Lendeborg, Zuby Ejiofor).  It's time to know your fish (Long Island Sharks) from your fowl (Kennesaw State Owls, Lehigh Mountain Hawks, Kansas Jayhawks, Iowa Hawkeyes—but, for the first time since 1995, no Eagles). Your violent weather disturbances (Iowa State Cyclones) from the more serene (Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors). Your Saints (Louis, John's, Mary's, Siena) from sinners (at least six coaches in the field have been fired, suspended or had wins vacated). Your Quakers (Penn) from your fakers (three-point shooters will be flopping for fouls all tourney). And you have to keep your Miamis straight (Hurricanes from South Florida, RedHawks from Southwest Ohio). Let's dance our way through 40 things you need to know about the 2026 NCAA men's tournament. READ FORDE MINUTES ON SI.COM Inside the Tournament Isaiah J. Downing/Imagn Images Men's Snubs: San Diego State, Auburn Left Out  By Kevin Sweeney Much of the conversation every year after the men's NCAA tournament selection show is about who didn't get in. And this year in particular, with all the wild narratives that took off late in the year debating the importance of strength of schedule and how to evaluate teams like Miami (Ohio) and Auburn, we were guaranteed to get at least one team with every reason to be upset that their name wasn't called.  Which teams have the biggest gripe about not being selected to go dancing? Here's a look at five with the most valid complaints.  Bracket Info TV Schedule Easiest Path Expert Picks Key Injuries FIVE TEAMS THAT WERE SNUBBED 📺 Others Receiving Votes Subscribe to SI's college sports show, Others Receiving Votes, for new episodes each week on Apple, Spotify and YouTube. Or watch weekly on SI TV. 🏀 WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT Regional 1 Forth Worth UConn Vanderbilt Ohio State North Carolina Maryland Notre Dame Illinois Iowa State Syracuse Colorado Fairfield Murray St. W. Illinois Howard High Point USTA Regional 2 Sacramento UCLA LSU Duke Minnesota Ole Miss Baylor Texas Tech Oklahoma State Princeton Villanova Richmond/ Nebraska Gonzaga Green Bay Charleston Jacksonville Cal Baptist Regional 3 Fort Worth Texas Michigan Louisville West Virginia Kentucky Alabama NC State Oregon Virginia Tech Tennessee Rhode Island James Madison Miami (Ohio) Vermont Holy Cross Missouri St./ S.F. Austin Regional 4 Sacramento South Carolina Iowa TCU Oklahoma Michigan State Washington Georgia Clemson USC Arizona St./ Virginia S. Dakota St. Colorado St. Idaho UC San Diego FDU Southern/ Samford WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK FULL WOMEN'S BRACKET ON SI.COM Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Imagn Images Top Women's Bracket Takeaways Bracket Info TV Schedule Expert Picks Bracket Challenge The women's NCAA tournament bracket is finally set. And while there weren't too many surprises or snubs at first glance, there are several interesting threads to pull when you look deeper at the regions and potential matchups later in the tournament. Sports Illustrated's Emma Baccellieri and Michael Rosenberg dive into their biggest takeaways from Selection Sunday.  READ MORE ON SI.COM Get the print edition of Sports Illustrated delivered to your door. CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE! We may receive compensation for some links to products and services included in this email. Sports Publishing Solutions Inc. 625 Broadway, 10th floor New York, NY. 10012 You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to the SI College Basketball newsletter. 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