Bracketology: First look at 2026 has familiar teams on top line

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By Charlie Creme Updated: 4/24/2025 at 9:00 a.m. ET

Change was everywhere this past season as college basketball moved to 31 conferences and a Power 4. Two leagues put at least 10 teams in the NCAA tournament, and units were finally paid to conferences for success in March Madness. But calm should reign in 2025-26. Players are still transferring and changing schools at breakneck speed, but the system will stay consistent for one more year (until the Pac-12 comes back to life for 2026-27, returning the tournament to 32 automatic bids). The 2026 Final Four shifts west to Phoenix, with regionals being played in Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, California.

Bracket Watch

Anticipate consistency among many of the best teams, too. The top four seeds in our initial look at the 2026 NCAA bracket are the same that reached the Final Four three weeks ago. Despite each losing important personnel, South Carolina, UConn, UCLA and Texas will head into next season as the favorites. Much of next year also depends on the status of JuJu Watkins, whose ACL injury was a huge blow to USC in this NCAA tournament but also greatly impacts the Trojans' outlook for next season. The Big Ten once again projects to have the most bids, but the SEC should carry the most quality at the top. Five SEC schools are either No. 1 or No. 2 seeds in this projection, and seven are in the top 16.