Michigan, Duke Among 1 Seeds in 2026 NCAA Men's Tournament Bracket Preview

Having spent two months as the top team in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, the Arizona Wildcats are currently on track to be a No. 1 seed in the 2026 NCAA men's basketball tournament despite recent struggles.

In the first bracket preview of the season, Michigan was the top overall seed in the selection committee's rankings. The other No. 1 seeds were Duke, Arizona and Iowa State.

NCAA Men's Tournament Bracket Preview Top 16 Seeds

1. Michigan Wolverines (25-1)
2. Duke Blue Devils (24-2)
3. Arizona Wildcats (24-2)
4. Iowa State Cyclones (23-3)
5. Connecticut Huskies (24-3)
6. Houston Cougars (23-3)
7. Illinois Fighting Illini (22-5)
8. Purdue Boilermakers (22-5)
9. Florida Gators (20-6)
10. Kansas Jayhawks (20-6)
11. Nebraska Cornhuskers (22-4)
12. Gonzaga Bulldogs (26-2)
13. Texas Tech Red Raiders (19-7)
14. Michigan State Spartans (21-5)
15. Vanderbilt Commodores (21-5)
16. Virginia Cavaliers (23-3)

On the CBS broadcast revealing the rankings, selection committee chair Keith Gill said that Alabama and Arkansas were the first two teams that missed out on a spot in the top 16.

Saturday's reveal comes before one of the biggest days of the entire college basketball regular season. Three of the four teams currently projected as No. 1 seeds will be facing each other.

Arizona and Houston will play at Hofheinz Pavilion starting at 3 p.m. ET, followed by Michigan vs. Duke in Washington D.C. at 6 p.m. ET.

Michigan, which moved up to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll this week, is on the top line right now thanks to a 25-1 record (15-1 in the Big Ten). The Wolverines are ranked atop current KenPom standings with a net rating of plus-39.29. Their 11 quality wins are the most in the nation.

Since suffering an 81-78 home loss to Wisconsin on Jan. 10, Michigan has rattled off 11 consecutive victories. Ten of those wins have come by at least 10 points, including a 91-80 victory over No. 7 Purdue on Tuesday.

The Wildcats spent most of the season as the No. 1 team in the AP poll, but they fell to fourth this week after back-to-back losses against Kansas and Texas Tech. They did bounce back on Wednesday with a 75-68 victory over BYU.

Arizona has also banked wins over currently-ranked teams like Connecticut and Florida. Head coach Tommy Lloyd's group has the nation's third-best strength of record.

If Arizona is going to stay on the top line when the bracket is revealed on Selection Sunday, it will earn that spot with games against Houston, Kansas and Iowa State still on the regular-season schedule before the Big 12 tournament begins.

The hype around Duke's 2025 freshman class has translated to success on the court. Head coach Jon Scheyer has his team sitting at 24-2 overall, with their two losses by a combined four points.

Duke has won 10 of 12 games against quad one opponents, tied with Michigan and Arizona for the most quad-one wins in the country. The Blue Devils will get a chance to avenge one of their two defeats in the regular-season finale against North Carolina on March 7.

If Duke stays on the one line when the full 68-team bracket is revealed next month, it will mark the first time being a No. 1 seed in back-to-back tournaments since the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.

Iowa State earned the final No. 1 seed in Saturday's reveal on the strength of a 23-3 record, including 10-3 in Big 12 play. Recent wins over Kansas and Houston likely elevated the Cyclones' resume, but they already had a 23-point road victory against Purdue earlier in the season.

If Iowa State is able to stay on the top line for the final reveal next month, it will mark the program's first-ever No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. It has been a two seed three different times, most recently during the 2023-24 season.

The 68-team tournament field will be unveiled on Sunday, March 15. Tournament play begins with the First Four games on March 17-18, followed by the opening rounds on March 19-20.