Joe Lunardi Bracketology 2026 Seeds, Bubble Teams After MSU vs. Michigan

A week from Sunday, conference tournaments will be wrapping up and the NCAA Tournament picture will be complete.

Heading into conference tournament week, ESPN's Joe Lunardi released a new bracketology, where he had Duke, Michigan, Florida and Arizona as his top four seeds.

Here's a look at Lunardi's top four seeds in each region, as well as who he has on the bubble.

East

1. Duke
2. Michigan State
3. Iowa State
4. Texas Tech

Midwest

1. Michigan
2. UConn
3. Purdue
4. Kansas

South

1. Florida
2. Houston
3. Nebraska
4. Virginia

West

1. Arizona
2. Illinois
3. Alabama
4. Gonzaga

Last Four Byes

• NC State
• Missouri
• Texas
• UCF

Last Four In

• Santa Clara
• SMU
• VCU
• Auburn

First Four Out

• Indiana
• Virginia Tech
• Stanford
• New Mexico

Next Four Out

• Cincinnati
• California
• Oklahoma
• San Diego State

Perhaps the part of Lunardi's bracketology that will stir the most controversy is his inclusion of Auburn, which is 16-15 on the year and has lost eight of its last 10 games, including four losses to teams that were unranked at the time.

Perhaps Steven Pearl and the Tigers will make a deep run at the SEC tournament this week, but it will be hard to make a case for them if they lose to Mississippi State on Wednesday.

Plenty of eyes will be on the MAC tournament this week, where undefeated Miami (OH) will look to solidify its tournament case by running the table. Many will argue that the RedHawks have already earned an at-large bid, but the committee might still need to see more from them.

A handful of teams have already earned automatic bids to the Big Dance by winning their conference tournaments, including Queens University, which made the tournament in its first year of eligibility.

The rest of the teams will spend the next week determining their March Madness fate.