Michigan would be the No. 1 overall seed if the men’s NCAA Tournament started today, and the Wolverines would be joined on the top line in order by Duke, Arizona and Iowa State.
The NCAA selection committee unveiled its top 16 seeds Saturday, three weeks and a day before the official bracket is announced on Selection Sunday. Iowa State’s placement over Houston and Connecticut was a bit of a surprise and the choice with “a lot more debate,” committee chair and Sun Belt commissioner Keith Gill said on the CBS broadcast.
2026 bracket preview: Top 16 seeds
| Midwest | East | West | South | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Michigan (1) |
Duke (2) |
Arizona (3) |
Iowa State (4) |
|
2 |
Houston (6) |
Illinois (7) |
Purdue (8) |
UConn (5) |
|
3 |
Florida (9) |
Kansas (10) |
Gonzaga (12) |
Nebraska (11) |
|
4 |
Virginia (16) |
Vanderbilt (15) |
Michigan State (14) |
Texas Tech (13) |
Gill said UConn was on the top line as of Wednesday, but the Huskies’ home loss to Creighton that night dropped them to the second line. UConn was the top No. 2 seed and joined by Houston, Illinois and Purdue, in order.
The No. 3 seeds, in order, are Florida, Kansas, Nebraska and Gonzaga. The No. 4 seeds, in order, are Texas Tech, Michigan State, Vanderbilt and Virginia. Gill said Alabama and Arkansas were the next closest teams to the top 16. The news this week of Texas Tech star JT Toppin’s season-ending knee injury dropped the Red Raiders one line, Gill said.
Breaking it down by region, Michigan in the Midwest Region is joined by Houston, Florida and Virginia. It’s Duke in the East, joined by Illinois, Kansas and Vanderbilt. It’s Arizona in the West, joined by Purdue, Gonzaga and Michigan State. And it’s Iowa State in the South, joined by UConn, Nebraska and Texas Tech.
Those regions illustrate the difficulty of keeping conference rivals away from each other with two leagues as dominant as the Big Ten and Big 12 are this season. Those two leagues produced eight of the top 10 seeds and 12 in the top 16. That’s why Iowa State and Texas Tech are lined up to play in the Sweet 16 in this bracket.
Gill said Michigan and Michigan State also were together in the Midwest initially, which would have meant a potential third meeting in the Sweet 16 in Chicago. But to balance the total seeding values — the sum totals of the top four seeds in each region can’t be more than a difference of six from any other region — Michigan State was sent to the West and Virginia to the Midwest.
The committee’s bracket was a bit different than the bracket that emerged from a mock media selection this week in Indianapolis, with The Athletic’s C.J. Moore among those participating. The media had Houston as the fourth No. 1 seed, Alabama and Arkansas both as No. 4 seeds, and Texas Tech and Vanderbilt out of the top 16.
The 10th annual February unveil almost served as a perfect preview of perhaps the best day of hoops all season — Houston on the top line would have set up all four projected No. 1 seeds facing each other later Saturday. Top two seeds Michigen and Duke were set to meet in Washington, with Arizona playing at Houston.