A history of 8 seeds vs. 9 seeds in March Madness
The 68 teams selected for the 2026 NCAA tournament will be revealed tonight. Ahead of Selection Sunday, Andy Katz has shared his final bracket predictions. Duke remains as the No. 1 overall seed while Iowa State jumps into a No. 2 seed.
👉 SELECTION SUNDAY: Date, schedule, TV times for March Madness
Take a look at Andy Katz's final predicted 68-team field below.
RANKINGS: AP Top 25 Poll | NET rankings
| Seed | East | South | Midwest | West |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke | Florida | Michigan | Arizona |
| 16 | Queens | Lehigh/Prairie View | LIU/Howard | UMBC |
| 8 | Georgia | Utah State | Clemson | UCLA |
| 9 | Ohio State | Iowa | TCU | Texas A&M |
| 5 | Arkansas | Texas Tech | St. John's | Wisconsin |
| 12 | Yale | High Point | Akron | McNeese |
| 4 | Kansas | Nebraska | Alabama | Vanderbilt |
| 13 | Hawaii | Cal Baptist | Hofstra | Northern Iowa |
| 6 | North Carolina | Louisville | Tennessee | BYU |
| 11 | Missouri/Miami (OH) | South Florida | VCU | Texas/SMU |
| 3 | Purdue | Illinois | Virginia | Gonzaga |
| 14 | North Dakota State | Wright State | Troy | Kennesaw State |
| 7 | Miami (FL) | UCLA | Kentucky | Clemson |
| 10 | UCF | Saint Louis | Santa Clara | Texas A&M |
| 2 | UConn | Houston | Iowa State | Michigan State |
| 15 | Siena | Idaho | Tennessee State | Furman |
Conferences with multiple teams in Katz's bracket predictions
| Conference | Total | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| SEC | 10 | Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt |
| Big Ten | 9 | Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa, Wisconsin, Purdue, Illinois, UCLA, Michigan State, Nebraska, |
| ACC | 8 | Clemson, Duke, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), North Carolina, NC State, SMU, Virginia |
| Big 12 | 8 | Arizona, BYU, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, TCU, Texas Tech, UCF |
| Big East | 3 | St. John's, UConn, Villanova |
| West Coast | 3 | Gonzaga, Santa Clara, Saint Mary's |
| MAC | 2 | Akron, Miami (OH), |
| A10 | 2 | VCU, Saint Louis |
Andy Katz's field of 68
Here is Katz's full seed list in order, from one through 68:
| Team (SEED) | AQ Conference | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke (1) | AQ ACC |
| 2 | Michigan (1) | AQ Big Ten |
| 3 | Arizona (1) | AQ Big 12 |
| 4 | Florida (1) | |
| 5 | Houston (2) | |
| 6 | UConn (2) | |
| 7 | Iowa State (2) | |
| 8 | Michigan State (2) | |
| 9 | Purdue (3) | |
| 10 | Illinois (3) | |
| 11 | Virginia (3) | |
| 12 | Gonzaga (3) | AQ WCC |
| 13 | Vanderbilt (4) | |
| 14 | Nebraska (4) | |
| 15 | Alabama (4) | |
| 16 | Kansas (4) | |
| 17 | St. John's (5) | AQ Big East |
| 18 | Arkansas (5) | AQ SEC |
| 19 | Texas Tech (5) | |
| 20 | Wisconsin (5) | |
| 21 | Tennessee (6) | |
| 22 | North Carolina (6) | |
| 23 | Louisville (6) | |
| 24 | BYU (6) | |
| 25 | Kentucky (7) | |
| 26 | Miami (FL) (7) | |
| 27 | UCLA (7) | |
| 28 | Clemson (7) | |
| 29 | St. Mary's (8) | |
| 30 | Villanova (8) | |
| 31 | Ohio State (8) | |
| 32 | Georgia (8) | |
| 33 | Utah State (9) | AQ Mountain West |
| 34 | TCU (9) | |
| 35 | Iowa (9) | |
| 36 | NC State (9) | |
| 37 | UCF (10) | |
| 38 | Santa Clara (10) | |
| 39 | Texas A&M (10) | |
| 40 | Saint Louis (10) | |
| 41 | VCU/Dayton (11) | AQ A10 |
| 42 | Missouri (11) | |
| 43 | Texas (11) | |
| 44 | Miami (OH) (11) | |
| 45 | SMU (11) | |
| 46 | USF (11)/Wichita State (12) | AQ American |
| 47 | Akron (12) | AQ MAC |
| 48 | McNeese (12) | AQ Southland |
| 49 | Yale (12)/Penn (14) | AQ Ivy |
| 50 | High Point (12) | AQ Big South |
| 51 | Northern Iowa (13) | AQ MVC |
| 52 | Cal Baptist (13) | AQ WAC |
| 53 | Hofstra (13) | AQ CAA |
| 54 | Hawaii (13) | AQ Big West |
| 55 | North Dakota State (14) | AQ Summit |
| 56 | Troy (14) | AQ Sunbelt |
| 57 | Wright State (14) | AQ Horizon |
| 58 | Kennesaw State (14) | AQ CUSA |
| 59 | Tennessee State (15) | AQ OVC |
| 60 | Siena (15) | AQ MAAC |
| 61 | Furman (15) | AQ SoCon |
| 62 | Idaho (15) | AQ Big Sky |
| 63 | Queens (16) | AQ ASUN |
| 64 | UMBC (16) | America East |
| 65 | LIU (16) | AQ NEC |
| 66 | Howard (16) | AQ MEAC |
| 67 | Lehigh (17) | AQ Patriot |
| 68 | Prairie View A&M (17) | AQ SWAC |
First four out: Auburn, San Diego State, Oklahoma, New Mexico
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