UNDATED (AP) — Teams coming off long runs in their league tournaments have a short window to regroup ahead of March Madness. Bigger conferences after waves of expansion have led to longer runs through league tournaments on the eve of the NCAA Tournament. Now it's common to see teams having to play four games in four days in conference tournaments. Then they have a few days for players to recover and recharge ahead of the NCAAs. Big Ten champion Purdue faces that challenge after playing four games in four days to win that title.
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — March Madness tips off with the First Four, featuring one of this season’s best stories in Miami (Ohio) and a matchup of formerly embattled head coaches in Texas’ Sean Miller and NC State’s Will Wade. Coming off their only loss of the season, the RedHawks have a chance to silence some skeptics against fellow No. 11 seed SMU (20-13) on Wednesday night. The RedHawks, who are back in the tournament for the first time since 2007, were rewarded with a game in Dayton, roughly 43 miles from campus. There are two games Tuesday night to open the tournament.
UNDATED (AP) — There's nothing quite like March Madness to remind people of what college sports is all about. Yes, the 2025-26 season contained its share of headlines about money, pro players returning to college and coaches behaving badly. But now, the payoff. A three-week, 68-team hoops celebration where anything from a Miami (Ohio) miracle to a dominating Duke performance could happen. At its best, the NCAA Tournament is a needed reminder about what's right in a rapidly changing landscape.
UNDATED (AP) — UConn looks like the safest pick to win the women’s NCAA tournament, but the real key in bracket pools is nailing early upsets. Brackets start to match by the second weekend, since lower seeds rarely reach the Sweet 16. For those looking to find some dangerous No. 11 seeds: Fairfield faces Notre Dame, Rhode Island plays Alabama, and South Dakota State meets Washington. But in the end, it's hard to not think the No. 1 seeds get to the Final Four.
UNDATED (AP) — There was a time when the NCAA men’s tournament was wildly unpredictable. Hard as it may seem to believe, there was one season where a No. 4 seed, two No. 5 seeds and a No. 9 seed all reached the Final Four. And a year later, a No. 11 seed got to the national semifinals as well. Ah, 2023 and 2024 feel so long ago. Last year's tournament saw four No. 1 seeds get to the Final Four and the way this bracket looks, it's not hard to envision the same thing happening this year. That's good news for Michigan, Duke, Florida and Arizona.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sportsbooks see top seeds Duke, Arizona, Michigan, and Florida as the clear favorites to win the NCAA men’s basketball championship. One betting analyst said the bracket still leaves room for a surprise Final Four run. Bruce Marshall of WagerTalk said he doubts all four No. 1 seeds reach Indianapolis. He pointed to Virginia as a possible breakout team and said Michigan looks beatable in its region. Caesars analyst Patrick Berbert says bettors expect a “chalky” tournament again. He linked that trend to NIL, which he says widens the gap between top programs and others.
UNDATED (AP) — Duke is the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and No. 1 in the final AP Top 25 of the regular season. The Blue Devils received 50 first-place votes from a 57-person media panel in The Associated Press men’s basketball poll, a day after they were named the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. No. 2 Arizona received the other seven first-place votes, with Michigan, Florida and Houston rounding out the top five.
UNDATED (AP) — UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina are the top four teams in The Associated Press women’s basketball Top 25, matching the No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. The top-ranked Huskies are the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA women's bracket. UConn received 29 first-place votes from a national media panel while UCLA got the other two. The team that was No. 1 in the poll heading into March Madness has won the NCAA championship 17 times out of 43 early March polls dating to 1982, the first year of the women’s tournament.
