March Madness 2026 will conclude with the Final Four in Indianapolis, and the last time the city hosted the NCAA Tournament in 2021, Baylor prevailed. The Bears aren’t part of the 2026 March Madness bracket, but other schools from the Lone Star State are hoping to end long droughts in the NCAA Tournament bracket 2026. The Texas Longhorns own the dubious record for the most tournament appearances (40) without a national title, while the Houston Cougars hold the distinction of the most Final Fours (seven) without cutting down the nets.

Houston is a 2-seed, but could have home-court advantage over No. 1 Florida in the South Region of the 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket. A potential Elite Eight matchup between the two would take place in Houston, paving the way for the Cougars to possibly get off that list of best programs to never win a national title. Observing which teams have location advantages should be a part of everyone’s strategy when making 2026 NCAA Tournament picks. Before making any 2026 March Madness bracket predictions, be sure to check out the 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

Their proven projection model has simulated every game in the tournament 10,000 times. It has absolutely crushed its March Madness picks recently, beating over 91 percent of all CBS Sports brackets in four of the past seven tournaments. It was all over UConn’s championship run two years ago and nailed 12 teams in the Sweet 16 last year. It also correctly predicted all four Final Four teams in 2025.

It knows how to spot an upset as well. The same model has produced brackets that have nailed 25 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception in 2016.

Now, with the 2026 NCAA bracket revealed, the model is simulating the matchups and its results are in. You can only see it over at SportsLine.

Three 2026 March Madness bracket games to watch

One of the most intriguing 2026 March Madness matchups to watch: No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 TCU in the East region. Ohio State missed the last three NCAA Tournaments after only missing three of the previous 16 editions, but the Buckeyes are back in the Big Dance. They rely heavily on their starters, who scored 85.8% of their points this season, which ranked seventh in Division I. TCU is in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five years, and it has won a game in two of the last three tournaments.

Another 2026 NCAA Tournament matchup to keep an eye on is No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 UCF in the East Region. The Bruins, who have won the most NCAA Tournament titles (11) all-time, are dealing with several key injuries. Tyler Bilodeau (knee) and Donovan Dent (calf) both got hurt in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, but they are expected to play on Friday night. UCF is making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and its first since 2019.

Another 2026 March Madness game to watch out for: No. 6 Louisville vs. No. 11 South Florida in the East Region. Every NCAA Tournament since 2005 has seen an 11-seed defeat a 6-seed, including four such instances over the last two years. USF has experience, with six of its top seven scorers being upperclassmen, and no team in the nation made or attempted more free throws than the Bulls. As for the Cardinals, the length of their tourney stay may be dependent on the status of star freshman Mikel Brown Jr. He missed the ACC tourney, and Louisville is 16-5 with him compared to 7-5 without him. You can only see the model’s 2026 NCAA bracket picks here.

How to make 2026 NCAA bracket predictions

Who wins every tournament-defining matchup? And which teams will make surprising runs through the 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket? With the model’s track record of calling bracket-busting upsets, you’ll want to see which stunners it’s calling this year before locking in any 2026 NCAA bracket picks.

So what’s the optimal NCAA Tournament 2026 bracket? And which NCAA Tournament Cinderella teams will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which double-digit seeds you can back with confidence, all from the model that called all four Final Four teams in 2025.