Below is MY perceived 2026 NCAA Men’s March Madness 68-team bracket summary along with why these contenders are projected where they are and who the last four in might be. With clear sections and some bracket context based on multiple bracketology sources and current standings. 🏀 2026 NCAA March Madness – Perceived Bracket & Summary Top Seeds (Projected No. 1s) No. 1 Seeds: Duke, Michigan, Arizona, UConn These are the teams currently leading polls and bracket projections: Duke has taken over the AP No. 1 spot after a signature win over Michigan, Michigan and Arizona remain elite in NET and poll rankings, and UConn is dominating the Big East. 🏆 Projected Bracket — Top Regions (This is a field combining multiple bracketology projections through February) No. 1 Seeds Duke – ACC powerhouse with top metrics and high Quad-1 win totals. AP News Michigan – Elite resume, strong analytics profile across KenPom & NET. Arizona – Undefeated and dominant in Big 12 play. UConn – Big East leader and consistent NET top10 team. �table 2–4 Seeds (Consensus among projections): Purdue – Listed as a 2-seed and inside the top 10 NET as well. Illinois, Houston, Iowa State, Gonzaga – All regularly projected as 2–3 seeds due to strong resumes and Quad-1 victories. Texas Tech, North Carolina, Florida – Frequently slotted in the 4–5 range. 🔥 Bubble & At-Large Favorites These teams are frequently projected in the middle seed range (6–10) and are viewed as strong bubble contenders: Wisconsin – Now considered a lock with a solid Quad-1 profile. Bucky’s 5th Quarter NC State, Villanova, Utah State – Often seen as swing seeds (7–9). Tennessee, Alabama, Iowa, Louisville – Held inside projected field in most bracketology lists. 📉 Perceived Bubble & Tiering Likely In (just inside): NC State, UCLA, Auburn, Missouri, USC, SMU � Traditional Bubble (needs wins to secure): Butler, Creighton, Seton Hall, UCF, San Diego State � 🏟️ Last Four In (Play-In Candidates) According to recent projections such as Sporting News’ field of 68 and other bracketology builds: 📌 Projected Last Four In Texas Ohio State Texas A&M New Mexico These teams typically show up just inside the 68-team range but with resume gaps that could easily drop them on Selection Sunday. ❌ First Four Out (Near-Misses) Teams often crack the bracket: Just outside the field, meaning they’d need late resume boosts to USC Santa Clara Virginia Tech Missouri These programs hover near the cut line due to inconsistent Quad-1 wins or fewer signature victories. 🧠 Why These Projections Make Sense 📊 Standings & Metrics The teams near the top of the NET and AP polls (Duke, Michigan, Arizona, UConn) also have strong strength of schedule and Quad-1 win totals — key components the Selection Committee values. NCAA.com+ 📍 Conference Strength Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, and SEC teams are well-represented due to conference depth and quality wins. The Big Ten alone has numerous projected bids. Bucky’s 5th Quarter 📉 Strong Mid-Majors Gonzaga and Utah State often appear in the field due to excellent records, strong conference performance, and Quad-1/Quad-2 victories. The Slipper Still Fits Views: 0
Tag: Uconn
HISTORY OF the WOMENS NCAA MARCH BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
[adrotate group=”1″] SELECTION SUNDAY FIRST GAME [wpcdt-countdown id=”15530″] [wpcdt-countdown id=”15537″] (People ask me why I don’t write about the Women’s March Madness. TIME ! I have 4 TVs going watching the men. Then posting the results, no time.) I did ask a friend if he would be willing to help with the womens tournament. He said yes. BUT I remebered his telling me about his Dad taking him to a PACERS game. He told me the Pacers were playing the Jets, and he thought Reggie Miller was a good quarterback. I decided to pass on his help. Thanks anyway. (No not looking for a volunteer outside my circle). SELECTION SUNDAY WILL TELECAST ON ESPN The NCAA women’s basketball tournament is an annual event that determines the national champion of Division I women’s college basketball in the United States. It began in 1982, following the dissolution of the AIAW, which had organized the women’s championship since 1972. The NCAA tournament has grown in popularity and prestige over the years, attracting millions of fans and producing some of the most memorable moments in women’s sports history. The tournament follows a similar format and selection process as the men’s tournament, with 68 teams competing in a single-elimination bracket. The teams are divided into four regions and seeded from 1 to 16, with the four lowest-seeded teams playing in the First Four games to advance to the first round. The regional winners then advance to the Women’s Final Four, where the national semifinals and final are held. The Women’s Final Four is usually scheduled on the same weekend as the men’s Final Four, but in a different host city. The most successful team in the history of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament is Connecticut, which has won 11 titles, including four consecutive championships from 2013 to 2016. The Huskies are coached by Geno Auriemma, who holds the record for the most wins in the tournament with 127. Other notable coaches who have led their teams to multiple titles include Pat Summitt of Tennessee, Tara VanDerveer of Stanford, Kim Mulkey of Baylor, and Muffet McGraw of Notre Dame. The tournament has also featured some of the greatest players in women’s basketball history, such as Cheryl Miller, Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, and Sabrina Ionescu. Some of the most memorable games in the tournament include the 1991 final between Tennessee and Virginia, which went to overtime and was decided by a buzzer-beater by Dena Head; the 1994 final between North Carolina and Louisiana Tech, which was also decided by a buzzer-beater by Charlotte Smith; the 2006 final between Maryland and Duke, which went to an extra period and was won by a layup by Kristi Toliver; and the 2018 semifinal between Notre Dame and Connecticut, which was won by a last-second shot by Arike Ogunbowale. The most recent champion of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament is LSU, which defeated Iowa 102-85 in the 2023 final in Dallas, Texas. It was the first title for the Tigers and their coach Kim Mulkey, who had previously won three titles with Baylor. The 2023 tournament was also notable for the historic performance of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark*, who averaged 34.2 points per game and became the first player to score 100 points in the first two round, *Iowa’s Caitlin Clark has already, (this season), set a new women’s scoring record, scoring now sits at 3,569 career points, with 15 games to go. (At this writing). [adrotate group=”1″] Views: 136
2021 MARCH MADNESS PICK SHEETS , UPDATES AND OCCASIONAL OPINION
This is where you can print your “OFFICE POOL” Bracket, Check the scores, etc. Yes I will have “MY PICKS” so you can compare your picks to mine. (And Laugh or Cry)I will have A “MASTER BRACKET”, “WHAT IF YOU CHOSE THE HIGH PICKS” for each game. Yes I will have MY PICKS. .An “UPSET” will be RED on “ALL HIGH PICKS” Bracket. GREEN indicate HIGH SEED Win What is a seed? Merely a starting place. Although unlikely, IT is possible for two 16 seeds to meet in the final game. Would lets say Michigan St were to be seeded as a number 16. They would still have to win all games to be CHAMPION ! SEEDING attempts to give a more favored team an easier path to the CHAMPIONSHIP. Seeding should lead to the best 2 teams playing in the final game. However there is always that upset minded team; or the chance that the favored team has a bad game, a stand out player is sick or injured. To print BRACKET: HOVER OVER SHEET. You will see a window at bottom with an arrow pointing down (second from right). Click this button. It will open a new window with the bracket then click the printer icon or go to file, and PRINT. The NCAA has named replacement teams in the event any team is unable to start the tournament due to COVID-19. The 4 teams are Louisville, Colorado State, St. Louis and Mississippi. These teams were the first 4 to miss the cut. After Tournament starts there will be no replacements. Any team deemed unable to play will be considered a “NO CONTEST” , and team still able to play will automatically advance. Tournament may have to have to switch days the East Region and Midwest Region play their Sweet 16 games. If number 6 seed BYU advances to SWEET SIXTEEN. The reason is; the East Region is scheduled to play on Sunday March 28. BYU being a Mormon, (Latter Day Saints), have a strict rule of not playing games on SUNDAY. Out of respect for the religion NCAA has agreed to switch the 2 Play dates. NCAA ANNOUNCES Oregon advances with no contest. VCU Covid-19 Was it just me or did UCLA Coach Mick Cronin, have a surprised look on his face after defeating Michigan St. Six Referees sent home from Tournament. COVID-19 related. I have to think Texas Tech Coach Chris Beard lost the chance for his team to advance. Why did he leave his team playing the last couple of minutes as if they had a 10 point lead. Letting them play a stall tactic, instead of attacking the basket. The momentum of the game was on their side. WHY? I’m sure Coach Beard had his reasons. We may never understand his thinking at that time; even if we know. I would like to see the CHAMPIONSHIP GAME played between UCLA; because they have come the farthest starting the tournament as a play in game. AND Baylor, because they have waited 61 years to return to the FINAL FOUR Then I would like to see Baylor win the whole thing. They are so long overdue. The Baylor team last played in Championship game in 1948, getting beat by Kentucky, (who won their first championship), 58-42 at Madison Square Garden. TRIVIA Baylor in first FINAL FOUR since 1950. Gonzaga’s last trip to the FINAL FOUR was in 2017. UCLA last appeared in Final Four in 2008. (Their 3rd consecutive appearance). Houston last made the FINAL FOUR in 1984. Star players that year were Ralph Sampson, Clyde Drexler, and Hakeem Olajuwon Arkansas 1st Elite appearance since 1995 Oregon St advances to ELITE 8. After 39 year absence. St Louis mascot is called a Billiken. A Billiken is a mythical “Good Luck Figure. ” To see image of Billiken scroll to bottom of page. Wisconsin snaps Roy Williams’ 29-0 first round winning streak. Oral Roberts University becomes 2nd, 15 in Tournament history to reach SWEET 16. The only other 15 seed was FGCU, (Florida Gulf Coast University), in 2013 MASTER BRACKETT [pdf-embedder url=”http://worldfootballcenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-MARCHMADNESS-MASTER.pdf” title=”2021 MARCHMADNESS MASTER”] ALL HIGH PICKS [pdf-embedder url=”http://worldfootballcenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-MARCHMADNESS-All-HIGH-PICKS.pdf” title=”2021 MARCHMADNESS All HIGH PICKS”] UPSET BRACKET [pdf-embedder url=”http://worldfootballcenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-MARCHMADNESS-UPSETS.pdf” title=”2021 MARCHMADNESS UPSETS”] Warning ! Do not look at MY PICKS. please? MY PICKS [pdf-embedder url=”http://worldfootballcenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-MARCHMADNESS-MY-PICKS.pdf” title=”2021 MARCHMADNESS MY PICKS”] My Cinderella team Pick is Colgate. No rhyme. No reason. I just thought I would add another way to be RIGHT or wrong. So much for my Cinderella Team. I hope yours does better. GAME TIME, CHANNEL, WHERE PLAYED NCAA Tournament national championship Monday, April 5 Game Time (ET) TV Game 67 9 p.m. Gonzaga Vs Baylor CBS, fuboTV Views: 195
NCAA March Madness 2016
What a thrilling ending to the 2016 edition of MARCH MADNESS. North Carolina probably wishing the could have waited a couple of seconds for their final shot. I didn’t do so well. I DID however pick a number two seed to win (Michigan State); BUT it was a number two seed which won. So I have to give myself a half credit (?). It has been FUN. I plan to do this again next year. Despite my troubles with CHROME. It gave me fits in updating. I would spend sometimes an hour updating just one bracket sheet. Finally learned I had to clear my cache every time before I attempted to update anything. Be sure to check back regularly. I don’t have any idea what I will write about….. NO! wait I have some idea. Maybe some racing history. (If I can find the notes I made a couple years ago. Also…. who knows. WELCOME TO OUR 2016 MARCH MADNESS. I am not sure How many years we have been doing this. I will have to look it up. This is where you can print your “OFFICE POOL” Bracket, Check the scores, etc. I will have this “MASTER BRACKET”, “WHAT IF YOU CHOSE THE HIGH PICKS” for each game. An “UPSET BRACKET” (if the favored team wins it will be in Green, if it is an upset it will be listed in RED”. And, Yes I will have my picks so you can compare your picks to mine. (And Laugh or Cry) What is a seed? Merely a starting place. Although unlikely, IT is possible for two 16 seeds to meet in the final game. Would lets say Michigan St were to be seeded as a number 16. They would still have to win all games to be CHAMPION ! SEEDING attempts to give a more favored team an easier path to the CHAMPIONSHIP. Seeding should lead to the best 2 teams playing in the final game. However there is always that upset minded team; or the chance that the favored team has a bad game, a stand out player is sick or injured. I am reminded of one year in our STATE High School WRESTLING Tournament. The Athletic Assn. decided to go with a draw, rather than seeding. The Result? Two wrestlers with one defeat each faced each other in the first match. Loser of a first round match goes home. It was a 3 OT match. One of these wrestlers went home, while wrestlers with more losses during the season advanced. The winner of this match had no competition left. Easy wins. He won the CHAMPIONSHIP that first match. Not much excitement. Reportedly there is a TEENAGE GIRL in Indiana who has only missed 3 games in this years bracket. She picked Texas over Northern Iowa. California over Hawaii. Final game she had Syracuse over North Carolina. Her Champion pick is……VILLANOVA. She says she does not follow Basketball regularly and has only attended a game or two at her high school. Maybe this is proof the rest of us over think some things To print BRACKET: Click on PRINT PDF button at top and select page with the bracket you want to print. ( If you do not see the “PRINT PDF” button. Please go to the The Title “NCAA March Madness 2016” and click to advance to the full post). MASTER BRACKET [pdf-embedder url=”https://fromthemiddle.blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2016-march-madness-MASTER-bracket.pdf”] ALL HIGH PICKS [pdf-embedder url=”https://fromthemiddle.blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2016-march-madness-ALL-HIGH-PICKS-bracket.pdf”] UPSETS [pdf-embedder url=”https://fromthemiddle.blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2016-march-madness-UPSETS-bracket.pdf”] MY PICKS [pdf-embedder url=”https://fromthemiddle.blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2016-march-madness-MY-PICKS-bracket.pdf”] Views: 106
NCAA FINAL FOUR
Today we will see who advances to the NCAA Championship Game for 2011. We have Kentucky. A pretty good team. They execute well and are well coached. BUT. I still have a mistrust issue with the Kentucky coach. After all he has more NCAA infractions in his history than all the other 3 coaches combined. To be fair I wish the them the best. Boys do it for yourselves ,the team, the school the conference the State of Kentucky. I just would find it hard to play for a coach with his record of infractions. VCU. What can I say? I really know less about them than any team in the FINAL FOUR. congratulations VCU you have performed admirably. I understand your coach is young (30 ish). But he seems to have set a good work example, for you to follow. He appears to be a good strategist. I have heard no bad things about him or from him. He will put the game in your hands. Listen to him. Connecticut. Great team. Great season. I don’t recall too many bad things about your coach, or any of the players. Teamwork will go a long way down this final stretch. I apologize I don’ t know much about your team other than what I have stated. I could give you an excuse. But, I feel there is no excuse if you don’t prepare. And that is where I failed you on this report. (My excuse would be didn’t have time to look at your program) This is true. But I should have taken the time. Please accept my apology. You however have had time to prepare. Good Luck. Butler. I have had friends and acquaintances, even relatives attend Butler going back to the 1950’s. I was lucky enough to attend one of your home games last year. Outstanding. You have been here before, in fact only one year ago. Many fans wrote you off after losing your “STAR” player. This year you have proven you are all STARS. Matt Howard, Mr. Clutch. Stay the course. Stays calm I would have to call him a great leader of his team. But I believe he is a believer in TEAM, he realizes the Bulldogs would not be there if not for the TEAMWORK they display. Brad Stevens. 30 + but strategy is his game. He knows whatever he asks the TEAM will knock themselves out to do. Sets a good example for his team. All that said here are my picks. Kentucky and Uconn. Close game. (Maybe) Kentucky will either run away and hide for the win. Or we will see Uconn put a clamp on them to keep the game close. If UCONN keeps it close I think they will have a chance to win. Kentucky just doesn’t perform as well in a tight game. I predict Kentucky the winner. Butler and VCU. Should prove to be the game to watch. Both young coaches, strategists. VCU (who would normally be a 16 seed and not an 11 seed.) Only an oversight by the NCAA cast you as an 11 seed. I think probably depriving the College fans of a 16 vs 1 upset. Which everyone would like to see. But seeding doesn’t matter. It is just a starting place. What you do from there is all that counts. Ask the number 1 seeds this year. A lot of heart is what you have. Butler EXPERIENCE the best teacher. You have that experience. Now you have to show what you learned. I believe experience will win out on this one. (I may be just a little prejudiced by my previous stated connections. They all say Butler will be NCAA champs for 2011). But my pick is Butler based solely on the experience side. The only thing that will stop them is if VCU can run off a huge run and hang onto a big lead. Close game Butler all the way. Championship game. Kentucky Vs Butler. The second year in a row for Butler to advance to the Championship game. Can they pull it off. One thing else you have here is the Indiana/Kentucky feud. There will be a little more tension in the air for this game. My pick,,,,,,,,,Drum Roll Please!!!! BUTLER. Again I am betting on EXPERIENCE. Good Luck to all teams. (it still takes some luck to win the championship) That Is How I See It, Views: 199
