Here is the official 2026 NCAA tournament bracket for March Madness and the DI men’s basketball tournament. The Sweet 16 continues Friday, March 27 with four games.
No. 2 Purdue beat No. 11 Texas with a late bucket, while No. 9 Iowa upset No. 4 Nebraska. In the late games, No. 3 Illinois defeated No. 2 Houston and No. 1 Arizona routed No. 4 Arkansas.
BRACKET CHALLENGE GAME: Check your picks and brackets now
2026 NCAA tournament: Bracket, schedule for March Madness
Click or tap here for the 2026 printable bracket | Click or tap here for the interactive bracket
Here is the schedule for this year’s tournament.
- Selection Sunday: 6 p.m. ET Sunday, March 15 on CBS
- First Four: Tuesday, March 17 and Wednesday, March 18
- First Round: Thursday, March 19 and Friday, March 20
- Second Round: Saturday, March 21 and Sunday, March 22
- Sweet 16: Thursday, March 26 and Friday, March 27
- Elite Eight: Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29
- Final Four: 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 4 on TBS at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
- NCAA championship game: 8:30 p.m. ET on Monday, April 6 on TBS at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
These are the sites for the men’s tournament in 2026:
| 2026 MARCH MADNESS LOCATIONS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Dates |
City |
Venue |
|
First Four |
March 17 & 18 |
Dayton, OH |
UD Arena |
|
First/Second |
March 19 & 21 |
Buffalo, NY |
KeyBank Center |
|
First/Second |
March 19 & 21 |
Greenville, SC |
Bon Secours Wellness Arena |
| First/Second |
March 19 & 21 |
Oklahoma City, OK |
Paycom Center |
| First/Second | March 19 & 21 | Portland, OR | Moda Center |
| First/Second | March 20 & 22 | Tampa, FL | Benchmark International Arena |
| First/Second | March 20 & 22 | Philadelphia, PA | Xfinity Mobile Arena |
| First/Second | March 20 & 22 | San Diego, CA | Viejas Arena |
|
First/Second |
March 20 & 22 |
St. Louis, MO |
Enterprise Center |
|
South Regional |
March 26 & 28 |
Houston, TX |
Toyota Center |
|
West Regional |
March 26 & 28 |
San Jose, CA |
SAP Center |
|
Midwest Regional |
March 27 & 29 | Chicago, IL | United Center |
|
East Regional |
March 27 & 29 |
Washington, D.C. |
Capital One Arena |
| Final Four | April 4 & 6 | Indianapolis | Lucas Oil Stadium |
