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March Madness expert brackets: Compare Jay Bilas, Dick Vitale, more picks to win 2026 NCAA Tournament originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket is officially set, and with it comes the annual tradition of analysts and icons planting their flags on the road to Indianapolis.
From Jay Bilas weighing the impact of superstar freshmen like Duke’s Cameron Boozer to Dick Vitale evaluating a field of "coaching giants," the experts are already split on whether 2026 will be a year of chalk or chaos.
As you prepare to fill out your own bracket, comparing the blue-blood bias of the seasoned vets against the metric-driven upsets of the bracketologists can be the difference between a winning pool and a busted Sunday. Here is a breakdown of how the biggest names in the sport see the field of 68 shaking out.
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March Madness expert brackets
Jay Bilas bracket
Final Four
| Region | Team |
| South | No. 3 Illinois |
| West | No. 1 Arizona |
| East | No. 3 Michigan State |
| Midwest | No. 2 Iowa State |
National championship: Arizona over Michigan State
Lots of people think Bilas would go with his alma mater, Duke, but he doesn't have the Blue Devils making it to the Final Four. Rather, he has Duke losing to Tom Izzo and Michigan State, similar to 2019; the Spartans are one of two Big Ten teams he has making it to Indianapolis, with Illinois coming out of the South over Houston and Florida. In the final, Bilas has Arizona cutting the nets for the first time since 1997, defeating Iowa State.
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Dick Vitale bracket
Final Four
| Region | Team |
| South | No. 1 Florida |
| West | No. 1 Arizona |
| East | No. 1 Duke |
| Midwest | No. 2 Iowa State |
National championship: Florida over Arizona
Vitale picked three out of the four one seeds to make it to Indianapolis, with Michigan — the team in the Midwest — the lone exception. Come the Final Four, Vitale has the same matchup that opened the season to be the one that finishes it, with Florida facing Arizona in the National Championship. Though he picked Arizona to make its first Final Four in 2025, he does not have them cutting the nets; rather, he has Florida becoming the first team to go back-to-back since UConn.
BENDER: Expert predictions for March Madness
Mike DeCourcy bracket
Final Four
| Region | Team |
| South | No. 2 Houston |
| West | No. 1 Arizona |
| East | No. 5 St. John's |
| Midwest | No. 2 Iowa State |
National championship: Arizona over Houston
Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy has just one top seed making it to the Final Four, and it's the one that hasn't made the Final Four in over two decades. He has No. 1 Duke losing to Rick Pitino and St. John's, No. 1 Florida losing to Houston in a 2025 title game rematch and Michigan falling short in the Midwest. Then, he has Arizona winning its first national championship since 1997, beating a Houston team that suffered the same predicted result in as last season.
HISTORY OF UPSETS BY SEED:
16 vs. 1 | 15 vs. 2 | 14 vs. 3 | 13 vs. 4 | 12 vs. 5
John Fanta bracket
Final Four
| Region | Team |
| South | No. 2 Houston |
| West | No. 4 Arkansas |
| East | No. 1 Duke |
| Midwest | No. 1 Michigan |
National championship: Duke over Michigan
Fanta is going with the No. 1 overall seed to take home the national championship, picking the Blue Devils to beat the Wolverines and bring home their first national championship since 2015. He has the SEC Player of the Year Darius Acuff and Arkansas making it all the way to Indianapolis, beating the Big 12 champions Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen, and in the South, has Houston beating Florida in a national championship rematch.
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