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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - APRIL 06: Yaxel Lendeborg #23 of the Michigan Wolverines shoots the ball against Tarris Reed Jr. #5 and Braylon Mullins #24 of the UConn Huskies during the second half of a game in the National Championship of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 06, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I personally love soccer; it is perhaps my favorite sport to both watch and play. Not everyone feels that way, but when you compare tournaments around the world, two usually come to mind: March Madness and the World Cup.
It got me thinking: What would it look like if we had an NCAA basketball tournament, World Cup-style?
First, you would have qualifiers. In the different regions of the world (Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas), there are qualifiers; each team plays other teams in their region to get the chance to come to the World Cup every 4 years. Applying that logic to the NCAA brand means each conference would have every team play each other to gain points. The top teams then advance to the actual World Cup. I just took the top 4 finishers in each conference to use as the qualifying campaigns. Then added 4 teams that are highest ranked in the NET but outside of the top 4 of the conference standings.
America East Conference
- UMBC Retrievers
- Vermont Catamounts
- NJIT Highlanders
- UMass Lowell River Hawks
American Conference
- South Florida Bulls
- Tulsa Golden Hurricane
- Wichita State Shockers
- UAB Blazers
Atlantic 10 Conference
- Saint Louis Billikens
- VCU Rams
- Saint Joseph’s Hawks
- Dayton Flyers
Atlantic Coast Conference
- Duke Blue Devils
- Virginia Cavaliers
- Miami Hurricanes
- North Carolina Tar Heels
Atlantic Sun Conference
- Central Arkansas Bears
- Austin Peay Governors
- Queens University Royals
- Lipscomb Bisons
Big 12 Conference
- Arizona Wildcats
- Houston Cougars
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Iowa State Cyclones
Big East Conference
- St. John’s Red Storm
- UConn Huskies
- Villanova Wildcats
- Seton Hall Pirates
Big Sky Conference
- Portland State Vikings
- Montana State Bobcats
- Eastern Washington Eagles
- Northern Colorado Bears
Big South Conference
- High Point Panthers
- Winthrop Eagles
- Radford Highlanders
- UNC Asheville Bulldogs
Big Ten Conference
- Michigan Wolverines
- Nebraska Cornhuskers
- Michigan State Spartans
- Illinois Fighting Illini
Big West Conference
- UC Irvine Anteaters
- Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors
- Cal State Fullerton Titans
- Cal State Northridge Matadors
Coastal Athletic Association
- UNC Wilmington Seahawks
- Charleston Cougars
- Hofstra Pride
- Monmouth Hawks
Conference USA
- Liberty Flames
- Sam Houston Bearkats
- Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
- Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Horizon League
- Wright State Raiders
- Robert Morris Colonials
- Green Bay Phoenix
- Detroit Mercy Titans
Ivy League
- Yale Bulldogs
- Harvard Crimson
- Pennsylvania Quakers
- Cornell Big Red
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
- Merrimack Warriors
- Saint Peter’s Peacocks
- Siena Saints
- Marist Red Foxes
Mid-American Conference
- Miami (OH) RedHawks
- Akron Zips
- Kent State Golden Flashes
- Toledo Rockets
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
- Howard Bison
- Morgan State Bears
- Norfolk State Spartans
- North Carolina Central Eagles
Missouri Valley Conference
- Belmont Bruins
- Bradley Braves
- UIC Flames
- Illinois State Redbirds
Mountain West Conference
- Utah State Aggies
- San Diego State Aztecs
- New Mexico Lobos
- Grand Canyon Lopes
Northeast Conference
- Long Island University Sharks
- Central Connecticut Blue Devils
- Mercyhurst Lakers
- Le Moyne Dolphins
Ohio Valley Conference
- Tennessee State Tigers
- Morehead State Eagles
- Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
- UT Martin Skyhawks
Patriot League
- Navy Midshipmen
- Lehigh Mountain Hawks
- Colgate Raiders
- Boston University Terriers
Southeastern Conference
- Florida Gators
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Arkansas Razorbacks
- Vanderbilt Commodores
Southern Conference
- East Tennessee State Buccaneers
- Mercer Bears
- Wofford Terriers
- Samford Bulldogs
Southland Conference
- Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
- McNeese Cowboys
- UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros
- Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders
Southwestern Athletic Conference
- Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
- Southern Jaguars
- Florida A&M Rattlers
- Alabama A&M Bulldogs
Summit League
- North Dakota State Bison
- St. Thomas-Minnesota Tommies
- North Dakota Fighting Hawks
- Omaha Mavericks
Sun Belt Conference
- Troy Trojans
- Texas State Bobcats
- Marshall Thundering Herd
- South Alabama Jaguars
West Coast Conference
- Gonzaga Bulldogs
- Saint Mary’s Gaels
- Santa Clara Broncos
- Oregon State Beavers
Western Athletic Conference
- Utah Valley Wolverines
- California Baptist Lancers
- Utah Tech Trailblazers
- UT Arlington Mavericks
Now that we have the teams, those teams get put into pots. FIFA puts the host nation and the highest-ranked teams into Pot 1. Then, the remaining pots are filled with worse and worse teams, with pot 4 being the teams that are the lowest ranked. We will apply that logic to the NCAA teams to get our pots. I used the NET ranking to align the teams, where FIFA has FIFA rankings. I also had to add 4 more teams to get even groups. I took the highest remaining NET-ranked teams that didn’t qualify based on conference record, and they also went into pot 4. That is also why you won’t find Kentucky anywhere in this group. The Cats finished 28th in the NET rankings, 8 spots behind the last qualifier, Texas Tech.
Now each group is formed by drawing from the following pots:
The seed pots (32 teams each)
Pot 1
Michigan, Duke, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Houston, Iowa St., UConn, Gonzaga, Michigan St., Nebraska, St. John’s (NY), Alabama, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Arkansas, Kansas, Saint Mary’s (CA), Utah St., North Carolina, Saint Louis, Miami (FL), Villanova, Santa Clara, VCU, South Fla., New Mexico, San Diego St., Tulsa, Seton Hall, McNeese, Akron
Pot 2
Belmont, Miami (OH), Dayton, High Point, Wichita St., Grand Canyon, Yale, SFA, Hofstra, Illinois St., UNCW, Liberty, Hawaii, Sam Houston, Saint Joseph’s, St. Thomas (MN), UIC, North Dakota St., Bradley, UAB, UC Irvine, UTRGV, Winthrop, Montana St., Toledo, ETSU, Navy, Robert Morris, Portland St., Penn, Northern Colo., Cornell
Pot 3
Kent St., Harvard, Western Ky., UT Arlington, Austin Peay, Col. of Charleston, Central Ark., Monmouth, Oregon St., Siena, Tennessee St., Utah Tech., Merrimack, Cal St. Fullerton, Marist, Mercer, South Alabama, CSUN, A&M-Corpus Christi, Queens (NC), Lipscomb, Howard, LIU, UMBC, Eastern Wash., UT Martin, Louisiana Tech, Samford, Green Bay, Detroit Mercy, Southeast Mo. St., Colgate
Pot 4 (Remaining qualifiers + 4 highest ranked NET teams not in top 4 of their conference)
Vermont, Saint Peter’s, UNC Asheville, Texas St., Wofford, Radford, Bethune-Cookman, Omaha, Morehead St., Boston U., North Dakota, Mercyhurst, Southern U., Lehigh, Central Conn. St., Le Moyne, Alabama A&M, Florida A&M, Norfolk St., UMass Lowell, UAlbany, NJIT, Maine, N.C. Central, New Hampshire, Morgan St., Bryant, Binghamton, Purdue, Tennessee, Louisville, Texas Tech
The random group draw (groups 1–32)
Groups 1–8
- Group 1: Kansas, SFA, South Alabama, New Hampshire
- Group 2: South Fla., UTRGV, Queens (NC), Purdue
- Group 3: Houston, Winthrop, Green Bay, Maine
- Group 4: Nebraska, High Point, Southeast Mo. St., Bethune-Cookman
- Group 5: Saint Mary’s (CA), UIC, Merrimack, Radford
- Group 6: San Diego St., Portland St., UT Arlington, Boston U.
- Group 7: Saint Louis, St. Thomas (MN), A&M-Corpus Christi, Southern U.
- Group 8: Michigan St., UAB, Harvard, Louisville
Groups 9–16
- Group 9: Florida, Belmont, Colgate, Central Conn. St.
- Group 10: Arizona, Hawaii, Kent St., Wofford
- Group 11: UConn, Toledo, Howard, Omaha
- Group 12: Illinois, Dayton, Monmouth, N.C. Central
- Group 13: Tulsa, Sam Houston, Marist, Texas Tech
- Group 14: Utah St., Hofstra, Central Ark., Florida A&M
- Group 15: Duke, Bradley, Cal St. Fullerton, UMass Lowell
- Group 16: VCU, Robert Morris, Tennessee St., Le Moyne
Groups 17–24
- Group 17: New Mexico, Navy, Detroit Mercy, Alabama A&M
- Group 18: Seton Hall, UC Irvine, Western Ky., Morgan St.
- Group 19: North Carolina, Liberty, Oregon St., Vermont
- Group 20: Arkansas, Northern Colo., CSUN, Saint Peter’s
- Group 21: Virginia, UNCW, Mercer, Binghamton
- Group 22: Michigan, Yale, Eastern Wash., UAlbany
- Group 23: Gonzaga, Wichita St., LIU, Bryant
- Group 24: Iowa St., Cornell, Louisiana Tech, North Dakota
Groups 25–32
- Group 25: Vanderbilt, Grand Canyon, UT Martin, Norfolk St.
- Group 26: Villanova, Penn, Siena, Morehead St.
- Group 27: St. John’s (NY), Miami (OH), Samford, Lehigh
- Group 28: Santa Clara, Saint Joseph’s, Lipscomb, Tennessee
- Group 29: Alabama, ETSU, Austin Peay, Mercyhurst
- Group 30: McNeese, North Dakota St., Col. of Charleston, NJIT
- Group 31: Miami (FL), Illinois St., Utah Tech, UNC Asheville
- Group 32: Akron, Montana St., UMBC, Texas St.
We would then take the top two from each group and bracket them as the World Cup does, so group 1 plays group 2, group 3 plays group 4, etc. To get the top two, each team would play a round-robin style 3 games. A win is worth 3 points, OT is worth 1 point for both teams, and a loss in regulation is 0 points. I used AI to simulate the results from each group, and the bracket looked like this:
Round of 64 Matchups
Left Bracket (Groups 1–16)
- Kansas (G1 Winner) vs. South Fla. (G2 Runner-Up)
- Purdue (G2 Winner) vs. SFA (G1 Runner-Up)
- Houston (G3 Winner) vs. High Point (G4 Runner-Up)
- Nebraska (G4 Winner) vs. Winthrop (G3 Runner-Up)
- Saint Mary’s (CA) (G5 Winner) vs. UT Arlington (G6 Runner-Up)
- San Diego St. (G6 Winner) vs. UIC (G5 Runner-Up)
- Saint Louis (G7 Winner) vs. Louisville (G8 Runner-Up)
- Michigan St. (G8 Winner) vs. St. Thomas (MN) (G7 Runner-Up)
- Florida (G9 Winner) vs. Hawaii (G10 Runner-Up)
- Arizona (G10 Winner) vs. Belmont (G9 Runner-Up)
- UConn (G11 Winner) vs. Dayton (G12 Runner-Up)
- Illinois (G12 Winner) vs. Toledo (G11 Runner-Up)
- Texas Tech (G13 Winner) vs. Hofstra (G14 Runner-Up)
- Utah St. (G14 Winner) vs. Tulsa (G13 Runner-Up)
- Duke (G15 Winner) vs. Robert Morris (G16 Runner-Up)
- VCU (G16 Winner) vs. Bradley (G15 Runner-Up)
Right Bracket (Groups 17–32)
- New Mexico (G17 Winner) vs. UC Irvine (G18 Runner-Up)
- Seton Hall (G18 Winner) vs. Navy (G17 Runner-Up)
- North Carolina (G19 Winner) vs. Northern Colo. (G20 Runner-Up)
- Arkansas (G20 Winner) vs. Liberty (G19 Runner-Up)
- Virginia (G21 Winner) vs. Yale (G22 Runner-Up)
- Michigan (G22 Winner) vs. UNCW (G21 Runner-Up)
- Gonzaga (G23 Winner) vs. Louisiana Tech (G24 Runner-Up)
- Iowa St. (G24 Winner) vs. Wichita St. (G23 Runner-Up)
- Vanderbilt (G25 Winner) vs. Penn (G26 Runner-Up)
- Villanova (G26 Winner) vs. Grand Canyon (G25 Runner-Up)
- St. John’s (NY) (G27 Winner) vs. Santa Clara (G28 Runner-Up)
- Tennessee (G28 Winner) vs. Miami (OH) (G27 Runner-Up)
- Alabama (G29 Winner) vs. North Dakota St. (G30 Runner-Up)
- McNeese (G30 Winner) vs. ETSU (G29 Runner-Up)
- Miami (FL) (G31 Winner) vs. Texas St. (G32 Runner-Up)
- Akron (G32 Winner) vs. Illinois St. (G31 Runner-Up)
And then I simulated it out, and it got 2 of the Final Four teams and the title game exactly the same:
Round of 64 Results
Left Bracket
- Kansas vs. South Fla. → Winner: Kansas
- Purdue vs. SFA → Winner: Purdue
- Houston vs. High Point → Winner: Houston
- Nebraska vs. Winthrop → Winner: Nebraska
- Saint Mary’s (CA) vs. UT Arlington → Winner: Saint Mary’s (CA)
- San Diego St. vs. UIC → Winner: San Diego St.
- Saint Louis vs. Louisville → Winner: Louisville
- Michigan St. vs. St. Thomas (MN) → Winner: Michigan St.
- Florida vs. Hawaii → Winner: Florida
- Arizona vs. Belmont → Winner: Arizona
- UConn vs. Dayton → Winner: UConn
- Illinois vs. Toledo → Winner: Illinois
- Texas Tech vs. Hofstra → Winner: Texas Tech
- Utah St. vs. Tulsa → Winner: Utah St.
- Duke vs. Robert Morris → Winner: Duke
- VCU vs. Bradley → Winner: VCU
Right Bracket
- New Mexico vs. UC Irvine → Winner: New Mexico
- Seton Hall vs. Navy → Winner: Seton Hall
- North Carolina vs. Northern Colo. → Winner: North Carolina
- Arkansas vs. Liberty → Winner: Arkansas
- Virginia vs. Yale → Winner: Virginia
- Michigan vs. UNCW → Winner: Michigan
- Gonzaga vs. Louisiana Tech → Winner: Gonzaga
- Iowa St. vs. Wichita St. → Winner: Iowa St.
- Vanderbilt vs. Penn → Winner: Vanderbilt
- Villanova vs. Grand Canyon → Winner: Villanova
- St. John’s (NY) vs. Santa Clara → Winner: St. John’s (NY)
- Tennessee vs. Miami (OH) → Winner: Tennessee
- Alabama vs. North Dakota St. → Winner: Alabama
- McNeese vs. ETSU → Winner: McNeese
- Miami (FL) vs. Texas St. → Winner: Miami (FL)
- Akron vs. Illinois St. → Winner: Akron
Round of 32 Results
Left Bracket
- Kansas vs. Purdue → Winner: Purdue
- Houston vs. Nebraska → Winner: Houston
- Saint Mary’s (CA) vs. San Diego St. → Winner: Saint Mary’s (CA)
- Louisville vs. Michigan St. → Winner: Michigan St.
- Florida vs. Arizona → Winner: Arizona
- UConn vs. Illinois → Winner: UConn
- Texas Tech vs. Utah St. → Winner: Texas Tech
- Duke vs. VCU → Winner: Duke
Right Bracket
- New Mexico vs. Seton Hall → Winner: New Mexico
- North Carolina vs. Arkansas → Winner: Arkansas
- Virginia vs. Michigan → Winner: Michigan
- Gonzaga vs. Iowa St. → Winner: Iowa St.
- Vanderbilt vs. Villanova → Winner: Vanderbilt
- St. John’s (NY) vs. Tennessee → Winner: Tennessee
- Alabama vs. McNeese → Winner: Alabama
- Miami (FL) vs. Akron → Winner: Miami (FL)
Sweet 16 Results
Left Bracket
- Purdue vs. Houston → Winner: Houston
- Saint Mary’s (CA) vs. Michigan St. → Winner: Michigan St.
- Arizona vs. UConn → Winner: UConn
- Texas Tech vs. Duke → Winner: Duke
Right Bracket
- New Mexico vs. Arkansas → Winner: Arkansas
- Michigan vs. Iowa St. → Winner: Michigan
- Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee → Winner: Tennessee
- Alabama vs. Miami (FL) → Winner: Alabama
Elite 8 Results
Left Bracket
- Houston vs. Michigan St. → Winner: Houston
- UConn vs. Duke → Winner: UConn
Right Bracket
- Arkansas vs. Michigan → Winner: Michigan
- Tennessee vs. Alabama → Winner: Alabama
Final Four Results
- Houston vs. UConn → Winner: UConn
- Michigan vs. Alabama → Winner: Michigan
Championship Game
- UConn vs. Michigan → National Champion: Michigan
Even in a simulated bracket, Tennessee couldn’t get to a Final Four.
I actually really would love this style tournament, scheduling, and all that, probably makes it impossible unless they did play it in the summer, but that wouldn’t work because of NCAA rules and freshman eligibility. Still, it would be pretty cool.
Last night, Mexico won its opening game of the World Cup, and tonight the USA gets things underway at 9 PM ET on Fox. Are you following along?
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