2026 NCAA Tournament Projections: UConn, Arizona Among Mike DeCourcy’s No. 1 Seeds

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The 2025 portion of the college basketball season is nearly a wrap, and FOX Sports bracket forecaster Mike DeCourcy is here to bring you into the new year.

Thanks to myriad upsets and enough ranked matchups to make it feel like we're already in March, there are plenty of updates from DeCourcy inaugural bracket in this second edition of NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament projections.

Who doesn't love some college chaos? Multiple ranked teams are in action on Tuesday night, but this is where the projected bracket stands entering play on Dec. 30.

Here is a look at DeCourcy’s region-by-region projections:

EAST REGION

SOUTH REGION

MIDWEST REGION

WEST REGION

As for the teams on the bubble, the last four in are all new faces this time around, with Oklahoma State, Ohio State, Virginia Tech and New Mexico the current foursome. 

Meanwhile, Butler, Miami (Fla.), Indiana and NC State have played themselves into being the first four out.

As for conference representation, the SEC leads the way with 10 teams in the projected tourney lineup, with the Big 12 and Big Ten right behind them at nine schools each. The ACC has eight, and then after that the participation drops, with the Big East netting four while the West Coast Conference and Mountain West both sport a pair each. 

These projections aren't set in stone, and with the way college basketball works, they can change in a hurry. 

DeCourcy's projection offer up where we are at the moment, though, and will be around in the future to sum up the moments to come, as well.

Michael DeCourcy covers college basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on NCAA Tournament bracket projections. He has appeared on FOX Sports college basketball game broadcasts, while also serving as a college basketball studio analyst with Big Ten Network. He has been covering college basketball for nearly three decades at the Sporting News. You can follow him at @tsnmike.

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