March Madness 2026: Committee Unveils Early Top 16, Michigan Tops Field Ahead of Selection Sunday
The NCAA selection committee unveiled an early top-16 men’s seeding Saturday, naming Michigan the No. 1 overall seed and laying out region lines that shape march madness 2026 matchups. The three-weeks-and-a-day preview matters because it highlights contested placement decisions — notably Iowa State’s move over UConn — and the ripple effects of injuries and conference strength on the bracket.
March Madness 2026 top-line seeds: Michigan, Duke, Arizona, Iowa State
Michigan would occupy the No. 1 overall slot in this early projection, joined on the top line in order by Duke, Arizona and Iowa State. The committee’s three-weeks-out list placed Iowa State as the final No. 1 seed after the Cyclones edged out Connecticut for that position in the preview. That ordering establishes the projected top lines and potential marquee matchups if the bracket held to this configuration.
Keith Gill explains the debate over Iowa State and UConn
Committee chair Keith Gill, who is also the Sun Belt commissioner, characterized Iowa State’s placement over Houston and Connecticut as "a bit of a surprise" and said it was a choice that involved "a lot more debate" on the CBS broadcast. Gill noted that UConn had been on the top line as of Wednesday, but the Huskies’ home loss to Creighton that night dropped them to the second line — a direct cause that altered the top-line composition.
Top 16 seeds and numerical ordering listed by the committee
The committee released the top 16 in ordered groups by seed line. The No. 2 seeds, in order, are UConn, Houston, Illinois and Purdue. The No. 3 seeds, in order, are Florida, Kansas, Nebraska and Gonzaga. The No. 4 seeds, in order, are Texas Tech, Michigan State, Vanderbilt and Virginia. Gill added that Alabama and Arkansas were the next closest teams to cracking the top 16. Those ordered lists provide a concrete snapshot of the committee’s current valuation of the field.
Regional breakdown: Midwest, East, West, South
The preview also mapped the top four seeds into regions. In the Midwest Region the committee paired Michigan with Houston, Florida and Virginia. The East listed Duke with Illinois, Kansas and Vanderbilt. The West placed Arizona with Purdue, Gonzaga and Michigan State. The South grouped Iowa State with UConn, Nebraska and Texas Tech. The regional placements illustrate why conference clustering proved difficult: the Big Ten and Big 12 together produced eight of the top 10 seeds and 12 of the top 16.
JT Toppin injury and bracket balancing moved Michigan State
Injuries and a seeding-balance rule altered assignments. The committee said news of Texas Tech forward JT Toppin’s season-ending knee injury pushed Texas Tech down one line. Separately, Michigan and Michigan State were initially placed together in the Midwest, which would have set up a potential third meeting between the two in a projected Sweet 16 in Chicago. To balance total seeding values — the committee’s rule that the sum totals of the top four seeds in each region cannot differ by more than six from any other region — Michigan State was moved to the West and Virginia shifted into the Midwest. Those adjustments had the direct effect of redistributing competitive weight across regions and, in this bracket, lined Iowa State and Texas Tech up to meet in the Sweet 16.
Media mock contrasts and the 10th annual February unveil
The committee’s lineup differed from a mock selection conducted by media participants, among them C. J. Moore of The Athletic, which projected Houston as the fourth No. 1 seed, put Alabama and Arkansas as No. 4 seeds, and left Texas Tech and Vanderbilt out of the top 16. The selection committee’s presentation was the 10th annual February unveil and nearly functioned as a preview of a high-profile Saturday of college basketball: had Houston been on the top line it would have set up all four projected No. 1 seeds to face one another later that day. The preview also showed top two seeds Michigan and Duke scheduled to meet in Washington, with Arizona slated to play at Houston in the sequence the committee outlined.
A photograph accompanying the committee’s release carried a credit to David Purdy / Getty Images.
Separately noted in the broader digital landscape: a regional publisher’s website displayed a "browser not supported" message that encouraged readers to update for the best online experience, an ancillary detail encountered by some users while accessing coverage during the February unveil.
Joe Rexrode, identified as a senior writer for The Athletic who covers college football, was cited in related coverage; his background includes previous work at The Tennessean, the Detroit Free Press and the Lansing State Journal, and reporting on the Pyeongchang, Rio and London Olympics for.
The committee’s preview is now a reference point with three weeks and a day to Selection Sunday, setting expectations for march madness 2026 while underscoring how late-season results, injuries and seeding-balance rules can rapidly reshape the projected bracket.
