Ryan Murphy
• Managing Editor
27+ years betting experience
Updated:
Mar 15, 2026 , 10:05 PM ET
The 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is now set. Follow the action in real time with our updated March Madness digital bracket.
Photo By – Reuters Connect. Duke Blue Devils star Cameron Boozer.
The wait is officially over. Selection Sunday 2026 is in the books and the road to Indianapolis is open. Duke has claimed the No. 1 overall seed, joined on the top line by Arizona, Michigan, and defending champion Florida.
Get ahead of the curve with our freshly updated digital March Madness bracket. We’ll track every result of every matchup in real time from the First Four to the National Championship Game.
The 2026 March Madness bracket
Follow along with each round right up to the National Championship to keep track of Covers’ 2026 College Basketball Men’s Tournament Bracket.
You can also download and print our official bracket by visiting our printable March Madness bracket page. Make sure you fill out your bracket and enter free bracket challenges and contests before the tournament starts for a chance at huge prizes for March Madness.
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March Madness 2026 schedule
| Event | Date | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Selection Sunday | March 15 | — |
| First Four | March 17-18 | UD Arena (Dayton, OH) |
| First Round | March 19-20 | Various |
| Second Round | March 21-22 | Various |
| Sweet 16 | March 26-27 | Toyota Center (Houston, TX); SAP Center (San Jose, CA); United Center (Chicago, IL); Capital One Arena (Washington, DC) |
| Elite Eight | March 28-29 | Toyota Center (Houston, TX); SAP Center (San Jose, CA); United Center (Chicago, IL); Capital One Arena (Washington, DC) |
| Final Four | April 4 | Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis, IN) |
| National Championship Game | April 6 | Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis, IN) |
The perfect March Madness bracket
A question often asked of us is whether there has ever been a perfect March Madness bracket. The answer is simple: No. And there likely never will be.
That’s because the odds of successfully predicting a perfect March Madness bracket are 1 in 120.2 billion — assuming you know a little about college basketball! If you’re flipping a coin? Those odds become 1 in 9.2 quintillion, per NCAA.com.Â
No wonder Warren Buffett offered $1 billion to anyone who could fill out a perfect bracket.
Covers March Madness bracket guide
Once the bracket is set, it’s time to fill out some brackets of your own. Use our free printable bracket to plot a course through the tournament.
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Get our prediction
We’ll research and release the official Covers March Madness bracket predictions. Use them to your advantage.
March Madness Bracket FAQs
March Madness brackets come out immediately following the Selection Sunday show, which in 2026 is on March 15 at 8:00 p.m. ET..
March Madness brackets are due just before tip-off of the first game of the first round (the Round of 64).
The teams for the March Madness bracket will be announced during the Selection Sunday show, which in 2026 is on March 15.
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