How to run your 2026 March Madness pool: Play for prizes and create an NCAA Tournament game

The CBS Sports 2026 NCAA Men's and Women's Games have returned for March Madness 2026 office pools.

By Ryan Wooden

Mar 13, 2026 at 10:34 am ET • 5 min read

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The 2026 NCAA Tournament is almost here, with the Selection Show scheduled for Sunday, First Four action on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the first round beginning on Thursday. That leaves you with less than a week to set up your 2026 March Madness pools on the men's side. The Florida Gators are the reigning national champions and look like contenders again after winning the SEC regular-season title. How far will the Gators advance and who should you pencil deep into your 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket?

Meanwhile, the 2026 Women's NCAA Tournament bracket will also be revealed on Sunday and first-round action begins on Friday. Right now, you can create 2026 NCAA Tournament pools for both the men's and women's brackets to compete against your friends, family and co-workers. With the action so close, now is the time to set up your 2026 Men's March Madness pools and 2026 Women's March Madness pools.

If you're looking for a NCAA Tournament bracket game home, CBS Sports is the perfect place. You can play Bracket Games free on the CBS Sports App in pools with your friends and join free Men's and Women's Bracket Challenges to potentially win big prizes.* Get started right here.

How to create a 2026 NCAA Tournament pool with friends and family

Run your own free 2026 March Madness pool on CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports app and invite all of your friends, family, and co-workers to play against you during this year's tournament.

To start a bracket pool for Men's March Madness, go to the Create Men's Bracket Pool page, name your group and choose if you want a locked pool where you control the invites or an open pool that everybody can share. After that, just confirm your rules and then you can copy and share your personal pool link with friends or have CBS Sports send them emails.

For a Women's March Madness pool, you can follow the exact same process but start at the Create Women's Bracket Pool page in order to start your pool for the Women's NCAA Tournament.

How to play 2026 March Madness Brackets for prizes

There are CBS Sports NCAA Bracket Challenges for the men's and women's tournaments and a trip to each 2027 Final Four on the line in both challenges. It's easy to compete for those epic trips.

For the Men's Challenge, simply click this link, click the "Join Now" button and enter.* Fill out your men's bracket after it is revealed on Sunday, March 15, and the winner of the trip to the 2027 Final Four will be chosen from among the entrants. If you've already created brackets in pools with friends, you can quickly enter the Challenge by importing an already-created bracket.

You can also enter the Women's CBS Sports Bracket Challenge later that night after the Selection Show at 8 p.m. ET. Importing your brackets from your women's pools is a convenient option for filling your Women's Challenge brackets as well.

The men's bracket deadline is March 19 when first round action tips off, while the women's bracket deadline is March 20. To be eligible, follow the steps above to join the Men's Challenge and then join the Women's Challenge here before each tournament begins.

2026 NCAA Tournament Men's teams to watch

Now that you know where to play 2026 NCAA Men's Bracket Games, here are some teams to watch as the Tournament approaches:

Florida Gators: The defending national champions continue to creep up in the rankings. After starting last week at No. 7, they have reached No. 5. For the third consecutive season, the Gators have registered at least 20 wins. Last year en route to winning the championship, they notched 36. It was just the fourth time they had won 30 or more games in program history. Of the 30-win seasons, they won the national title three times.

Houston Cougars: Kelvin Sampson has guided Houston to the Sweet 16 or better in each of the last six NCAA Tournaments and the Cougars have put together a pair of Final Four runs during that span. That includes a deep run last season, where they lost in the national championship game to Florida. Houston went 26-5 during the regular season and had a 14-4 mark to earn the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament, where they'll begin play on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. Emmanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan are back after making major contributions during last year's NCAA Tournament run and dynamic freshmen Kingston Flemings and Chris Cenac have helped make the Cougars look like contenders once again. Join the CBS Sports 2026 NCAA Men's Bracket Game here.

2026 NCAA Tournament Women's teams to watch

Now that you know where to play 2026 NCAA Women's Bracket Games, here are some teams to watch as the 2026 NCAA Tournament approaches:

UCLA Bruins: Cori Chase's squad made the Final Four for the first time in program history last season and are cementing their status as a contender in 2026. The Bruins are off to a 26-1 start with a perfect 16-0 mark in the Big Ten and Lauren Betts continues to dominate after an All-American season in 2024-25. The center is averaging 16.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.3 blocks per game and leads an experienced UCLA roster whose top six scorers are all seniors.

Vanderbilt Commodores: Vanderbilt has used NIL to reshape its athletic department as has found success in football and men's basketball. However, the women's squad might be the university's best shot at a national championship this season, as the Commodores are 24-3 overall and 10-3 in the SEC. Sophomore guard Mikayla Blakes is averaging 25.9 points per game this season and Vanderbilt checks in at No. 5 in the latest AP poll. Join the 2026 Women's Bracket Game here.