2026 March Madness bracket: Sweet 16 picks, NCAA Tournament predictions by elite college basketball expert
SportsLine expert Thomas Casale is 89-53 (+2968) on his college basketball picks and has locked in his Sweet 16 bracket predictions for 2026 March Madness
The 2026 Sweet 16 bracket is now set, and there's a decent amount of chalk with seven out of eight top-two seeds advancing. No. 1 Florida, which fell to Iowa in the second round, is the one exception. No. 3 seeds, however, did not fare as well with a couple of SEC teams disrupting 2026 NCAA Tournament brackets. No. 6 Tennessee knocked off No. 3 Virginia to advance to its fourth straight Sweet 16. No. 11 Texas, meanwhile, took out No. 3 Gonzaga as the Longhorns became the sixth program to go from the First Four to at least the Sweet 16.
What March Madness upsets could be in store on the second weekend, and which top seeds have the best chance to make it to Indianapolis for the Final Four? Before locking in any NCAA Tournament picks or filling out your March Madness bracket 2026, be sure to see the 2026 Sweet 16 picks from top expert Thomas Casale.
A frequent guest on national radio and TV shows to discuss college sports, Casale started playing football sheets at 8 years old when his dad was the local bookie. He's been betting -- and winning -- for more than 30 years. Tom sets his own lines for each game, then looks at the metrics to see where he can find an edge in the number. Over the past three college basketball seasons, Tom is 402-247 (62%) -- all publicly documented. He joined SportsLine in early 2024 and has gone 89-53 in college basketball.
Now, with the 2026 NCAA bracket revealed, Casale is predicting matchups for the Sweet 16 and the remainder of the NCAA Tournament. You can only see them over at SportsLine.
Top 2026 March Madness Sweet 16 picks
One of the Sweet 16 picks that Casale likes is No. 1 Michigan easily handling No. 4 Alabama on Friday at 7:35 p.m. ET in Chicago. The Tide might have benefited from a fortunate draw in the first two rounds. They got by Hofstra with no problem and then faced Texas Tech without star JT Toppin (knee).
Now the Tide, who likely won't have second-leading scorer Aden Holloway (suspension) again this week, face arguably the most well-rounded team in the nation. The Wolverines play elite defense, but also have the offense to match and exceed Alabama's high-volume offensive approach. "This is the game where Alabama will really miss Holloway," Casale told SportsLine. "The Tide will likely need to score 90+ to win and I don't think they have the horses without Holloway. Michigan tops 100 and pulls away for an easy win." You can see the rest of Casale's 2026 NCAA bracket picks here.
How to make 2026 NCAA bracket predictions
Casale has also made his picks for the rest of the NCAA Tournament, including who advances to the Final Four and cuts down the nets. He is backing a major upset as he has a No. 1 seed failing to win its region and advance to the Final Four, so you'll want to see which upset he's predicting before locking in any 2026 NCAA bracket picks.
Who is Casale backing in the Sweet 16, and No. 1 seed fails to survive this weekend? Visit SportsLine now to see which teams you can back with confidence, all from the expert who is 89-53 (+2968) on college basketball picks.
