NCAA Basketball: Duke at Florida State
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NCAA Tournament action is usually fast and furious with plenty of March Madness upsets. With the exception of last season, when all four No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four, carnage among top seeds has been the norm. The 2023 tournament took it to a new level when a No. 4, two No. 5s and a No. 9 seed made it to the Final Four. Since 2016, in the nine tournaments that have been held, no more than two No. 1 seeds have made it to the Final Four eight times. That's one of the 2026 March Madness trends to know.

Mid-majors have been at the heart of it all. Teams like San Diego State, Gonzaga, Loyola-Chicago, Butler and George Mason have made it to the Final Four since 2000. Who should you target with your 2026 March Madness picks? Before making any 2026 March Madness bracket predictions, be sure to check out the 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

Their proven projection model has simulated every game in the tournament 10,000 times. It has absolutely crushed its March Madness picks recently, beating over 91 percent of all CBS Sports brackets in four of the past seven tournaments. It was all over UConn's championship run two years ago and nailed 12 teams in the Sweet 16 last year. It also correctly predicted all four Final Four teams in 2025.

It knows how to spot an upset as well. The same model has produced brackets that have nailed 25 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception in 2016.

Now, with the 2026 NCAA bracket revealed, the model is simulating the matchups and its results are in. You can only see it over at SportsLine.

Three 2026 March Madness Cinderella teams to watch out for

One potential 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket buster is the Akron Zips. Akron is in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in school history, but it is seeking its first-ever win in the Big Dance. The Zips won a school-record 29 games this season, surpassing their total of 28 from last season. They are riding a 10-game winning streak and have won 19 of their last 20 games, setting another school record with 88.4 points per game. Texas Tech enters this first-round matchup without star JT Toppin, so Akron has a clear path to make some noise this weekend. 

No. 13 seed Hawaii has been peaking at the right time and that could be bad news for teams in the NCAA Tournament West region. The Rainbow Warriors have won six of their last seven games, including the Big West Tournament championship. Hawaii finished second during the regular season at 14-6 in the conference and 24-8 overall. The Rainbow Warriors have a plus-9.9 point differential this season, among the top-40 in the nation. Hawaii has a balanced scoring attack with six players averaging at least 8.5 points, including senior center Isaac Johnson at 14.1 points per game. Senior guard Dre Bullock is also a weapon. In 32 games, all starts, he averages a career-high 13.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.7 steals.

Another Cinderella team to watch for is the 13-seed California Baptist Lancers. CBU is making its NCAA Tournament debut after a strong finish to the year, winning 15 of its last 17 and taking the WAC Tournament. It has one of the nation's best scorers in Dominique Daniels Jr. (23.2 ppg), who led the WAC in points and is averaging 32 ppg over his last three games. Cal Baptist will see No. 4 Kansas in the first round, and the game will take place in San Diego -- just 100 miles from CBU's campus. Additionally, there have been seven 13-seeds to upset 4-seeds over the last seven NCAA Tournaments. Check out more of the model's 2026 Cinderella picks and full 2026 NCAA bracket picks here.

How to make 2026 NCAA bracket predictions

Who wins every tournament-defining matchup? And which teams will make surprising runs through the 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket? With the model's track record of calling bracket-busting upsets, you'll want to see which stunners it's calling this year before locking in any 2026 NCAA bracket picks.

So what's the optimal NCAA Tournament 2026 bracket? And which NCAA Tournament Cinderella teams will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which double-digit seeds you can back with confidence, all from the model that called all four Final Four teams in 2025.