Imagn Images

Not much can top the NCAA Tournament 2026. It offers a wide range of emotions and drama. Adding value to it is the parity in the game that gives hope to nearly everyone in the 2026 March Madness bracket. That sentiment has only grown since 2018, when UMBC became the first No. 16 seed to ever top a No. 1 seed, Virginia, beating the Cavaliers 74-54. It was reinforced five years later when No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson stunned top-seeded Purdue, 63-58. This year, several mid majors look like potential 2026 March Madness bracket busters.

As you fill out your 2026 March Madness bracket picks, you need to know which teams you should be wary of and which ones you should back. Are any of this year's top seeds vulnerable? With injuries biting Duke, are the Blue Devils susceptible to being one of the memorable March Madness upsets? 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. The 12th-seeded Zips, who have very strong guard play, certainly have the pieces to make some noise in the March Madness bracket. Their bracket draw also helps their case. They get No. 5 Texas Tech in the first round, and the Red Raiders have been trending down since losing star JT Toppin (knee) for the season. They went just 3-4 in the seven games since that injury, and they enter the NCAA Tournament 2026 off a non-competitive 75-53 loss to Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament. Looking a bit ahead, Akron could draw No. 4 Alabama, a team dealing with legal uncertainty surrounding second-leading scorer Aden Holloway, in the second round, opening a clear path to the second weekend for the Zips. 

One of the hottest teams in the nation that nobody knows about is the High Point Panthers. The 12th-seeded Panthers enter the NCAA Tournament 2026 on a 14-game winning streak after winning the Big South Conference regular season and tournament championships. The Panthers can score in bunches and will be a thorn in the side of any big-time program. The Panthers also lead the nation in point differential at plus-19.7. High Point was a No. 13 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket and took Purdue to the wire before losing 75-63 in the first round.

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.