Considering March Madness trends is one way to help formulate 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket picks. No seed worse than No. 8 has ever won it all. A No. 11 seed is the highest to ever make it to the Final Four. Historical NCAA Tournament trends, however, have been challenged in recent years, as 16-seeds have won twice since 2018 after previously never winning. Loyola Chicago, UCLA and NC State have also all made the Final Four as double-digit seeds since 2018.
The hunt for 2026 March Madness upsets is on since 2026 NCAA bracket picks will now lock in one day. Which 2026 NCAA Tournament Cinderella teams should be circled on your bracket? 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.
Another potential double-digit darling for 2026 March Madness is No. 14 High Point. The Panthers haven’t lost in over two months they wrapped up a 30-4 campaign (15-1 Big South) with a convincing win against Winthrop in the Big South Tournament title game to punch their ticket. True to its name, High Point scores at an impressive rate, averaging 90 points per game, which ranks fifth nationally. The Panthers, however, don’t just thrive on the offensive end. They allowed only 70.3 points per game, demonstrating a well-rounded profile. Their first-round opponent, Wisconsin, had an up-and-down year, and losses to teams like Oregon and USC show vulnerability for the Badgers.
Another Cinderella team to watch for is the 13-seed California Baptist Lancers. The Lancers are somewhat under the radar because they just joined Division I in 2018, and this is their first NCAA Tournament appearance. Senior guard Dominique Daniels Jr. however, is one of the best players in the nation whom few people know. The 5-foot-10 senior averages 23.2 points per game, ranking fifth in the nation, and he’s heating up even more in March, averaging 32 points per game in his last three. The Lancers draw 4-seed Kansas in the first round, a team that lost five of its past nine games entering March Madness. 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.
