March Madness bracket predictions: AI picks every NCAA Tournament game

Now that the 2026 men’s NCAA Tournament bracket has been announced, college basketball fans have begun filling out their brackets for each of the four regions, and the paths that would be required for the 68 teams to reach the Final Four.

So, who will win it all?

Microsoft Copilot AI chatbot believes the 2026 NCAA Tournament will be a redemption story for the reigning national runner-up, Houston.

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USA TODAY Sports used the Microsoft Copilot AI chatbot to predict the result of every men’s game in this year’s NCAA Tournament bracket. The exercise looked a lot like how avid and casual college basketball fans fill out a traditional bracket for their bracket pool groups every year.

The Microsoft Copilot AI simulation selected the 2-seeded Cougars to be crowned the national champion on Monday, April 6 inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, which would be the first national title for Houston and make Kelvin Sampson the oldest Division I coach to win a national championship at 70 years old. Copilot had Houston beating Big 12 foe, 1-seed Arizona, in the national title game. The Wildcats defeated the Cougars in the Big 12 championship game this past weekend.

The artificial intelligence software also predicted three upsets for the entire tournament, two coming in the first round with No. 12 seed High Point beating No. 5 Wisconsin and No. 9 seed Saint Louis beating No. 8 seed Georgia. The other was Houston getting revenge for last year’s national championship loss to Florida in the Elite Eight of the South Region. It has a Final Four that includes three No. 1 seeds (Duke and Michigan as the others) and one No. 2 seed in Houston.

There was one major flaw in the simulation, though. It mixed up the region names of the bracket, but it got the matchups through the Elite Eight correct. For the Final Four and national championship, we had to run a different simulation with the correct Final Four matchup pairings of regions from the actual NCAA Tournament bracket.

Here’s a complete look at how Microsoft Copilot’s AI chatbot predicted every game in the 2026 Men’s NCAA Tournament bracket:

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March Madness predictions: AI simulation of every 2026 NCAA Tournament game

First Four

• No. 11 seed NC State beats No. 11 seed Texas (West Region)

• No. 11 seed Miami (Ohio) beats No. 11 seed Southern Methodist (Midwest Region)

• No. 16 seed UMBC beats No. 16 seed Howard (Midwest Region)

• No. 16 seed Prairie View A&M beats No. 16 seed Lehigh (South)

First Round

East Region

• No. 1 seed Duke beats No. 16 seed Siena

• No. 8 seed Ohio State beats No. 9 seed TCU

• No. 5 seed St. John’s beats No. 12 seed Northern Iowa

• No. 4 seed Kansas beats No. 13 seed Cal Baptist

• No. 6 seed Louisville beats No. 11 seed South Florida

• No. 3 seed Michigan State beats No. 14 seed North Dakota State

• No. 7 seed UCLA beats No. 10 seed Central Florida

• No. 2 seed UConn beats No. 15 seed Furman

South Region

• No. 1 seed Florida beats No. 16 seed Lehigh

• No. 8 seed Clemson beats No. 9 seed Iowa

• No. 12 seed McNeese beats No. 5 seed Vanderbilt

• No. 4 seed Nebraska beats No. 13 seed Troy

• No. 6 seed North Carolina beats No. 11 VCU

• No. 3 seed Illinois beats No. 14 seed Penn

• No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s beats No. 10 seed Texas A&M

• No. 2 seed Houston beats No. 15 seed Idaho

Midwest Region

• No. 1 seed Michigan beats No. 16 seed UMBC

• No. 9 seed Saint Louis beats No. 8 seed Georgia

• No. 5 seed Texas Tech beats No. 12 seed Akron

• No. 4 seed Alabama beats No. 13 seed Hofstra

• No. 6 seed Tennessee beats No. 11 seed Miami (Ohio)

• No. 3 seed Virginia beats No. 14 seed Wright State

• No. 7 seed Kentucky beats No. 10 seed Santa Clara

• No. 2 seed Iowa State beats No. 15 seed Tennessee State

West Region

• No. 1 seed Arizona beats No. 16 LIU

• No. 8 seed Villanova beats No. 9 seed Utah State

• No. 12 seed High Point beats No. 5 seed Wisconsin

• No. 4 seed Arkansas beats No. 13 seed Hawai’i

• No. 6 seed BYU beats No. 11 seed NC State

• No. 3 seed Gonzaga beats No. 14 seed Kennesaw State

• No. 7 seed Miami beats No. 10 seed Missouri

• No. 2 seed Purdue beats No. 15 seed Queens

Second Round

East Region

• No. 1 Duke seed beats No. 8 seed Ohio State

• No. 4 seed Kansas beats No. 5 seed St. John’s

• No. 3 seed Michigan State beats No. 6 seed Louisville

• No. 2 seed UConn beats No. 7 seed UCLA

South Region

• No. 1 seed Florida beats No. 8 seed Clemson

• No. 4 seed Nebraska beats No. 12 seed McNeese

• No. 3 seed Illinois beats No. 6 seed North Carolina

• No. 2 seed Houston beats No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s

Midwest Region

• No. 1 seed Michigan beats No. 9 seed Saint Louis

• No. 4 seed Alabama beats No. 5 seed Texas Tech

• No. 3 seed Virginia beats No. 6 seed Tennessee

• No. 2 seed Iowa State beats No. 7 seed Kentucky

West Region

• No. 1 seed Arizona beats No. 8 seed Villanova

• No. 4 seed Arkansas beats No. 12 seed High Point

• No. 3 seed Gonzaga beats No. 6 seed BYU

• No. 2 seed Purdue beats No. 7 seed Miami

Sweet 16

East Region

• No. 1 seed Duke beats No. 4 seed Kansas

• No. 2 seed UConn beats No. 3 seed Michigan State

South Region

• No. 1 seed Florida beats No. 4 seed Nebraska

• No. 2 seed Houston beats No. 3 seed Illinois

Midwest Region

• No. 1 seed Michigan beats No. 4 seed Alabama

• No. 2 seed Iowa State beats No. 3 seed Virginia

West Region

• No. 1 seed Arizona beats No. 4 seed Arkansas

• No. 2 seed Purdue beats No. 3 seed Gonzaga

Elite Eight

• East Region: No. 1 seed Duke beats No. 2 seed UConn

• South Region: No. 2 seed Houston beats No. 1 seed Florida

• Midwest Region: No. 1 seed Michigan beats No. 2 seed Iowa State

• West Region: No. 1 seed Arizona beats No. 2 seed Arizona

Final Four

• No. 2 seed Houston beats No. 1 seed Duke

• No. 1 seed Arizona beats No. 1 seed Michigan

National championship game

• No. 2 seed Houston beats No. 1 seed Arizona

USA TODAY’s Blake Schuster contributed to this.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness predictions: Who does AI have winning 2026 NCAA Tournament?