What a difference just one year makes.
Last season, the NCAA Tournament featured four No. 1 seeds in the Final Four. That number has been halved in the 2026 Men’s NCAA Tournament, as just Michigan and Arizona survived to the final weekend of the season.
REQUIRED READING: March Madness bracket hot takes: Duke blows it, UConn wins it, Arizona shouldn’t care
While this year’s bracket was more exciting in terms of upsets, the final seeds in the Final Four are 1, 1, 2 and 3. It’s not quite like the 2024 NCAA Tournament, where No. 11 North Carolina State crashed the party, but there should be plenty of excitement in Indianapolis.
The second of two Final Four matchups on Saturday, April 4, will feature a pair of No. 1 seeds. Arizona defeated Purdue to advance to the semifinals, while Michigan dominated No. 6 seed Tennessee to do the same.
In a more shocking showing, No. 2 UConn unseated the No. 1 overall seed Duke with a last-second, heartbreaking 40-foot 3-pointer from Braylon Mullins. The Huskies will take on No. 3 seed Illinois, which defeated Big Ten foe Iowa. The Hawkeyes had knocked out No. 1 seed Florida in the second round.
Here’s the full list of teams to make the Final Four in 2026:
Who’s in the men’s Final Four?
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No. 3 seed Illinois (South)
Final Four schedule, game times, TV info, Final Four location
Saturday, April 4
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Game 1: No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 2 UConn | 6:09 p.m. | TBS | Sling TV
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Game 2: No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 1 Michigan | 8:49 p.m. | TBS | Sling TV
The Final Four will be hosted at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The first game between No. 3 Illinois and No. 2 UConn will tip off at 6:09 p.m. ET, while the second game between No. 1 Arizona and No. 1 Michigan is scheduled for 8:49 p.m. ET
The Final Four games can be streamed on Sling TV and on the March Madness Live app.
March Madness 2026 bracket update
East Region
First Round
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No. 1 Duke 71, No. 16 Siena 65
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No. 2 UConn 82, No. 15 Furman 71
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No. 3 Michigan State 92, No. 14 North Dakota State 67
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No. 4 Kansas 68, No. 13 California Baptist 60
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No. 5 St. John’s 79, No. 12 Northern Iowa 53
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No. 6 Louisville 83, No. 11 South Florida 79
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No. 7 UCLA 75, No. 10 Central Florida 71
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No. 9 TCU 66, No. 8 Ohio State 64
Second round
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No. 1 Duke 81, No. 9 TCU 58
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No. 5 St. John’s 67, No. 4 Kansas 65
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No. 3 Michigan State 77, Louisville 69
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No. 2 UConn 73, No. 7 UCLA 57
Sweet 16
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No. 1 Duke 80, No. 5 St. John’s 75
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No. 2 UConn 67, No. 3 Michigan State 63
Elite Eight
Midwest Region
First Round
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No. 1 Michigan 101, No. 16 Howard 80
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No. 2 Iowa State 108, No. 15 Tennessee State 74
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No. 3 Virginia 82, No. 14 Wright State 73
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No. 4 Alabama 90, No. 13 Hofstra 70
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No. 5 Texas Tech 91, No. 12 Howard 71
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No. 6 Tennessee 78, No. 11 Miami (Ohio) 56
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No. 7 Kentucky 89, No. 10 Santa Clara 84 (OT)
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No. 9 Saint Louis 102, No. 8 Georgia 77
Second round
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No. 1 Michigan 95, No. 9 Saint Louis 72
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No. 4 Alabama 90, No. 5 Texas Tech 65
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No. 6 Tennessee 79, No. 3 Virginia 72
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No. 2 Iowa State 82, No. 7 Kentucky 63
Sweet 16
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No. 1 Michigan 90, No. 4 Alabama 77
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No. 6 Tennessee 76, No. 2 Iowa State 62
Elite Eight
South Region
First Round
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No. 1 Florida 114, No. 16 Prairie View A&M 55
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No. 2 Houston 78, No. 15 Idaho 47
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No. 3 Illinois 105, No. 14 Penn 70
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No. 4 Nebraska 76, No. 13 Troy 47
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No. 5 Vanderbilt 78, No. 12 McNeese 68
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No. 11 VCU 82, No. 6 North Carolina 78
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No. 10 Texas A&M 63, No. 7 Saint Mary’s 50
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No. 9 Iowa 67, No. 8 Clemson 61
Second round
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No. 9 Iowa 73, No. 1 Florida 72
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No. 4 Nebraska 76, No. 5 Vanderbilt 74
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No. 3 Illinois 76, No. 11 VCU 55
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No. 2 Houston 88, No. 10 Texas A&M 57
Sweet 16
Elite Eight
West Region
First round
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No. 1 Arizona 82, No. 16 Long Island 58
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No. 2 Purdue 104, No. 15 Queens 71
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No. 3 Gonzaga 73, No. 14 Kennesaw State 64
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No. 4 Arkansas 97, No. 13 Hawai’i 78
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No. 12 High Point 83, No. 5 Wisconsin 82
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No. 11 Texas 79, No. 6 BYU 71
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No. 9 Utah State 86, No. 8 Villanova 76
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No. 7 Miami 80, No. 10 Missouri 66
Second round
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No. 1 Arizona 78, No. 9 Utah State 66
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No. 4 Arkansas 94, No. 12 High Point 88
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No. 11 Texas 74, No. 3 Gonzaga 68
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No. 2 Purdue 79, No. 7 Miami 69
Sweet 16
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No. 2 Purdue 79, No. 11 Texas 77
Elite Eight
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Men’s Final Four teams: March Madness bracket, schedule
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