What is March Madness

March Madness is the nickname for the annual college basketball championship tournament organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It takes place every March and features 68 of the best college basketball teams in the United States competing in a single-elimination tournament. In this format, if a team loses one game, it is eliminated from the tournament. The competition begins with the “First Four,” which is the last four teams that make it in. Then continues through several rounds, including the Round of 64, Round of 32, Sweet 16, Elite Eight and the Final Four, until two teams play in the national championship game.

How to Watch March Madness
Fans can watch March Madness games on several major television networks. Most games are broadcast on CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV, which share the rights to the tournament. Viewers can also stream games online through services such as the NCAA March Madness Live app or NCAA.com that include those TV channels. This allows fans to watch games on phones, computers, or smart TVs.

The History of the Bracket Tradition
One of the most famous traditions of March Madness is filling out a tournament bracket. A bracket is a chart that shows all the teams in the tournament and the path they must take to reach the championship game. Fans predict the winners of every game before the tournament begins. The idea of the bracket dates back to the very first NCAA tournament in 1939, when eight teams were placed into a single-elimination bracket to determine the champion. Over time, the tournament expanded to include more teams. It eventually grew to 64 teams in 1985 and later to 68 teams, which is the format used today. Filling out brackets became a huge tradition among fans, especially in offices, schools and online competitions. People compete to see who can predict the most game results correctly. Although many try every year, creating a perfect bracket is extremely unlikely because of the large number of games and unpredictable results.

Favorites to win it all

The Duke Blue Devils are currently seen as the strongest favorite going into the 2026 March Madness tournament. They have the frontrunner for the player of the year award in Cameron Boozer. The Blue Devils have a roadblock though their starting point guard and center Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba. Duke is also very good defensively, and their third in the country for points allowed per game. They’ve had an outstanding season with a 32–2 record, earned the #1 overall seed, and won the ACC Tournament. What makes Duke stand out is their balance on both offense and defense, along with consistent performances against top teams. Because of this, many analysts consider them the safest pick to win the championship.

The Michigan Wolverines are right behind Duke and, in some cases, are even considered co-favorites. With a 31–3 record and a #1 seed in the tournament, Michigan has shown strong consistency all season. Unfortunately just like Duke key player Lj Cason is out for the season and it has clearly shown during the Big 10 tournament. Michigan also has Yaxel Lendeborg who averages 14.6 points and grabs 7 rebounds. They are known for their well-rounded playstyle and ability to perform under pressure, which makes them a serious threat to win it all. Some experts believe they have just as good a chance as Duke to take the title.

The Arizona Wildcats are also one of the top teams in the tournament, finishing the season with a 32–2 record and earning a #1 seed. They have Big 12 player of the year Jaden Bradley and two outstanding freshmen in Koa Peat and Brayden Burries. While they are slightly behind Duke and Michigan in rankings and predictions, they are still a championship-caliber team. Arizona’s strong offense and ability to compete with elite teams mean they could easily make a deep run and even win the tournament if things go their way.

Overall, all three teams, Duke, Michigan and Arizona, are strong contenders to win March Madness in 2026. Duke appears to be their top favorite because of their dominance and consistency. At the same time, Michigan is close behind and could easily take the title. There should be a lot of upsets as teams are very competitive. In a tournament known for upsets, any of these teams could end up as the national champion.