March Madness Upset Picks
By James Oatis
Published March 16, 2026
With the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament starting tomorrow, it is once again time for one of the most exciting parts of March Madness: predictions and brackets. It can be difficult to decide which teams are legitimate final four contenders and which schools will have an early exit. This year, there are many choices for Cinderella stories, but also many chances for top teams and NBA prospects to be eliminated before having a real chance at the trophy.
When it comes to upsets, the South is the most interesting region to watch. No. 11 seed VCU has a good chance against sixth seed North Carolina, and VCU even made a Final Four run as the 11 seed back in 2011. Other matchups with upset potential in the region include No. 9 seed Iowa versus No. 8 seed Clemson and No. 13 seed Troy versus a fourth seeded Nebraska team that has never won a tournament game in school history.
Outside of the south, USF looks promising against sixth seeded Louisville in the East region, while Tennessee could lose to a Miami (Ohio) team that was handed their first loss just this week, given they can get past the first four.
When it comes to picking the final four this year, I feel the most confident in picking Duke, Michigan, Arkansas, and Houston. Duke is my favorite to take the title, barring an upset. The tournament starts on Tuesday with the play-in games between NC State and Texas for the 11th seed and Howard vs UMBC for the 16th seed.