March Madness bracket tracker: Updated automatic bids for men's 2026 NCAA Tournament originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Conference tournaments are underway – the first tell-tale sign that March Madness is here.
A total of 31 automatic berths will be decided for the 2026 Men's Basketball Tournament from now until Selection Sunday on March 15.
The other 16 tournament berths will be decided over the weekend. That starts with a loaded Saturday that features 11 conference championship games. A look at that schedule:
| CONFERENCE | MATCHUP | TIME | TV |
| America East | 11 a.m. | ESPN2 | |
| MEAC | 1 p.m. | ESPN2 | |
| Big 12 | 6 p.m. | ESPN | |
| MWC | 6 p.m. | CBS | |
| Big East | 6:30 p.m. | Fox | |
| SWAC | 7:30 p.m. | ESPNU | |
| MAC | 8 p.m. | ESPN2 | |
| ACC | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN | |
| C-USA | 8:30 p.m. | CBSSN | |
| Big West | 10 p.m. | ESPN2 | |
| WAC | 11:59 p.m. | ESPN2 |
This year's Final Four is April 4-6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Until the final bracket is released, follow Sporting News' automatic bid tracker here:
MORE: Automatic bids for 2026 Women's NCAA Tournament
Automatic bids for 2026 NCAA Tournament
A total of 31 teams will have automatic bids in the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Here is a look at the conference tournament dates, championship games and television times for those 31 games that will determine automatic bids:
| CONFERENCE | SCHOOL |
| Atlantic Sun | Queens University (21-13) |
| Big Sky | Idaho (21-14) |
| Big South | High Point (30-4) |
| CAA | Hofstra (24-10) |
| Horizon | Wright State (23-11) |
| MAAC | Siena (23-11) |
| MVC | Northern Iowa (23-12) |
| NEC | Long Island (24-10) |
| OVC | Tennessee State (23-9) |
| Southern | Furman (22-12) |
| Patriot | Lehigh (18-16) |
| Southland | McNeese (28-5) |
| Summit | North Dakota State (27-7) |
| Sun Belt | Troy (22-11) |
| West Coast | Gonzaga (30-3) |
2026 conference tournament schedules, championships
| CONFERENCE | DATES | CHAMPIONSHIP | TIME | TV |
| American | March 11-15 | March 15 | 3:15 p.m. | ESPN |
| America East | March 7, 10-14 | March 14 | 11 a.m. | ESPN2 |
| ACC | March 10-14 | March 14 | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Atlantic 10 | March 11-15 | March 15 | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| Atlantic Sun | March 4, 6-8 | March 8 | 2 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Big 12 | March 10-14 | March 14 | 6 p.m. | ESPN |
| Big East | March 11-14 | March 14 | 6:30 p.m. | Fox |
| Big Sky | March 7-11 | March 11 | 11:30 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Big South | March 4-8 | March 8 | 12 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Big Ten | March 10-15 | March 15 | 3:30 p.m. | CBS |
| Big West | March 11-14 | March 14 | 10 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| C-USA | March 10-14 | March 14 | 8:30 p.m. | CBSSN |
| CAA | March 6-10 | March 10 | 7 p.m. | CBSSN |
| Horizon | March 2-10 | March 10 | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
| Ivy | March 14-15 | March 15 | 12 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| MAAC | March 5-10 | March 10 | 9 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| MAC | March 12-14 | March 14 | 8 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| MEAC | March 11-14 | March 14 | 1 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| MVC | March 5-8 | March 8 | 12 p.m. | CBS |
| MWC | March 11-14 | March 14 | 6 p.m. | CBS |
| Northeast | March 4-10 | March 10 | 7 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| OVC | March 4-7 | March 7 | 9 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Patriot | March 3-11 | March 11 | 7 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| SEC | March 11-15 | March 15 | 1 p.m. | ESPN |
| Southern | March 6-9 | March 9 | 7 p.m. | TBD |
| Southland | March 8-11 | March 11 | 5 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Summit | March 4-8 | March 8 | 9 p.m. | CBSSN |
| Sun Belt | March 3-9 | March 9 | 7 p.m. | TBD |
| SWAC | March 9-14 | March 14 | 7:30 p.m. | ESPNU |
| WAC | March 11-14 | March 14 | 11:59 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| West Coast | March 5-10 | March 10 | 9 p.m. | ESPN |
March Madness bracket predictions
Here are Sporting News' latest March Madness bracket predictions, according to Bill Bender's March Madness Bracket 6.0.
Projected No. 1 seeds in NCAA men's basketball tournament
Here are the No. 1 seeds for the 2026 NCAA men's basketball tournament in Sporting News' latest bracketology:
| SCHOOL | RECORD |
| Duke | 30-2 |
| Michigan | 29-2 |
| Arizona | 30-2 |
| Florida | 25-6 |
Last four in the NCAA men's basketball tournament
Here are the last four teams in for the 2026 NCAA men's basketball tournament in Sporting News' latest bracketology:
| SCHOOL | RECORD |
| Missouri | 20-12 |
| Texas | 18-14 |
| SMU | 20-13 |
| UCF | 21-11 |
First four out the NCAA men's basketball tournament
Here are the first four teams out in the 2026 NCAA men's basketball tournament in Sporting News' latest bracketology:
| SCHOOL | RECORD |
| New Mexico | 23-9 |
| Oklahoma | 19-14 |
| San Diego State | 21-10 |
| Seton Hall | 21-11 |
When is the NCAA Men's Selection Show?
The NCAA men's tournament field consists of 68 teams. The 31 automatic bids and 37 at-large bids will be revealed on March 15 at 6 p.m. ET on CBS.