2026 March Madness: Predicting each power Conference Tournament

Here are my personal conference tournament predictions:

ACC

Round 1

(10) Stanford defeats (15) Pittsburgh

(11) SMU defeats (14) Syracuse

(12) Virginia Tech defeats (13) Wake Forest

Round 2

(10) Stanford defeats (7) North Carolina St.

(6) Louisville defeats (11) SMU

(9) California defeats (8) Florida St.

(12) Virginia Tech defeats (5) Clemson

Quarterfinals

(2) Virginia defeats (10) Stanford

(6) Louisville defeats (3) Miami

(1) Duke defeats (9) California

(4) North Carolina defeats (12) Virginia Tech

Semifinals

(6) Louisville defeats (2) Virginia

(1) Duke defeats (4) North Carolina

Championship

(1) Duke defeats (6) Louisville

To keep it simple, Duke has been the best team in the ACC all season long. There will be no stopping the Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament. It is also worth noting that Virginia Tech, California, Stanford, SMU and North Carolina St. could all be playing for their March Madness lives in this tournament. This tournament will definitely be one to watch.

Big 12

First Round

(13) Baylor defeats (12) Arizona St.

(9) Cincinnati defeats (16) Utah

(10) BYU defeats (15) Kansas St.

(14) Oklahoma St. defeats (11) Colorado

Second Round

(5) Iowa St. defeats (13) Baylor

(9) Cincinnati defeats (8) UCF

(10) BYU defeats (7) West Virginia

(14) Oklahoma St. defeats (6) TCU

Quarterfinals

(5) Iowa St. defeats (4) Texas Tech

(1) Arizona defeats (9) Cincinnati

(2) Houston defeats (10) BYU

(3) Kansas defeats (14) Oklahoma St.

Semifinals

(1) Arizona defeats (5) Iowa St.

(3) Kansas defeats (2) Houston

Championship

(1) Arizona defeats (3) Kansas

Similar to Duke in the ACC, Arizona has been a dominant force in the Big 12. Expect the top seeds in the Big 12 to continue to breeze in this tournament.

Big East

First Round

(9) Providence defeats (8) Butler

(7) Marquette defeats (10) Xavier

(11) Georgetown defeats (7) DePaul

Quarterfinals

(1) St. John's defeats (9) Providence

(4) Seton Hall defeats (5) Creighton

(2) UConn defeats (7) Marquette

(3) Villanova defeats (11) Georgetown

Semifinals

(1) St. John's defeats (4) Seton Hall

(2) UConn defeats (3) Villanova

Championship

(1) St. John's defeats (2) UConn

This will be a boring tournament if you like upsets. The Big East is incredibly top-heavy, expect the top seeds to advance to the semifinals with ease.

Big Ten

First Round

(16) Oregon defeats (17) Maryland

(15) Northwestern defeats (18) Penn St.

Second Round

(16) Oregon defeats (9) Iowa

(12) Washington defeats (13) USC

(10) Indiana defeats (15) Northwestern

(11) Minnesota defeats (14) Rutgers

Third Round

(8) Ohio St. defeats (16) Oregon

(12) Washington defeats (5) Wisconsin

(7) Purdue defeats (10) Indiana

(6) UCLA defeats (11) Minnesota

Quarterfinals

(1) Michigan defeats (8) Ohio St.

(4) Illinois defeats (12) Washington

(7) Purdue defeats (2) Nebraska

(6) UCLA defeats (3) Michigan St.

Semifinals

(4) Illinois defeats (1) Michigan

(6) UCLA defeats (7) Purdue

Championship

(4) Illinois defeats (6) UCLA

In an 18-team conference tournament, you are bound to witness chaos. There are several teams that can come out on top in the Big Ten tournament and it will be interesting to see which squad can come out alive with some momentum heading into the big dance.

SEC

First Round

(9) Kentucky defeats (16) LSU

(12) Auburn defeats (13) Mississippi St.

(10) Texas defeats (15) Ole Miss

(11) Oklahoma defeats (14) South Caroiina

Second Round

(9) Kentucky defeats (8) Missouri

(5) Tennessee defeats (12) Auburn

(7) Georgia defeats (10) Texas

(11) Oklahoma defeats (6) Texas A&M)

Quarterfinals

(1) Florida defeats (9) Kentucky

(4) Vanderbilt defeats (5) Tennessee

(7) Georgia defeats (2) Alabama

(3) Arkansas defeats (11) Oklahoma

Semifinals

(1) Florida defeats (4) Vanderbilt

(3) Arkansas defeats (7) Georgia

Championship

(1) Florida defeats (3) Arkansas

Florida has without a doubt been the best team in the SEC and we can expect them to keep the train rolling. Just like the Big Ten tournament, there is bound to be chaos with 16 teams in this tournament. Teams like Auburn, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Georgia are a few teams that can perform higher than their seeds show as they are all hungry to improve their résumés. The SEC tournament should not disappoint.