Stephen A. Smith Releases His Official Final Four Picks

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Stephen A. Smith Releases His Official Final Four Picks

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Mar 17, 2026 11:43 AM ET

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith has released his bracket for March Madness and while he didn't go all-chalk, he's not far from it.

On the latest episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, the ESPN personality revealed his four picks to reach the Final Four. Coming out of the East and West he has the 1-seeds, Duke and Arizona respectively. In the South and Midwest though, Smith took the 2-seeds, Houston and Iowa State.

“I got Duke coming out the East Region. I got Houston coming out the South. I got Arizona coming out of the West. I got Iowa State coming out of the Midwest,” he said.

Iowa State over Michigan?

Smith certainly recognized that his decision to take Iowa State over Michigan - the No. 3 team in the entire country - was a controversial one. He explained that he feels the Wolverines are "too erratic" to trust as the team to go all the way.

“I’m just not a believer in Michigan. I believe Michigan is too erratic,” Smith admitted.

Nov 3, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith looks on before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images© Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.

Smith also took some time to address Rick Pitino's St. John's team getting relegated to a 5-seed despite being the Big East champions. He believes they were given too difficult of a path to national title glory for his liking.

“You know what I got a problem with? Why the hell does St. John’s have it so tough?” he wondered.

Nevertheless, every team is going to have their work cut out for them as March Madness kicks into high gear.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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