March Madness 2026: ESPN Projects 12 Big Ten Teams Make NCAA Tournament

The 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament might be nearly a year away, but it's never too early to start looking ahead to March Madness. This week, ESPN's Joe Lunardi debuted his Bracketology for next year's tournament and the Big Ten is represented well in the field.

Lunardi is projecting that 12 of the Big Ten's 18 teams will make an appearance in the NCAA Tournament next season. He also believes the league will have the best team in the field, tabbing Purdue as the No. 1 overall seed.

Yes, we know we're still seven months away from tipoff, but it should get fans excited about the upcoming Big Ten basketball season.

Here's a look at where Lunardi has each Big Ten pegged in his first Bracketology for the 2026 tournament. You can see his complete bracket here.

Midwest Regional (Chicago)

• No. 1 Purdue vs. No. 16 South Carolina State/No. 16 Central Connecticut State
• No. 7 Illinois vs. No. 10 Creighton
• No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 9 Oklahoma

South Regional (Houston)

• No. 4 USC vs. No. 13 UC Santa Barbara
• No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 12 Grand Canyon
• No. 6 Wisconsin vs. No. 11 Ole Miss/No. 11 North Carolina State
• No. 7 Mississippi State vs. No. 10 Marquette/No. 10 Indiana

West Regional (San Jose, Calif.)

• No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 15 Youngstown State
• No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 13 Charleston
• No. 8 Vanderbilt vs. No. 9 Iowa

East Regional (Washington, D.C.)

• No. 4 Michigan State vs. No. 13 Miami (OH)
• No. 7 North Carolina vs. No. 10 Maryland

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