One of the most popular sporting events of the year has arrived, with the 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket unfolding over the next three weeks. All four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four last year, but there have never been more than two No. 1 seeds in the Final Four in back-to-back years. At least one top-four seed has lost in the first round in 15 of the last 17 tournaments, so March Madness Cinderella picks have become a staple of the March Madness bracket. Which double-digit seeds should you target with your 2026 NCAA Tournament picks?
A double-digit seed has advanced to the Sweet 16 in each of the past 17 tournaments, and there are intriguing double-digit seeds in the 2026 March Madness bracket. March Madness bracket pools lock on Thursday morning, so there is not much time left to lock in your March Madness upset picks. Before making any 2026 March Madness bracket predictions, be sure to check out the 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
Their proven projection model has simulated every game in the tournament 10,000 times. It has absolutely crushed its March Madness picks recently, beating over 91 percent of all CBS Sports brackets in four of the past seven tournaments. It was all over UConn’s championship run two years ago and nailed 12 teams in the Sweet 16 last year. It also correctly predicted all four Final Four teams in 2025.
It knows how to spot an upset as well. The same model has produced brackets that have nailed 25 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception in 2016.
Now, with the 2026 NCAA bracket revealed, the model is simulating the matchups and its results are in. You can only see it over at SportsLine.
Three 2026 March Madness Cinderella teams to watch out for
One potential 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket buster is the Akron Zips. Akron is in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in school history, but it is seeking its first-ever win in the Big Dance. The Zips won a school-record 29 games this season, surpassing their total of 28 from last season. They are riding a 10-game winning streak and have won 19 of their last 20 games, setting another school record with 88.4 points per game. Texas Tech enters this first-round matchup without star JT Toppin, so Akron has a clear path to make some noise this weekend.
One of the hottest teams in the nation that nobody knows about is the High Point Panthers. The 12th-seeded Panthers enter the NCAA Tournament 2026 on a 14-game winning streak after winning the Big South Conference regular season and tournament championships. The Panthers can score in bunches and will be a thorn in the side of any big-time program. The Panthers also lead the nation in point differential at plus-19.7. High Point was a No. 13 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket and took Purdue to the wire before losing 75-63 in the first round.
Another Cinderella team to watch for is the 13-seed California Baptist Lancers. CBU is making its NCAA Tournament debut after a strong finish to the year, winning 15 of its last 17 and taking the WAC Tournament. It has one of the nation’s best scorers in Dominique Daniels Jr. (23.2 ppg), who led the WAC in points and is averaging 32 ppg over his last three games. Cal Baptist will see No. 4 Kansas in the first round, and the game will take place in San Diego — just 100 miles from CBU’s campus. Additionally, there have been seven 13-seeds to upset 4-seeds over the last seven NCAA Tournaments. Check out more of the model’s 2026 Cinderella picks and full 2026 NCAA bracket picks here.
How to make 2026 NCAA bracket predictions
Who wins every tournament-defining matchup? And which teams will make surprising runs through the 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket? With the model’s track record of calling bracket-busting upsets, you’ll want to see which stunners it’s calling this year before locking in any 2026 NCAA bracket picks.
So what’s the optimal NCAA Tournament 2026 bracket? And which NCAA Tournament Cinderella teams will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which double-digit seeds you can back with confidence, all from the model that called all four Final Four teams in 2025.
