March Madness expert brackets: Compare Jay Bilas, Dick Vitale, more picks to win 2026 NCAA Tournament

March Madness expert brackets: Compare Jay Bilas, Dick Vitale, more picks to win 2026 NCAA Tournament originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket is officially set, and with it comes the annual tradition of analysts and icons planting their flags on the road to Indianapolis.

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From Jay Bilas weighing the impact of superstar freshmen like Duke’s Cameron Boozer to Dick Vitale evaluating a field of “coaching giants,” the experts are already split on whether 2026 will be a year of chalk or chaos.

As you prepare to fill out your own bracket, comparing the blue-blood bias of the seasoned vets against the metric-driven upsets of the bracketologists can be the difference between a winning pool and a busted Sunday. Here is a breakdown of how the biggest names in the sport see the field of 68 shaking out.

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March Madness expert brackets

Jay Bilas bracket

Final Four

Region

Team

South

No. 3 Illinois

West

No. 1 Arizona

East

No. 3 Michigan State

Midwest

No. 2 Iowa State

National championship: Arizona over Michigan State

Lots of people think Bilas would go with his alma mater, Duke, but he doesn’t have the Blue Devils making it to the Final Four. Rather, he has Duke losing to Tom Izzo and Michigan State, similar to 2019; the Spartans are one of two Big Ten teams he has making it to Indianapolis, with Illinois coming out of the South over Houston and Florida. In the final, Bilas has Arizona cutting the nets for the first time since 1997, defeating Iowa State.

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Dick Vitale bracket

Final Four

Region

Team

South

No. 1 Florida

West

No. 1 Arizona

East

No. 1 Duke

Midwest

No. 2 Iowa State

National championship: Florida over Arizona

Vitale picked three out of the four one seeds to make it to Indianapolis, with Michigan — the team in the Midwest — the lone exception….

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Publish date : 2026-03-16 16:25:00

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