Michigan is the No. 1 overall seed in the preliminary rankings by the committee that will select the 68-team field for the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament.
The Wolverines, who currently top the AP Top 25, were joined by Duke, Arizona and Iowa State as the 1-seeds in NCAA’s reveal show on CBS early Saturday afternoon — and none of the day’s results, including Michigan losing 68-63 to third-ranked Duke, factored into the projected seeds.
Selection committee chairman Keith Gill, the Sun Belt commissioner, said Iowa State edged the University of Connecticut and Houston for the fourth No. 1 seed.
UConn — which won back-to-back national titles in 2023-24 — and Houston — the 2025 tournament’s runner-up — were the fifth and sixth seeds, respectively, to headline the list of teams that would be No. 2 regional seeds, followed by Illinois and Purdue.
Reigning national champion Florida was the No. 9 seed to lead the regional No. 3 seeds, followed by Kansas, Nebraska and Gonzaga.
Texas Tech, Michigan State, Vanderbilt and Virginia sat on the 4 line to round out the top 16 seeds.
Saturday’s reveal was a snapshot of where things stand with a month left until Selection Sunday. Generally the teams listed above the cutline for a top-four regional seed stay there, with minor fluctuations when it comes to eventual seeding.
After the full field and bracket are revealed on March 15, the action tips off with First Four games two days later. The round of 64 starts Thursday, March 19, and the round of 32 is that weekend. The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds will take place in regionals set for Chicago (Midwest); Houston (South); San Jose, California (West); and Washington, D.C. (East).
The Final Four will be held in Indianapolis, with the national semifinals set for April 4 and the championship two days later at Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. It will be the ninth men’s Final Four held in that city and the fourth at Lucas Oil Stadium, which is also set to host in 2029.