How many teams are in March Madness? Seeds, regions, more to know about 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket

College basketball has long proven to be a fan favorite. March Madness is the biggest reason why.

The three-week spectacle has played host to some of sport's most memorable moments. From Lorenzo Charles' slam to Kris Jenkins' game-winner, the action is ceaseless on the hardwood during the tournament.

This year's competition should prove no exception. Luminaries young and old are slated to take aim at capturing the sport's grandest prize. Cameron Boozer, A.J. Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Yaxel Lendeborg headline this impressive cast of characters, as do famed coaches like Tom Izzo and Dan Hurley.

Last year, Walter Clayton Jr. led Florida to a title, canning triples with increasing regularity en route to claiming the tournament's Most Outstanding Player honors. Who will join him in special company this time around? Only time will tell.

With that, here's a breakdown on how the March Madness bracket is constructed in 2026.

SN AWARDS: All-America team | Boozer Player of the Year | Lloyd Coach of the Year 

How many teams are in the March Madness bracket?

Expansion looms over college basketball's landscape. At present, though, there are 68 entrants in the NCAA Tournament. 32 are automatic qualifiers, having earned a spot in the tourney after capturing their conference tournament. The remaining 36 are chosen by the selection committee based on their body of work over the past year.

Four sides will drift away as a result of the First Four, which sees the four lowest-seeded automatic bid sides and four lowest-seeded at-large teams battle one another. The ensuing cull will result in 64 teams taking part in the first round.

The NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 and moved to 68 teams in 2011.

MORE: History of 12 vs. 5 upsets in March Madness

How teams qualify for March Madness 2026

There are but two ways for a side to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. One is winning their conference tournament outright. The second is being selected as an at-large bid.

The committee plays a role in both options, although it is more involved in the latter route than the former. The unit, shadowy and secretive as ever, is tasked with adding 36 teams to the field. It relies on several methods to determine a side's postseason viability, with various underlying metrics — including strength of wins, strength of losses, KenPom rankings and NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings — to come to a conclusion.

The process is nebulous, confusing, inconsistent and, oftentimes, controversial. A 19-win team can dance with giants despite dropping 40 percent of their matchups. Meanwhile, sides with 25+ wins can find themselves on the outside looking in once the dust settled.

All that factors into the "magic" of March, even if it does inflict anxiety to those sitting "on the bubble."

MORE: Has a 1 seed ever lost to a 16 seed in March Madness?

How teams are seeded for March Madness 2026

The selection committee isn't merely responsible for picking the 68 teams set to take part in the NCAA tournament. It also tasked with seeding the sides based on their body of work.

The committee will list the sides 1-68 based on their performance throughout the year. The top four sides will be given No. 1 seeds. The remainder of the bracket requires a bit more tinkering, though. The No. 1 overall seed

The committee takes a number of other factors into consideration to determine when and where a team will play its games. The No. 1 overall seed chooses which region to lead and which location to play their first two games.

The committee then attempts to place the tournament's top-four seeds near their "area of natural interest."

Even this element of determining the contours of the NCAA Tournament is an imperfect science. For example, No. 2 seed Duke (with a North Carolina campus) was seeded in the West Region in 2022 while No. 4 seed UCLA (with a California campus) was seeded in the East.

All told, location can play a role in determining how the bracket shakes out. In 2024, UConn nabbed the No. 1 overall seed, opting to play its games in the East region. Iowa State then landed the No. 2 seed in the East Region while Marquette, a midwestern campus, landed in the South Region.

There are also rules regarding games between teams in the same conference.

If two teams played each other once in the regular season, they can't play each other until the Round of 32. If they played each other twice, they can't meet until at least the Sweet 16. If they played each other three times (twice in the regular season and once in the conference tournament), they can't meet until at least the Elite Eight.

The committee has to look ahead at all potential Round of 32 and Sweet 16 matchups when placing teams in the bracket, and teams can get moved around easily.

The NCAA says the committee is permitted to move a team up or down one seed to accommodate these rules. While going from the lowest No. 7 seed to the highest No. 8 seed might not make much of a difference, it's different than simply ranking all 68 teams and seeding them accordingly.

MORE: Most assists in a March Madness game

Lowest seed to win NCAA Tournament

To date, Villanova remains the lowest seed to ever hoist a national championship trophy, downing Patrick Ewing and Georgetown, 66-64, as a No. 8 seed.

While March Madness has become synonymous with miraculous runs, no double-digit seed has ever won the tournament. Still, double-digit seeds have come fairly close. Seven double-digit seeds have reached the Final Four, including four in the past seven tournaments. 

Here's a full list of double-digit seeds that have reached the Final Four:

No double-digit seed has ever reached the national title game, but each passing March makes it feel like that day is coming soon. 

UConn won the NCAA Tournament as a No. 7 seed in 2014, while North Carolina played in the title game as a No. 8 seed in 2022. FAU was just a second away from reaching the title game as a No. 9 seed last season before San Diego State advanced at the buzzer.

MORE: How 'One Shining Moment' became a March Madness anthem