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Conference tournaments are underway – the first tell-tale sign that March Madness is here.
A total of 31 automatic berths will be decided for the 2026 Men's Basketball Tournament from now until Selection Sunday on March 15.
Eight automatic bids have been decided. Long Island became the first team to clinch a tournament bid out of the Northeast Conference on Saturday. The Sharks beat Mercyhurst 79-70 in the NEC tournament championship on Tuesday.
That is one of five tournament championship games on Tuesday.
Wright State beat Detroit Mercy 66-63 in the Horizon League championship. Hofstra beat Monmouth 75-69 in the CAA championship.
No. 12 Gonzaga (29-3) faces Santa Clara (26-7) in the West Coast Conference tournament championship. Siena (22-11) takes on Merrimack (23-10) in the MAAC championship. Both games are at 9 p.m. ET.
This year's Final Four is April 4-6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Until the final bracket is released, follow Sporting News' automatic bid tracker here:
MORE: Automatic bids for 2026 Women's NCAA Tournament
Automatic bids for 2026 NCAA Tournament
A total of 31 teams will have automatic bids in the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Here is a look at the conference tournament dates, championship games and television times for those 31 games that will determine automatic bids:
| CONF. | SCHOOL |
| Atlantic Sun | Queens University (21-13) |
| Big South | High Point (30-4) |
| CAA | Hofstra (24-10) |
| Horizon | Wright State (23-11) |
| MVC | Northern Iowa (23-12) |
| NEC | Long Island (24-10) |
| OVC | Tennessee State (23-9) |
| Southern | Furman (22-12) |
| Summit | North Dakota State (27-7) |
| Sun Belt | Troy (22-11) |
2026 conference tournament schedules, championships
| CONFERENCE | DATES | CHAMPIONSHIP | TIME | TV |
| American | March 11-15 | March 15 | 3:15 p.m. | ESPN |
| America East | March 7, 10-14 | March 14 | 11 a.m. | ESPN2 |
| ACC | March 10-14 | March 14 | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Atlantic 10 | March 11-15 | March 15 | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| Atlantic Sun | March 4, 6-8 | March 8 | 2 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Big 12 | March 10-14 | March 14 | 6 p.m. | ESPN |
| Big East | March 11-14 | March 14 | 6:30 p.m. | Fox |
| Big Sky | March 7-11 | March 11 | 11:30 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Big South | March 4-8 | March 8 | 12 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Big Ten | March 10-15 | March 15 | 3:30 p.m. | CBS |
| Big West | March 11-14 | March 14 | 10 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| C-USA | March 10-14 | March 14 | 8:30 p.m. | CBSSN |
| CAA | March 6-10 | March 10 | 7 p.m. | CBSSN |
| Horizon | March 2-10 | March 10 | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
| Ivy | March 14-15 | March 15 | 12 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| MAAC | March 5-10 | March 10 | 9 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| MAC | March 12-14 | March 14 | 8 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| MEAC | March 11-14 | March 14 | 1 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| MVC | March 5-8 | March 8 | 12 p.m. | CBS |
| MWC | March 11-14 | March 14 | 6 p.m. | CBS |
| Northeast | March 4-10 | March 10 | 7 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| OVC | March 4-7 | March 7 | 9 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Patriot | March 3-11 | March 11 | 7 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| SEC | March 11-15 | March 15 | 1 p.m. | ESPN |
| Southern | March 6-9 | March 9 | 7 p.m. | TBD |
| Southland | March 8-11 | March 11 | 5 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Summit | March 4-8 | March 8 | 9 p.m. | CBSSN |
| Sun Belt | March 3-9 | March 9 | 7 p.m. | TBD |
| SWAC | March 9-14 | March 14 | 7:30 p.m. | ESPNU |
| WAC | March 11-14 | March 14 | 11:59 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| West Coast | March 5-10 | March 10 | 9 p.m. | ESPN |
March Madness bracket predictions
Here are Sporting News' latest March Madness bracket predictions, according to Bill Bender's March Madness Bracket 6.0.
Projected No. 1 seeds in NCAA men's basketball tournament
Here are the No. 1 seeds for the 2026 NCAA men's basketball tournament in Sporting News' latest bracketology:
| SCHOOL | RECORD |
| Duke | 29-2 |
| Michigan | 29-2 |
| Arizona | 29-2 |
| Florida | 25-6 |
Last four in the NCAA men's basketball tournament
Here are the last four teams in for the 2026 NCAA men's basketball tournament in Sporting News' latest bracketology:
| SCHOOL | RECORD |
| VCU | 24-7 |
| Missouri | 20-11 |
| SMU | 19-12 |
| Indiana | 18-13 |
First four out the NCAA men's basketball tournament
Here are the first four teams out in the 2026 NCAA men's basketball tournament in Sporting News' latest bracketology:
| SCHOOL | RECORD |
| New Mexico | 22-9 |
| Auburn | 16-15 |
| San Diego State | 20-10 |
| Seton Hall | 20-11 |
When is the NCAA Men's Selection Show?
The NCAA men's tournament field consists of 68 teams. The 31 automatic bids and 37 at-large bids will be revealed on March 15 at 6 p.m. ET on CBS.
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