Michigan, Duke, Arizona, Iowa State headline preliminary seeds from NCAA selection committee

By Canadian Press on February 21, 2026.

Michigan is the No. 1 overall seed in the preliminary rankings by the committee that will select the 68-team men’s field for the NCAA Tournament.

The Wolverines, who top the AP Top 25, were joined by Duke, Arizona and Iowa State as the 1-seeds in Saturday’s reveal show on CBS. Selection committee chairman Keith Gill, the Sun Belt commissioner, said the Cyclones edged UConn and Houston for the fourth No. 1 seed.

The Huskies and Cougars were the fifth and sixth seeds 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 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 is 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.

Selection Sunday is March 15, with First Four games beginning two days later and the first round following March 19. The regionals are set for Washington, Chicago, Houston and San Jose, California, from March 26-29.

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, home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.

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Aaron Beard, The Associated Press