From the sports desk: Let the ‘Madness’ begin

Hello and welcome back to The Sports Desk! After a few weeks off, we’re resuming the newsletter full time, coming to your inbox Monday through Friday, bringing you original reporting, fresh analysis and all the latest happenings in the world of sports.

We have an exciting stretch coming up with MLB Opening Day, the NFL draft and the NBA playoffs, just to name a few. But first, March Madness! The men’s and women’s brackets were released yesterday, and we have it all covered below and at NBC News.

Bracket Breakdown

Duke's Cameron Boozer posts up against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half of the game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 07, 2026.Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images

March Madness was particularly top-heavy last year, dominated by the top seeds. Between the men’s and women’s brackets, seven of the eight No. 1 seeds made the Final Four. And the eighth team? It was a No. 2 seed.

Is this Cinderella’s year? We’ll see.

When the men’s bracket was unveiled, the four No. 1 seeds, in order, were Duke, Arizona, Michigan and Florida. The Blue Devils were the top seed in the tournament and somehow ended up with … the toughest path to the Final Four.

In the East region, Duke is joined by No. 2-seeded UConn, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 4 Kansas and No. 5 St. John’s. UConn recently won back-to-back national titles, the Spartans and the Jayhawks are coached by legends Tom Izzo and Bill Self, and the Red Storm just beat UConn to win the Big East Tournament.

Elsewhere in the bracket, Florida could face No. 2 seed Houston in the Elite Eight in what would be a rematch of last year’s national title game.

In the women’s bracket, the four No. 1 seeds are UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina.

The Huskies are defending champs and will be tough to beat, having posted a 34-0 record, beating teams, on average, by nearly 40 points per game.

UConn is a prolific offensive team, powered by the sharpshooting Azzi Fudd, who averages 44.6% from 3-point range, and Sarah Strong, a 6-foot-2 forward who is one of the most well-rounded players in the country, averaging 18.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.4 steals per game.

Azzi Fudd and the Connecticut Huskies are trying to win back-to-back national titles.Joe Buglewicz / Getty Images

Bracket Sleepers

Peter Suder, of Miami (Ohio), the leading scorer for a team that went undefeated in the regular season.Dylan Buell / Getty Images file

Everyone is looking for an edge in their bracket pools, the upset pick that will make you look smart. Here are two sleeper teams to watch.

On the men’s side, keep an eye on Miami (Ohio), an offensive juggernaut that went undefeated in the regular season before it lost in its conference tournament. The RedHawks feature six players averaging at least 10 points per game, who all shoot 34% from 3-point range or better.

Despite the RedHawks’ gaudy record, they were one of the last teams to make the tournament, which means they count as a “sleeper” in our book. Critics might point to their weak schedule in the Mid-American Conference or their poor defense. But this is a confident group.

“The 31-0 speaks for itself,” Miami guard Brant Byers told NBC News, referring to the team’s regular season record.

On the women’s side, if any team can prevent UConn from reaching the Final Four, it might be the No. 2 seed in its region, Vanderbilt. The Commodores are coached by Shea Ralph, a former longtime UConn assistant coach, and feature guard Mikayla Blakes, who averages 27 points per game. Blakes might be the breakout star of this year’s tourney, too.

Bracket Snubs

Former Auburn coach Bruce Pearl (left) made headlines recently when he made disparaging remarks about Miami (OH), a team competing with his former team for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers are now coached by Bruce's son Steven Pearl (right).Getty Images

Leading up to Selection Sunday, Auburn might have been the noisiest team on the men’s bubble. The Tigers compiled a pedestrian 17-16 record, including a 7-11 mark in Southeastern Conference games. But they still had a shot at the tournament, because they played one of the toughest schedules in the country.

Bruce Pearl — the former Auburn coach and father of Steven Pearl, the current coach — recently made comments disparaging the resume of Miami (Ohio), another team on the bubble, presumably to prop up Auburn’s chances. But Bruce later backtracked.

Last week, after Auburn lost in the SEC Tournament, Steven Pearl went on a rant: “Our guys have some of the best wins in college basketball,” he said, “and this team deserves to be in a tournament.” His plea fell on deaf ears: Miami made it, and Auburn didn’t.

Like Miami, the North Dakota State women’s team has been on its own magical run. The Bison went 28-4 this season, led by Avery Koenen, a 6-foot-3 forward averaging 19.5 points and 10.9 rebounds a game. They seemed poised to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since they moved to Division I about two decades ago.

But NDSU lost in the Summit League championship to rival South Dakota State, a perennial powerhouse that routinely makes the tournament. The Bison did not receive an at-large bid Sunday, ending their storybook season with a thud.

What We're Reading

Every day, we’ll bring you a list of curated articles — it might include stories we’ve written, stories we admired or other must-read stories from the sports world:

• Our NBC News team wrote a pair of stories about the NBA’s surging San Antonio Spurs. Read about Keldon Johnson, the Spurs’ sixth man who owns a ranch outside the city and wears actual spurs, and Stephon Castle, the reigning Rookie of the Year, who already, at 21 years old, owns a piece of a soccer franchise.
• The Atlantic gave one of its writers $10,000 to gamble on sports in this in-depth exploration of the state of sports gambling titled “My Year as a Degenerate Sports Gambler.”
• A week into NFL free agency, lots of big-name players remain available, NBC Sports’ Mike Florio writes.

That’s it for now! We’ll be back tomorrow.