Madness of March 2026

NCAA MEN'S DIVISION I BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT POOLS

HAT POOL

BRACKET POOL

MISC POOLS

 

BRACKET POOL

officepoolstop.com/MyPool/49375

Password: 2023

 

2026 PRIZES

Updated 04/07/26

1st Place

$465

Adam Beissel

Best Pick Percentage*

$10

Joe Mashack

2nd Place

$230

Joe Mashack

Strength of Victory

$5

Jim Rhoades

3rd Place

$75

Fueled by Screamers SOS

Average Place*

$10

D. Beissel

Extreme Average Place*

$10

Harper Beil (1st Tiebreaker)

Middle Place*

$10

Wildkatz ! (1st Tiebreaker)

Last Place*

$5

Sara O

 

2026 BRACKET POOL BANTER

NOTEWORTHY BRACKETS (out of 164 total)

MOVERS/LOSERS

Number of UPSETS by seed in the 2026 Tournament:

Updated 04/06/26, 11:30pm

Day 10: 0 of 1

Day 9: 0 of 2

Day 8: 1 of 2

Day 7: 0 of 2 (first day with no upset)

Day 6: 1 of 4

Day 5: 2 of 4

Day 4: 3 of 8

Day 3: 1 of 8

Day 2, evening session: 1 of 8

Day 2, afternoon session: 1 of 8 (no more perfect brackets)

Day 1, evening session: 4 of 8

Day 1, afternoon session: 2 of 8

TOTAL NUMBER OF UPSETS: 16 of 63 (25%)

[last year only 17% overall]

TOTAL NUMBER OF OVERTIME GAMES: 2

 

 

That's interesting. Or not

Updated 04/07/26, 12:30am

Nobody correctly picked the sum of the final score (132 points).

13 brackets picked a sum less than 132 points; 151 brackets picked more.

 

Updated 04/06/26, 11:30pm

The only bracket to correctly pick both Final Four winners and the Championship winner: Claire Kowalonek

In fact, she finished the Tournament winning 6 straight games (6 of last 7 games of the Elite 8, Final 4, and Championship).

Only 3 brackets finished winning the last 5 of last 7 games:

Joe Mashack (finished 2nd)

Fueled by Screamers SOS (finished 3rd)

Caleb Baldwin 2 (finished 10th)

 

Updated 04/04/26, 11:50pm

Only 2 brackets correctly picked both #2 UConn and #1 Michigan to advance to the Championship game:

Claire Kowalonek

Greg Kuklinski

 

Only 31 Brackets (19%) have a team left.

 

Updated 03/29/26, 9:50pm

No brackets correctly predicted the complete Final Four. 13 brackets correctly predicted 3 of 4 Final Four teams.

 

Number of times each team was selected to reach Final Four:

#1 Arizona

98 (60%)

#1 Michigan

95 (58%)

#2 UConn

27 (16%)

#3 Illinois

15 (9%)

No brackets that predicted Illinois also predicted UConn.

 

Updated 03/28/26, 11:20pm

7 brackets were perfect on Saturday, picking both Illinois and Arizona to advance to Final 4.

Donation 1

Fran Dunphy

Kyle Beissel #2

MattH

PC Load Letter

Qtguzzler 1

Ronald Beissel Jr

 

Updated 03/28/26, 12:50am

The biggest upset of Day 6 was #6 Tennessee easily beating #2 Iowa St. Only 11 brackets correctly picked Tennessee advancing to Elite 8, moving that game into third place for the fewest victories behind the two most recent Iowa wins (0 wins vs Nebraska; 10 wins vs Florida).

 

Updated 03/27/26, 12:40am

#3 Illinois beat #2 Houston, predicted correctly by only 36 brackets.

Nobody was perfect on Thursday night. The most wins were 3 by 16 brackets:

EMP 3

Justin Melusky

Fueled by Screamers SOS

Kyle Beissel #2

Go Terps!

Kyle Beissel #3

Harper Beil

Luke Holman

J B

MattH

Jason Boris 3

PC Load Letter

Jennie Heiser

Ronald Beissel Jr

Jim Naismith

Smokey Bourbon2

 

Updated 03/26/26, 9:50pm

#2 Purdue survives with a last second offensive rebound to beat #11 Texas,

79-77.

85 brackets had Purdue advancing to Elite 8.

Only 1 bracket had Texas advancing.

So close.

 

#9 Iowa upset #4 Nebraska, 77-71.

No bracket had Iowa advancing to Elite 8.

Only 16 brackets had Nebraska advancing. So, this game only had minor impact on the bracket standings.

Collectively this game resulting in 164 bracket losses, the most thus far.

The next most single game losses was 154 when #9 Iowa beat #1 Florida in the previous game (Second Round).

 

Updated 03/26/26, 8:50pm

Four of the Sweet 16 teams were NOT picked as Champion in our bracket pool: #11 Texas, #9 Iowa, #6 Tennessee, #4 Alabama (wth syl!)

 

Updated 03/22/26, 11:55pm

Thus far, the two game upsets that impacted our Bracket the most are #9 Iowa over #1 Florida (correctly picked by only 10 brackets) and #11 Texas over #3 Gonzaga (14 brackets). Only one bracket correctly picked both:

Jey Newswanger

 

Updated 03/22/26, 10:40am

Our longest surviving perfect bracket lasted through 10 games. And then came #6 BYU's 79-71 loss to #11 Texas. 106 brackets took that loss along with Smokey Bourbon 3.

 

The bracket with the most wins (35 out of 40) is Alexis Yoder, currently sitting in 7th place.

 

Updated 03/20/26, 8:40pm

The #9 seeds swept the #8 seeds this year, the first time that has happened since 2016. 13 brackets correctly predicted that.

 

Updated 03/20/26, 7:00pm

The afternoon session of Day 2 was fairly lackluster, except for the first game where #7 Kentucky banked in a buzzer-beater against #10 Santa Clara to send it to overtime and eventually pulled away for the victory. The only seed upset was an 8v9 game. Only 2 brackets went perfect in the first half of Day 2:

Greg Kuklinski

Smokey Bourbon 3

 

Updated 03/20/26, 12:40am

After Day 1, 10 brackets have only 2 losses, the fewest losses thus far.

And even last place to this point is batting .500.

 

Updated 03/19/26, 10:00pm

Boy, things change quickly.

The Day 1 evening session began with an overtime game, saw one play-in team winner #16 Howard challenge a 1-seed Michigan, another play-in team #11 Texas BEAT #6 BYU, and #10 Texas A&M easily handle #7 St. Mary's.

The last perfect bracket of our pool remained perfect through Game 10, but then both Texas and Texas A&M had upsets and gave 2 losses to Smokey Bourbon 3.

Don t mess with Texas.

 

All brackets now have a loss, but only one bracket has only one loss:

Alyza Kowalonek.

Her only loss was the 12v5 upset of High Point over Wisconsin.

 

Updated 03/19/26, 9:30pm

After the first game of the Evening Session of Day 1 (ninth game) of the Tournament, ONLY ONE PERFECT remains:

Smokey Bourbon 3

That was thanks to the #11 VCU upset of #6 UNC in OT.

Although it was an upset by seed and by spread, 45% of our brackets predicted it.

 

Updated 03/19/26, 7:00pm

After the Afternoon Session of Day 1 of the Tournament, there are only 3 perfect brackets:

Derek Walasavage

Harmon van Deth

Smokey Bourbon 3

But everybody has at least 3 wins.

 

Of the First Round games, the only unanimous picks are:

#1 Florida over #16 Prairie View

#1 Arizona over #16 Long Island (fins down)

 

Updated 03/19/26, 6:00pm

The 5v12 upset happened again in our first 5v12 matchup of the tourney:

#12 High Point upset #5 Wisconsin

40 brackets (24%) predicted this.

 

After Game 6 of the Tournament, there are only 3 perfect brackets:

Derek Walasavage

Harmon van Deth

Smokey Bourbon 3

But everybody has at least 2 wins.

 

Below are some snapshots of our Bracket Pool Standings

 

Bracket Highlights after Day 10, Championship

Updated 04/06/26, 11:30pm

Category

Most

Brackets

Place

Standard Pts

149

Claire Kowalonek

8

Bonus Pts

280

Adam Beissel

1

TOTAL PTS

402

Adam Beissel

1

MOST WINS

49

Joe Mashack

2

 

 

Most popular Champions

Updated 04/06/26, 11:30pm

Seed

Team

Champion

Rnd L

1

Arizona

42

F4

1

Duke

35

E8

1

Michigan

26

2

Houston

16

S16

1

Florida

14

2nd

2

Purdue

6

E8

2

UConn

5

F

3

Gonzaga

3

2nd

3

Michigan St

3

S16

4

Arkansas

3

S16

3

Illinois

2

F4

3

Virginia

2

2nd

4

Kansas

2

2nd

7

Kentucky

2

2nd

2

Iowa St

1

S16

4

Nebraska

1

S16

5

St Johns

1

S16

Brackets with Champion alive: 26 (16%)

 

 

Most Wins by Round

Updated 04/06/26, 11:30pm

Round [max]

Wins

Bracket

First Round [32]

30

Smokey Bourbon 3

Second Rd [16]

15

EMP 1

Sweet 16 [8]

6

Aaron Broomell

Fueled by Screamers SOS

Harper Beil

Jason Boris 3

Jennie Heiser

Megz Sheet of Integrity

Smokey Bourbon2

Elite 8 [4]

3

13 Brackets

Final 4 [2]

2

Claire Kowalonek

Greg Kuklinski

Championship [1]

1

26 Brackets

SUM [63]

57

 

Best Pick % [63]

77.8%

[49]

Joe Mashack

* Round not complete

 

 

 

Brackets

Updated 04/06/26, 11:50pm

# that can finish in Top 3

6

# that can finish in 1st Place

2

# that are done scoring

133 (81%)

 

 

 

 

2026 ENTRY INFORMATION

Updated 03/15/26

***** IF YOU PREDICT A PERFECT BRACKET, ALL PLACE WINNINGS ARE CANCELED & PERFECT BRACKET TAKES ALL *****

*** SAME POOL SETUP AS LAST YEAR ***

Entry Form:

We are using the same third-party vendor as we did last year. You will need to create a free log-in account if you do not have one from last year. You will be able to create several brackets within the same account, but you will need to pay for each bracket you submit.

 

 

WEBSITE FOR SUBMITTING BRACKETS AND FOLLOWING STANDINGS

League URL: officepoolstop.com/MyPool/49375
Password: 2023

You can create multiple brackets by clicking "Create Clone" on your "Settings" page.

 

 

Entry Fee:

$5 per Bracket DO NOT PAY THROUGH officepoolstop.com they will add services fees.

 

Please pay in the following ways (in order of preference):

1.     PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/brianbaldwin

2.     Venmo: https://venmo.com/BrianBaldwin570

3.     Cash (in person or mail address at bottom of page)

4.     Check (via in-person or mail address at bottom of page)

 

Deadline:

THURSDAY, March 19, 2026, 12:15pm ET

 

Winnings:

ALL ENTRY FEES ARE PAID OUT IN WINNINGS

 

1st Place ~60% of total received, minus smaller prize amounts

2nd Place ~30%...

3rd Place ~10%...

Best Pick Percentage* $10

Strength of Victory $5

Average Place* $10

Extreme Average Place* $10

Middle Place* $10

Last Place* $5

 

* Best Pick Percentage is the entry with the best overall win percentage for the entire bracket. Due to the nature of the scoring system, Best Pick Percentage may or may not be one of the top three finishers. There have also been in the past multiple entries tied for the best overall win percentage. In that case, the Best Pick prize is split evenly.

* Average Place is the bracket which is closest to the average value (the arithmetic mean) of all of the brackets' total points. It is calculated by summing the total points of all the brackets and then dividing by the number of brackets. This place should land somewhere in the middle of the pack.

* Extreme Average Place is the position closest to the average of the sum of the total points of the 1st Place position and the total points of the Last Place position ({high points + low points}/2}. It is the average of the two extreme values of points. Another way of looking at it is that you are extremely average. [I know, I know. The mathematicians amongst us probably have issues with this explanation].

* Middle Place is the median of the brackets' rank this place should land squarely in the middle.

* Last Place. You're pathetic. Here's your money back. 

 

** BRACKET POOL SCORING RULES & TIE-BREAKERS **

 

FINE PRINT: Although very unlikely, if the number of entries increase dramatically, I might add more prize positions Commissioner's discretion. I will decide shortly after entry deadline. Also, I have no idea how the new software will track the winnings. If I can add the 3 average places back (at $10 each), I will adjust the other winnings to make that happen.

 

 

2025 PRIZES

Updated 04/08/25

1st Place

$495

Doug Weist

Best Pick Percentage*

$10

Kyle Schaeffer ($5) | Courtney Kopanke ($5)

2nd Place

$245

Kurt Kopanke

Strength of Victory

$5

Jackie Melusky

3rd Place

$80

EMP 1

Average Place*

$10

Peter P Capitano (2nd tie-breaker)

Extreme Average Place*

$10

Smokey Bourbon2 (1st tie-breaker)

Middle Place*

$10

Caleb Baldwin

Last Place*

$5

Sara O

 

BRACKET POOL ADVICE (DON'T TAKE IT) UPDATED for 2026

Here are some specific facts about past NCAA tournaments and the current teams. Perhaps this will help you fill out your brackets, perhaps it will not.

And, just like stocks, past performance does not guarantee future returns.

[notes based on 2026 Tournament results]

Updated 04/06/26, 11:50pm

First Round (Round of 64)

Big South: 1-29 all time in Round of 64.

High Point is their rep again this year.

[Big South is now 2-29 all time with #12 High Point's upset of #5 Wisconsin. That was also High Point's first Tournament win]

 

Since inception in 2011, a First Four team has won a Round of 64 in every tourney except 2019 and last year (2025).

[this year #11 Texas was able to do it]

5 teams made Sweet 16. [Texas did it this year]

2 teams made Final 4 (VCU 2011, UCLA 2021).

 

Last year (2025), all 1s, 2s, 3s and 4s won their First Round game. [happened again this year] Prior to that, the last time that happened was 2017. It's happened just 7 times since 1985. [now 8 times]

 

Since 2000, only once have the No. 6 seeds won all four meetings with No. 11 seeds in a single tournament (2004).

[still true" #11 VCU beat #6 UNC and #11 Texas beat #6 BYU in this year's tourney]

 

The last time all No. 8 seeds swept all four meetings vs. No. 9 seeds was in 2016, and then 14 years before that. The 9 seeds swept the 2019 tourney.

[The 9 seeds swept this year's tourney]

 

There has only been one tournament where 7 seeds were swept by 10 seeds (1999). [still true]

 

Multiple No. 11 seeds have advanced to the Second Round (Round of 32) in 8 of last 11 tournaments. Last year, only 1 advanced.

[now in 9 of last 12 tourneys; both #11 VCU and #11 Texas advanced]

Since 2015, the 6v11 has been 24-24. [now currently 26-26]

Since 2000, only once have the No. 6 seeds won all four meetings with No. 11 seeds (2004).

[still true]

 

No. 12 seeds have won 52 first-round games since the field expanded in 1985. [now 53]

There were only 6 years (1988, 2000, 2007, 2015, 2018 and 2023) to NOT have a 12 seed win.

No. 12 seeds went 2-2 last year.

[No. 12 seeds went 1-3]

 

No. 13 seeds have beaten a No. 4 in 11 of past 16 NCAA Tournaments. [did not happen this year]

 

No. 14 seeds have won at least 1 game in 6 of the last 12 years, but two No. 14 seeds winning in the same tourney has only happened three times (2015, 1995, 1986). [did not happen this year]

 

First Round all-time record [2026 results]

1v16:

158-2

(99%)

4-0

2v15:

149-11

(93%)

4-0

3v14:

137-23

(86%)

4-0

4v13:

127-33

(79%)

4-0

5v12:

103-57

(64%)

3-1

6v11:

98-62

(61%)

2-2

7v10:

98-62

(61%)

3-1

8v9:

77-83

(48%)

0-4

 

Teams entering the Tournament with losing records have only won 1 game ever.

Nobody had a losing record entering this year's tourney.

 

Maryland is 16-1 in First Round since 1998.

They should have put us in as an at-large even with the most loses in a season in Maryland's history.

 

Gonzaga has won their first NCAA tournament game in each of the last 16 seasons. [still true]

 

 

Second Round (Round of 32)

At least one double-digit seed has reached the Sweet 16 every year but two since 1985 (1995, 2007). [still true #11 Texas]

And 18 times there have been at least three double-digit seeds to make the Sweet 16. [not this year]

 

Duke is the No. 1 overall seed in this year's NCAA Tournament. The No. 1 overall seed has also lost in the Second Round only three times. [still true]

 

A #14 seed has never beaten a #11 seed (0-7). [cannot happen this year]

 

Gonzaga lost in the Second Round last year. Prior to that, they had gone to 9 straight Sweet 16s.

[Zags lost again in Second Round this year]

 

 

Sweet 16

It is NOT common for the top four seeds in a region to reach the Sweet 16. Since 1985, it's happened in only 21 of 160 regions (13%). [did not happen this year, so only happened 21 of 164 regions (13%)]

 

Only three times in the past 26 years have we had a Sweet 16 in which all the 2 seeds were still alive (2009, 2019, 2024). [all 2 seeds reached Sweet 16 this year]

 

# of times Lower Seeds reached Sweet 16 since 1985:

16: 0

15: 4 Florida Gulf Coast (2013), Oral Roberts (2021), Saint Peter's (2022), Princeton (2023)

14: 2 Cleveland State (1986), Chattanooga (1997)

13: 6

12: 22

11: 27 [28]

10: 24

9: Only 6 times UTEP (1992), UAB (2004), Northern Iowa (2010), Kansas St (2018), Florida St (2018), FAU (2023). [now 7 times with Iowa]

#9 Seeds often face the #1 seed in the Second Round.

 

In 11 of last 15 tourneys, an 11 seed has reached the Sweet 16. [happened again, now 12 of last 16 tourneys]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elite 8

Last year, all four No. 1 seeds reached the Elite Eight. But that was the first time that happened since 2016. Before that, it was 2009.

[can't happen this year]

 

Only 4 times have ALL Elite Eight participants been seeded fourth or better (1995, 2007, 2009, 2025).

[still true with #9 Iowa]

 

12 out of the last 14 years, a No. 7 seed or lower has cracked the Elite Eight (but not last year).

[now 13 out of last 15 years with #9 Iowa]

 

Since 1985, the only low seeds (#9-#16) to reach Elite 8:

15: 1 (Saint Peter's 2022)

14: 0

13: 0

12: 2 (Missouri 2002, Oregon St 2021)

11: 8

10: 9

9: 4 (Boston College 1994, Florida St & Kansas St 2018, FAU 2023) [now 5 with Iowa]

 

 

 

Final 4

Number of No. 1 Seeds at Final Four since 1985:

0: 3 times (2006, 2011, 2023)

1: 16 times

2: 14 times [now 15 times]

3: 4 times

4: 2 times (2008, 2025)

 

Since 2010, only 22 of the 60 (37%) Final Four appearances have come from No. 1 seeds. [now 24 of 64 (38%)]

Last year, all Final Four teams were No. 1 seeds.

 

Teams seeded 5 or lower have made the Final Four in 13 of the last 15 tournaments. [not this year, now 13 of last 16]

 

Every seed from 1-11 has made a Final Four.

[no change]

 

Since 1985, the only low seeds (9-16) to reach Final 4:

11: 5 (LSU 1986, Geo Mason 2006, VCU 2011, Loyola-Chi 2018, NC State 2024)

10: 1 (Syracuse 2016)

9: 2 (Wichita St 2013, FAU 2023)

[no low seeds this year]

 

It has been 30 years since a No. 6 seed made the Final Four; Juwan Howard and the Fab Five at Michigan.

[still no No. 6, now 31 years]

 

No. 7 seeds have reached the Final Four only 4 times:

1984 Virginia (lost in semis)

2014 UConn (won title)

2015 Michigan State (lost in semis)

2017 South Carolina (lost in semis)

[still true]

 

In 10 of the last 12 years, a team seeded 7th or worse has reached the Final Four (did not happen in 2019 and 2025).

[did not happen this year, now 10 of last 13 years]

 

Four No. 5 seeds have made the final game, but No. 5 seeds have never won the national championship.

[no No. 5 seeds this year]

 

2023 was the first time there was a 4v5 Championship Game.

[cannot happen this year]

 

TRUE BLUE BLOODS: Only four times since 2008 has a Final Four not involved Kentucky, Duke, Kansas or UNC (2013, which now has a vacated championship by Louisville; 2021, 2023, and 2024).

[none made it this year, now 5 times]

 

 

Championship

No. 1s have won 14 of the past 18 titles [now 15 of last 19] and 26 of 40 overall (65%) [27 of 41 overall (66%)] since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. In that same span, No. 2 and No. 3 seeds have each won 4 championships.

 

Since 1998, only twice has a team seeded worse than 3rd won the national title, and both were UConn (No. 4 seed in 2023 and No. 7 seed in 2014).

[will remain twice since No. 2 is playing No. 1]

During that time span, No. 1 seeds have won 19 of 27 titles.

[now 20 of 28]

 

Low seeds (9-16) have never made the Championship Game.

[still true]

 

7 of the last 11 National Champs have NOT won their Conference Tourney.

[now 8 of the last 12 since both teams are at-large teams]

 

No team has lost their Conference Quarterfinal game and won the National Championship.

[still true]

 

Only 4 times has the No. 1 overall seed won the NCAA Tournament since the selection committee began ranking the No. 1s in 2004:

2007 Florida

2012 Kentucky

2013 Louisville (later vacated)

2024 UConn

Duke is this year's overall No. 1 seed.

[still only 4 times, Duke lost]

 

Only once has a conference with fewer than 4 teams in Tourney produced the National Champion since 1990: Big East in 2024 with UConn as Champ (Big East only had 3 teams in Tourney).

[still true]

 

Since Michigan State won the National Championship in 2000, no Big Ten school has won the title. In those 24 seasons, seven different Big Ten schools have played in the championship game (Michigan State, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan, and Purdue). In eight chances, the conference is 0-8 in the final game.

[Michigan ends the Big Ten drought]

 

A top-three seed has won the National title 24 of the past 26 seasons.

[now 25 of past 27 seasons]

 

Only 11 times since they started seeding has there been a 1v1 in National Championship game, but it has now happened two years in a row.

[cannot happen this year; still only 11 times]

 

Fewest point total in title game: #3 UConn beat #8 Butler 53-41 (94pts) in 2011.

[still true]

 

UConn is 6-0 in championship games.

[now 6-1]

 

 

BRACKET POOL HISTORY

Updated 03/30/26

Previous Pool Champions

Year

Top Prize

Winner

2025

$495

Doug Weist

2024

$545

Macho 1

2023

$575

Ryan Coran 2

2022

$630

Coach K

2021

$495

Kyle B #2

2019

$575

Jason Boris 3

2018

$550

ChadFrable1

2017

$525

Sarah

2016

$460

Jennifer K

2015

$500

Jim Boeheim

2014

$450

styer

2013

$440

Matt C

2012

$380

Stefan #2

2011

$325

DaveW

2010

$300

Meredith R

2009

$285

Reese

2008

$215

Mike C

2007

$205

Turtles Are Slow Speed Kills

2006

$135

tonyslunch

2005

$130

SheaHos

2004

$130

Greg K

2003

$115

Chris B

2002

$130

Jenny B

2001

$115

Christian S

2000

$87

Eli

1999

$51

Eli

1998

$51

Greg B

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any and all rules for any Madness of March pool may change at any time up to the tip-off of the first game of that pool.

Any changes will be posted on this and/or its respective website.