The field is set for the 2026 NCAA Tournament after the field of 68 was revealed on CBS' Selection Show and there was a lot of interesting takeaways. There wasn't a wild omission of a team for the first time in years, which is a good sign the Selection Committee picked the right 68 teams to make the field. Still some teams will feel better about their draws than others.
A weak bubble made it relatively easy for the committee to sort through the bottom of the field, but there were some questionable calls made on the top lines, particularly with some conference champions receiving more favorable draws than others. Let's break down the big winners and losers from Selection Sunday, starting with the biggest loser of them all: St. John's.
Selection Sunday Loser: St. John's
The Red Storm took care of their business in the Big East, winning the league's regular season and tournament crowns, joining Duke and Arizona as the only power conference teams to pull off the double. While the Blue Devils and Wildcats wound up as No. 1 overall seeds, St. John's drew a 5-seed and has to fly out to San Diego for a first-round matchup against one of the most dangerous 12-seeds in the tournament in Northern Iowa.
The Red Storm scheduled tough in non-conference play and didn't get many signature wins, but those results came before the insertion of Dillon Mitchell into the starting lineup, which unlocked a new level of offensive efficiency for St. John's. The committee's decision to send a double champion from a power league nearly 3,000 miles away from campus to play their first round game speaks to a level of disrespect for the Big East that is growing as the years go by.
Selection Sunday Winner: The East Region
Fans who have tickets to the East Regional in Washington, D.C. had to be overjoyed when they saw the brackets come out. The East Region has a ton of brand name value, with Duke, UCONN, Michigan State and Kansas as its top four seeds while St. John's, UCLA, Louisville and Ohio State round out the top eight.
That kind of star power should guarantee CBS sends its top crew of Ian Eagle, Grant Hill and Bill Raftery there on the second weekend. Any combination of those teams in the region should produce an outstanding Final Four representative battle-tested enough to win the whole thing.
Selection Sunday Loser: Duke Blue Devils
While geography favored the Blue Devils, who will go from Greenville to Washington for the first four rounds of the dance, the draw did not. Despite being named the top overall seed in the field, Duke's region rates as the toughest among its top 4 seeds, with their combined 31 rating on the S-curve making their path much more difficult.
The banged-up Blue Devils also got the trickiest 8-9 matchup with Ohio State, who has a game-wrecking guard in Bruce Thornton, and TCU, which has wins over Florida, Wisconsin and Iowa State while losing by 4 to Michigan in Ann Arbor. If Patrick Ngbonga isn't healthy for that second round matchup there is a realistic possibility the Blue Devils don't even make it to Washington.
Selection Sunday Winner: Purdue Boilermakers
Most years don't see conference tournaments make a drastic difference in seeding, but Purdue is happy the committee valued their Big Ten Tournament victory this season. The Boilermakers had a relatively easy path to Sunday (Northwestern, Nebraska, UCLA) before outlasting Michigan, which helped them leapfrog Michigan State and Illinois to get to the 2-line.
The pod that Purdue has to escape from in the opening weekend (Queens and the Miami-Missouri winner) isn't terrible, and their potential Sweet 16 opponents (BYU or Gonzaga) aren't the strongest seeds on their lines either. It is very fortunate for the Boilermakers, a preseason No. 1 who limped through February, that their past week meant more to the committee than a month of mediocre play.
Selection Sunday Loser: Miami (OH) Redhawks
The fact that the RedHawks are in the field does offer proof that the regular season should matter in college basketball. The problem is the committee essentially punished them for their schedule, dropping Miami into the First Four where they have to take down SMU to earn entry into the main bracket.
A lot of Miami's scheduling woes aren't their fault as they were rebuffed by many top teams, who wouldn't play the RedHawks since the risk was far greater than any potential reward. A lot of the RedHawks' faithful should make the trip to Dayton, which will create a big home court advantage, but this team deserved an actual spot in the main draw after completing a perfect regular season.
Selection Sunday Winner: North Carolina Tar Heels
The selection committee has made a big deal about how the absence of injured players matters in seeding, which saw Texas Tech slip to a 5-seed without J.T. Toppin. That logic didn't apply to North Carolina, which drew a 6-seed despite losing star freshman Caleb Wilson for the season with a broken hand.
That treatment rates as a significant over-seed in the eyes of KenPom, which has the Tar Heels more in line for an 8-9 game, and they were also rewarded with a trip to South Carolina for the first round. Getting a more generous seed and home court advantage in the first two rounds of the tournament qualifies as a major win for Hubert Davis.
Selection Sunday Loser: Illinois Fighting Illini
The downside of North Carolina's bad seeding job is that it screwed Illinois, one of the nation's best teams all season long. The Fighting Illini got lapped by Purdue, who they beat by six in the regular season and finished two games up on in the Big Ten standings, setting them up with a potential road game in the Round of 32.
The road disadvantage could continue for Illinois even if they survive the Tar Heels since they landed in the South Region, meaning they would play 2-seed Houston just 20 minutes from the Cougars' campus. Having to win back-to-back road games shouldn't happen for a 3-seed but the Fighting Illini have a legitimate gripe with the committee here.
Selection Sunday Winner: Houston Cougars
Failing to win the Big 12 title on Saturday night appeared to have no consequence for Houston, which received a prime benefit as the top No. 2 seed in terms of geographic location. The Cougars were sent to the South Region, which conveniently takes place in Houston, a move that would not have been possible if the Cougars didn't switch host institution responsibilities with Rice back in September.
March Madness rules do not allow host institutions to play at their home venue prior to the Final Four, so that switch saved Houston a lot of flying if they get past the first weekend of the tournament. The toughest team the Cougars have to deal with in the South are potentially Illinois and Florida, with both of those contest being de facto home games for the region's 2-seed.