March Madness Bracket: Ai Picks Every Men's 2026 Ncaa Tournament Game

For some college basketball fans, filling out an NCAA Tournament bracket can be a gradual process. Initial picks are made on Selection Sunday, and then they're adjusted as the week progresses, with deliberation about certain teams and games occurring right up until first-round action officially begins on Thursday, March 19.

This might be what's happening to artificial intelligence as well. After USA TODAY Sports initially asked Microsoft Copilot's AI chatbot to run a simulation of every game in the Men's NCAA Tournament bracket on Selection Sunday, another attempt three days later produced the same champion, a mostly chalk Final Four and several additional upsets.

Houston remains Microsoft Copilot's pick to emerge as the national champion in 2026 and it projects as the only non-No. 1 seed to make the Final Four, according to this simulation. However, AI did predict six double-digit seeds to pull off upsets and advance past the first round this year. That's five more than what it projected on Selection Sunday.

Here's a complete look at how Microsoft Copilot's AI chatbot predicted every game in the 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament bracket:

MARCH MADNESS: Ranking all 68 men's teams by odds to win 2026 NCAA bracket

March Madness predictions: AI simulation of every 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament game

USA TODAY Sports asked Microsoft Copilot's AI chatbot to pick the winner of every game in the 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket based on team's strengths and weaknesses, several advanced metric models, the latest upset projections and expert analysis on each matchup.

First Four

• No. 11 seed SMU beats No. 11 seed Miami (Ohio) (Midwest region)
• No. 16 seed Lehigh beats No. 16 seed Prairie View A&M (South region)
• No. 11 seed Texas 68, No. 11 seed North Carolina State 66 (West region)
• No. 16 seed Howard 86, No. 16 seed UMBC 83 (Midwest region)

FIRST FOUR HIGHLIGHTS: Texas edges NC State, Howard beats UMBC

First Round

East region

• No. 1 seed Duke beats No. 16 seed Siena
• No. 8 seed Ohio State beats No. 9 seed TCU
• No. 5 seed Vanderbilt beats No. 12 seed McNeese
• No. 4 seed Kansas beats No. 13 seed California Baptist
• No. 6 seed Louisville beats No. 11 seed South Florida
• No. 3 seed Michigan State beats No. 14 seed North Dakota State
• No. 10 seed Texas A&M beats No. 7 seed Saint Mary's
• No. 2 seed UConn beats No. 15 seed Furman

South region

• No. 1 seed Florida beats No. 16 seed Lehigh
• No. 8 seed Clemson beats No. 9 seed Iowa
• No. 5 seed St. John's beats No. 12 seed Northern Iowa
• No. 4 seed Nebraska beats No. 13 seed Troy
• No. 6 seed North Carolina beats No. 11 seed VCU
• No. 14 seed Penn beats No. 3 seed Illinois
• No. 10 seed UCF beats No. 7 seed UCLA
• No. 2 seed Houston beats No. 15 seed Idaho

Midwest region

• No. 1 seed Michigan beats No. 16 seed Howard
• No. 8 seed Georgia beats No. 9 seed Saint Louis
• No. 5 seed Texas Tech beats No. 12 Akron
• No. 4 seed Alabama beats No. 13 seed Hofstra
• No. 6 seed Tennessee beats No. 11 seed SMU
• No. 3 seed Virginia beats No. 14 seed Wright State
• No. 10 seed Santa Clara beats No. 7 seed Kentucky
• No. 2 seed Iowa State beats No. 15 seed Tennessee State

West region

• No. 1 seed Arizona beats No. 16 seed Long Island
• No. 8 seed Villanova beats No. 9 seed Utah State
• No. 12 seed High Point beats No. 5 seed Wisconsin
• No. 4 seed Arkansas beats No. 13 seed Hawaii
• No. 6 seed BYU beats No. 11 seed Texas
• No. 3 seed Gonzaga beats No. 14 seed Kennesaw State
• No. 10 seed Missouri beats No. 7 seed Miami
• No. 2 seed Purdue beats No. 15 seed Queens

Second Round

East region

• No. 1 seed Duke beats No. 8 seed Ohio State
• No. 4 seed Kansas beats No. 5 seed St. John's
• No. 3 seed Michigan State beats No. 6 seed Louisville
• No. 2 seed UConn beats No. 10 seed Texas A&M

South region

• No. 1 seed Florida beats No. 8 seed Clemson
• No. 4 seed Nebraska beats No. 5 seed Vanderbilt
• No. 6 seed North Carolina beats No. 14 seed Penn
• No. 2 seed Houston beats No. 10 seed Texas A&M

Midwest region

• No. 1 seed Michigan beats No. 8 seed Georgia
• No. 4 seed Alabama beats No. 5 seed Texas Tech
• No. 6 seed Tennessee beats No. 3 seed Virginia
• No. 2 seed Iowa State beats No. 10 seed Santa Clara

West region

• No. 1 seed Arizona beats No. 8 seed Villanova
• No. 4 seed Arkansas beats No. 12 seed High Point
• No. 3 seed Gonzaga beats No. 6 seed BYU
• No. 2 seed Purdue beats No. 10 seed Missouri

Sweet 16

East region

• No. 1 seed Duke beats No. 4 seed Kansas
• No. 2 seed UConn beats No. 3 seed Michigan State

South region

• No. 1 seed Florida beats No. 4 seed Nebraska
• No. 2 seed Houston beats No. 6 seed North Carolina

Midwest region

• No. 1 seed Michigan beats No. 4 seed Alabama
• No. 2 seed Iowa State beats No. 6 seed Tennessee

West region

• No. 1 seed Arizona beats No. 4 seed Arkansas
• No. 2 seed Purdue beats No. 3 seed Gonzaga

Elite Eight

• East region: No. 1 seed Duke beats No. 2 seed UConn
• South region: No. 2 seed Houston beats No. 1 seed Florida
• Midwest region: No. 1 seed Michigan beats No. 2 seed Iowa State
• West region: No. 1 seed Arizona beats No. 2 seed Purdue

Final Four

• No. 1 seed Arizona beats No. 1 seed Michigan
• No. 2 seed Houston beats No. 1 seed Duke

National championship game

• No. 2 seed Houston beats No. 1 seed Arizona

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness AI predictions: Men's bracket winner, best upset picks