Selection Sunday: Breaking down the men’s and women’s brackets

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🏀 Men’s bracket: Duke grabs top seed

Worry not, Miami (Ohio) faithful: the committee did not leave your beloved RedHawks out of the Dance. They will, however, have to earn their way into the Round of 64 after just sneaking into the tournament via the First Four.

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East Region: Duke nabbed the No. 1 overall seed for the first time since 2019, but their quest for the title won’t exactly come easy in this blue blood-filled region that includes UConn, Michigan State, Kansas, Louisville and UCLA. And though the Johnnies may not be blue bloods, head coach Rick Pitino certainly is.

West Region: How’s this for the West’s top four seeds: Arizona just won the Big 12 tournament, Purdue won the Big Ten tournament, Arkansas won the SEC tournament and Gonzaga is arguably the most consistent March Madness team of the past decade. And don’t forget about Wisconsin, which had four top-10 wins this season.

Midwest Region: Title favorite Michigan leads a region defined by its offensive firepower, as it features six of the nation’s 11 highest-scoring teams in Alabama (No. 1 offense), Miami-Ohio (2), Georgia (3), Akron (6), Michigan (10) and Saint Louis (11).

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South Region: If this year’s tournament is as chalky as last year’s, the South will treat us to a national championship rematch in the Elite Eight between No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Houston… in Houston (sorry, Gators). But watch out for No. 3 Illinois, which boasts the nation’s second-best offense, per KenPom, and No. 4 Nebraska, which has the seventh-best defense.

Notes:

• Title favorites: Michigan has the best odds to cut down the nets (+325 at BetMGM), despite losing Sunday’s Big Ten title game. Duke (+333) is right behind them, followed by Arizona (+425), Florida (+600), Houston (+1000) and UConn (+1800).

• The bubble: NC State (36 NET ranking), SMU (37), Texas (42 NET ranking), and Miami-Ohio (64) were the “Last Four In,” while Auburn (38), Indiana (41), San Diego State (47) and Oklahoma (48) were the “First Four Out.” Here are the five biggest snubs.

• Multi-bid leagues: SEC (10), Big Ten (9), ACC (8), Big 12 (8), Big East (3), West Coast (3), MAC (2), A10 (2)

First Four: The action begins tomorrow with No. 16 UMBC vs. No. 16 Howard (Midwest) and No. 11 Texas vs. No. 11 NC State (West). Then on Wednesday, it’s No. 16 Prairie View vs. No. 16 Lehigh (South) and No. 11 Miami-Ohio vs. No. 11 SMU (Midwest).

Good read: What the NCAA tournament selection committee got right and wrong

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Quick links: Fill out your bracket | Printable bracket

🏀 Women’s bracket: UConn vs. the field

A year after the Big Ten landed a record 12 bids, the Big Ten… again landed 12 bids, including three of the top eight seeds. Will that help the conference win its first national championship since 1999?

Region One: There’s UConn, and then there’s everyone else, as the defending champions are on a 50-game winning streak, good for the fifth-longest in women’s D1 history. But the Huskies would be wise not to overlook Vanderbilt, which finished second in the mighty SEC and is led by the nation’s leading scorer in sophomore guard Mikayla Blakes (27 ppg).

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Region Two: Outside of UConn, no team is hotter than UCLA, which has won 25 straight games and just beat Iowa in the Big Ten title game by 51 points. They will, however, have to contend with LSU, the highest-scoring team in the nation, and Duke, underseeded at No. 3 after winning the ACC’s regular-season and tournament titles.

Region Three: No. 1 Texas got a dream draw. Not only do the Longhorns get to host their first two games on campus — same as every other region’s top-four seeds — but if they advance to the Sweet 16 they’ll play in nearby Fort Worth. And shoutout to Tennessee, which kept its mind-boggling streak alive as the only program to make all 44 NCAA women’s tournaments.

Region Four: South Carolina landed a No. 1 seed for the sixth straight year, and their path to a sixth straight Final Four is the easiest of any team in the field. No. 11 South Dakota State might not contend for a title, but after winning a tourney game in two of the last three seasons the Jackrabbits are a Cinderella to keep an eye on.

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Notes:

• Title favorites: UConn has by far the best odds to cut down the nets (-275 at BetMGM), followed by UCLA (+550), Texas (+650), South Carolina (+900) and LSU (+1700).

• The bubble: Nebraska (28 NET ranking), Virginia (36), Richmond (37) and Arizona State (51) were the “Last Four In,” while North Dakota State (47), BYU (56), Utah (58) and Texas A&M (62) were the “First Four Out.” Here are five notable snubs.

• Multi-bid leagues: Big Ten (12), SEC (10), ACC (9), Big 12 (8), Big East (2), A10 (2)

First Four: The action begins Wednesday with No. 16 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 16 Missouri State (Region 3) and No. 11 Nebraska vs. No. 11 Richmond (Region 2). Then on Thursday, it’s No. 16 Samford vs. No. 16 Southern (Region 4) and No. 10 Virginia vs. No. 10 Arizona State (Region 4).

Good read: Top WNBA Draft prospects to watch in the NCAA tournament

Quick links: Fill out your bracket | Printable bracket

🇺🇸 Photos across America

Miami, Florida — Team USA won Sunday’s clash of the titans, holding off the Dominican Republic in a 2-1 victory to reach their third straight World Baseball Classic title game. They’ll face the winner of tonight’s Italy-Venezuela semifinal in tomorrow’s championship.

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ICYMI: Junior Caminero put the Dominicans up early with a second-inning blast off Paul Skenes, but the U.S. took the lead on solo shots from Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony in the fourth before white-knuckling their way to the win behind 4.2 scoreless innings from the bullpen — including a controversial called strike three to end the game.

Indian Wells, California — Jannik Sinner defeated Daniil Medvedev on Sunday to win his first Indian Wells title, joining Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the only men to “complete” hard-court tennis by winning both majors (U.S. Open, Australian Open), all six Masters 1000 titles (Canada, Miami, Cincinnati, Shanghai, Paris, Indian Wells) and the ATP Finals. And he’s only 24.

On the women’s side: Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka also claimed her first Indian Wells title, coming back to beat No. 3 Elena Rybakina in a rematch of this year’s Australian Open final, won by Rybakina.

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida — Cameron Young (-13) mounted a thrilling four-shot comeback on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass to win The Players Championship by a stroke over Matthew Fitzpatrick, his final-round playing partner.

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Shots of his life: Trailing Fitz by one stroke entering the 17th hole, Young threw a dart onto the iconic island green to set up a birdie, which meant they’d head to a winner-take-all finale. Then he hit the longest drive ever on the 18th at Sawgrass (375 yards) before tapping in a par for the win.

Foxborough, Massachusetts — The Boston Legacy drew 30,207 fans to Gillette Stadium on Saturday, setting the NWSL attendance record for an expansion team’s inaugural home game. They’re still seeking their first win, though, as defending champion Gotham FC took the season-opener, 1-0.

Looking ahead: Boston’s record won’t last long, with fellow expansion side Denver Summit expected to draw over 50,000 fans for its home opener in two weeks at the Broncos’ Empower Field at Mile High.

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🌎 Photos around the world

🇮🇹 Milan, Italy — For the third time in the past month, the USA beat Canada in a gold-medal hockey match, winning 6-2 on Sunday for their fifth straight Paralympic sled hockey title. And with that, Milan Cortina 2026 has officially come to an end.

Final medal table: China (15 gold medals; 44 total medals) and the United States (13 gold; 24 total) finished first and second in both counts, while Russia (8 gold medals), Italy (7) and Austria (7) rounded out the top five for the gold-medal tally.

🇨🇳 Shanghai, China — Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli captured his maiden F1 victory on Sunday at the Chinese Grand Prix, becoming the second-youngest race winner in F1 history (19 years, 202 days). Only Max Verstappen won at a younger age (18 years, 228 days back in 2016).

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Looking ahead: Formula 1 has decided to cancel April’s races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to their proximity to the ongoing war in Iran. That means F1 will go more than a month between its third race in Japan (March 29) and its fourth race in Miami (May 3).

🇫🇷 Paris, France — France pulled off a last-gasp victory over England in Saturday’s Six Nations finale, capping off one of the most exciting editions of the tournament ever with their second straight title, and record eighth overall.

All-time results: France (8 championships) broke a tie with England (7) for the most titles since the tournament expanded to six teams in 2000. Ireland and Wales are tied for third, with six each, while Italy and Scotland are still seeking their first win.

🇲🇽 Mexico City, Mexico — 9,500 people gathered for a soccer class in Zócalo Plaza on Sunday, three months before Mexico co-hosts the World Cup, to break the Guinness World Record for the largest soccer class ever.

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What they’re saying: “With this record, the city sends a message to ⁠the world: ‘Sport, soccer, is the universal language, a language of peace that needs no translation,'” said Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada. “Congratulations Mexico City, today we kick ⁠off the World Cup.”

📺 Watchlist: Monday, March 16

⚾️ World Baseball Classic

Venezuela and Italy meet tonight in Miami (8pm ET, FS1) for a spot in tomorrow’s championship against Team USA.

How they got here: Italy’s espresso-fueled party continued with Saturday’s 8-6 win over Puerto Rico; Venezuela took out defending champion Japan in an 8-5 thriller that featured leadoff homers from both Ronald Acuña Jr. and Shohei Ohtani, and a game-winning three-run shot from Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu.

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🏀 NBA on Peacock

Tonight’s tripleheader starts on the East Coast, where the Hawks host the Magic (7pm), then heads to Texas for Lakers at Rockets (9:30pm) before ending in Hollywood, where the Clippers host the Spurs (10pm).

Going streaking: Atlanta has won nine straight for their longest winning streak in over a decade, and the longest active streak in the league. Orlando (seven straight wins) and the Lakers (five straight) have the third- and fourth-longest active streaks, behind only Atlanta and OKC (eight).

More to watch:

• 🏒 NHL: Bruins at Devils (7pm, ESPN); Penguins at Avalanche (9:30pm, ESPN) … Colorado’s lead atop the West (97 points) has narrowed to just three points as the surging Stars (94) have won 14 of their last 15.

• ⚽️ Premier League: Brentford vs. Wolverhampton (4pm, USA)… Wolves (3-7-20) have recovered (slightly) from what was theworst start in league history, but they’re still a near-lock to be relegated after spending the last eight years in the top flight.

Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events happening in your city. Get tickets now!

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🏀 March Madness trivia

Duke has earned a 1-seed in the NCAA tournament 16 times, second-most among all men’s D1 teams since seeding began in 1979.

Question: Can you name the only team above them on that list?

Hint: They’ve won three national championships this century.

Answer at the bottom.

🏀 Fill out your bracket!

Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem is back! Start a bracket and enter for a chance to win $25K in both the men’s and women’s tournaments. Create your brackets now.

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Trivia answer: North Carolina (18 times)

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