Saturday’s NCAA March Madness Bracket Preview show could not have come at a better time — specifically six hours before Michigan and Duke tipped in what would become the most-attended neutral-court game of the season. That’s because what the selection committee told us during a 30-minute program on CBS is that if the 2026 NCAA Tournament would’ve started Saturday, the top two seeds in the bracket would’ve been Michigan and Duke — point being that at least in the committee’s eyes, what we had inside Capital One Arena was a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown 22 days before Selection Sunday.
It wasn’t pretty — but it was fun.
Final score: Duke 68, Michigan 63.
Neither team played particularly well, especially on the offensive end. But the Blue Devils did score five more points than the Wolverines — thanks largely to Cameron Boozer. The 6-foot-9 freshman took 10 shots, made six of them and finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in 34 minutes while reminding the sport he’s the clear leader in the CBS Sports National Player of the Year race. He’s also now the best player on the team that’s No. 1 in Sunday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, because the Blue Devils have moved to the top spot after their massive victory.
Michigan is No. 2. Arizona is No. 3. Iowa State is No. 4. Houston is No. 5.
Yes, I know Iowa State lost at BYU on Saturday while Houston lost to Arizona. But if you’ve been following the Top 25 And 1 for a while, you likely know that this deep into any season, I mostly care more about bodies of work than anything else, and I still think Iowa State and Houston belong in the top five based on their bodies of work despite losses this weekend. Put another way, if the NCAA Tournament started today, I still think Iowa State and Houston would be seeded above everybody below them in the Top 25 And 1, which is why they’re above everybody they’re above in the Top 25 And 1.
Speaking of, 15 of the 16 teams in Saturday’s bracket preview were also in Saturday morning’s Top 25 And 1, as I noted with Emily Proud on CBS Sports HQ. The only difference was that on Saturday morning, I had St. John’s in my top 16 but did not have Texas Tech, while the selection committee had Texas Tech in its top 16 but omitted St. John’s.
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