Bragging rights for college basketball’s ultimate prize will be decided a month from now, but with conference tournaments tipping off this week, postseason significance is ramping up across the hardwood. Final movement for NCAA Tournament seeding, potentially moving off the bubble and seizing bid-stealing opportunities takes place across several major conferences ahead of Selection Sunday.
College basketball’s latest polls this week offer a glimpse into many of the nation’s top leagues, including a couple with a handful of legitimate national title contenders leading the charge.
March Madness is underway and here’s a look at power ratings across five major conferences entering respective league tournaments:
College basketball conference tournaments 2026: March Madness continues as Sun Belt, Southland decide champs
Cameron Salerno
When: Wednesday-Saturday | Where: New York
First round: No. 9 Providence vs. No. 8 Butler, No. 10 Xavier vs. No. 7 Marquette, No. 11 Georgetown vs. No. 6 DePaul
Quarterfinals: No. 1 St. John’s plays Providence-Butler winner, No. 5 Creighton vs. No. 4 Seton Hall, No. 2 UConn vs. Xavier-Marquette winner, No. 3 Villanova vs. Georgetown-DePaul winner
Current NCAA Tournament teams via CBS Sports Bracketology: St. John’s, UConn, Villanova
The word: Unless coach Greg McDermott and Creighton cook-up something spectacular this week at Madison Square Garden, the Bluejays’ streak of five straight NCAA Tournament appearances will end, as will Marquette’s success (four). Coaching changes for the Golden Eagles and Xavier this season have significantly impacted those programs, leading to losing records for both.
Two-time national champion Dan Hurley at UConn will play the UConn-Xavier winner in this week’s quarterfinals and is slotted as a No. 2 in the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Region at this point. Ironically, the Huskies have suffered late-season losses to Creighton and Marquette over their last five games with a win over St. John’s sandwiched between.
Hurley avoided being suspended for his team’s first conference tournament game after an outburst on the officiating crew during last week’s loss to Marquette. Hurley was fined for his verbal tirade on official John Gaffney after he wanted a foul called amid Silas Demary’s last-second drive to the basket with UConn trailing by a field goal. Demary’s layup attempt rattled off the rim and Marquette grabbed a defensive rebound to prevail.
By all accounts, this is a down year in the Big East and this power rating reflects that.
When: Tuesday-Saturday | Where: Charlotte, North Carolina
First round: No. 10 Stanford vs. No. 15 Pittsburgh, No. 11 SMU vs. No. 14 Syracuse, No. 12 Virginia Tech vs. No. 13 Wake Forest
Second round: No. 7 NC State vs. SMU-Pittsburgh winner, No. 6 Louisville vs. SMU-Syracuse winner, No. 8 Florida State vs. No. 9 California, No. 5 Clemson vs. Virginia Tech-Wake Forest winner
Quarterfinals: No. 1 Duke vs. Florida State-California winner, No. 2 Virginia vs. Game 4 winner, No. 3 Miami vs. Game 5 winner, No. 4 North Carolina vs. Game 7 winner
Current NCAA Tournament teams via CBS Sports Bracketology: Duke, Virginia, Miami, North Carolina, Clemson, NC State, Louisville, Stanford, SMU
The word: With 55 first-place votes this week, Duke is the overwhelming No. 1 in the latest AP rankings and is a heavy favorite to cut down the nets in Greensboro, N.C. for the third time in the last four years. The Blue Devils’ only conference loss came at North Carolina on Feb. 9 on Seth Trimble’s late 3-pointer. Duke has played relentless at both ends of the floor since and is led by freshman Cameron Boozer, the league’s second-leading scorer.
Stanford and SMU are two of the “Last Four In”, so both teams can help their respective March Madness resumes with Tuesday wins over Pittsburgh and Syracuse. A loss by either will open the door for others behind them in the metrics pecking order. The Cardinal have won four straight entering play, this coming after seven losses over a nine-game stretch previously.
North Carolina suffered a tough roster loss over the weekend after it was announced star freshman Caleb Wilson will miss the rest of the campaign with a hand injury. The projected top 5 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft was averaging 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists for the Tar Heels. His exit from the lineup takes a chunk out of North Carolina’s title chances this month.
When: Tuesday-Sunday | Where: Chicago
First round: No. 16 Oregon vs. No. 17 Maryland, No. 15 Northwestern vs. No. 18 Penn State
Second round: No. 9 Iowa vs. Oregon-Maryland winner, No. 12 Washington vs. No. 13 USC, No. 10 Indiana vs. Northwestern-Penn State winner, No. 11 Minnesota vs. No. 14 Rutgers
Third round: No. 5 Wisconsin vs. Game 4 winner, No. 6 UCLA vs. Game 6 winner, No. 7 Purdue vs. Game 5 winner, No. 8 Ohio State vs. Game 3 winner
Quarterfinals: No. 1 Michigan vs. Game 7 winner, No. 2 Nebraska vs. Game 9 winner, No. 3 Michigan State vs. Game 10 winner, No. 4 Illinois vs. Game 8 winner
Current NCAA Tournament teams via CBS Sports Bracketology: Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, Purdue, UCLA, Ohio State
The word: Five different team have won the Big Ten Tournament since the 2019 season, but second-seeded Nebraska is seeking its first in program history. The Huskers’ 26 wins under Fred Hoiberg is the most in 35 years for a team that started the season on a 20-game winning streak. After winning last season’s inaugural College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas, Nebraska had won 24 consecutive games total, the longest winning streak in Division I since the top-ranked Kentucky team in 2014-15.
Michigan and Michigan State only need to win two games to meet in the championship final, which would make for an epic rematch of Sunday’s regular season-ending 90-80 Wolverines’ win in Ann Arbor. Spartans coach Tom Izzo was blunt about his team’s performance after that setback, saying Michigan State “wouldn’t take a back seat nobody” and “I’m nobody’s damn little brother, especially my team” after players struggled with execution during the final 10 minutes of play.
When: Wednesday-Sunday | Where: Nashville
First round: No. 16 LSU vs. No. 9 Kentucky, No. 13 Mississippi State vs. No. 9 Auburn, No. 15 Ole Miss vs. No. 10 Texas, No. 14 South Carolina vs. No.11 Oklahoma
Second round: No. 8 Missouri vs. LSU-Kentucky winner, No. 5 Tennessee vs. Mississippi State-Auburn winner, No. 7 Georgia vs. Ole Miss-Texas winner, No. 6 Texas A&M vs. South Carolina-Oklahoma winner
Quarterfinals: No. 1 Florida vs. Game 5 winner, No. 2 Alabama vs. Game 7 winner, No. 3 Arkansas vs. Game 8 winner, No. 4 Vanderbilt vs. Game 6 winner
Current NCAA Tournament teams via CBS Sports Bracketology: Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri
The word: The SEC leads in March with 10 teams expected to play in the NCAA Tournament, a testament to the league’s competitiveness this season and marquee non-conference wins for several squads. Florida has won 11 straight games entering the postseason and is securely in line for a No. 1 seed next week. The Gators are one of four teams getting coveted double-byes in Nashville, joining Alabama, Arkansas and Vanderbilt. Florida is looking to become the tournament’s first repeat champion since Kentucky managed the feat under John Calipari during the 2017-2018 season.
One of the “Last Four In” in our latest NCAA Tournament projection, Missouri could effectively get off the bubble with a victory in the second round against the LSU-Kentucky winner. The Tigers would then take on the Gators, a team they beat back on Jan. 3. Auburn’s outside of the bubble as one of “First Four Out” and likely need several wins to boast about its resume after finishing 16-15 under first-year coach Steven Pearl.
When: Tuesday-Saturday | Where: Kansas City, Missouri
First round: No. 13 Baylor vs. No 12 Arizona State, No. 16 Utah vs. No. 9 Cincinnati, No. 15 Kansas State vs. No. 10 BYU, No. 14 Oklahoma State vs. No. 11 Colorado
Second round: No. 5 Iowa State vs. Baylor-Arizona State winner, No. 6 TCU vs. Oklahoma State vs. Colorado winner, winner No. 7 West Virginia vs. BYU-Kansas State winner, No. 8 UCF vs. Cincinnati-Utah winner
Quarterfinals: No. 1 Arizona vs. Game 6 winner, No. 2 Houston vs. Game 7 winner, No. 3 Kansas vs. Game 8 winner, No. 4 Texas vs. Game 5 winner
Current NCAA Tournament teams via CBS Sports Bracketology: Arizona, BYU, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Tech, TCU, UCF
The word: BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa is must-watch TV as the nation’s leading scorer at 24.7 points per game. Kansas State’s P.J. Haggerty isn’t far behind at 23.3 points per contest and the two ballers match up Tuesday evening. Dybantsa has scored 20 ore more in 10 straight games, including three starts with 35 or more.
With five teams currently situated inside the AP Poll’s top 15 equaling the Big Ten’s same number, the Big 12 is hoping this season produces the league’s first national champion since 2022 (Kansas). This could make for an extremely competitive Friday-Saturday combination inside the T-Mobile Center this week in Kansas City.
Most projections point to top-seeded Arizona and No. 2 Houston meeting in Saturday’s tournament final as long as the Wildcats and Cougars don’t stumble against potentially nationally-ranked squads in the semis. Arizona has six straight wins — including four over top 25 opponents — coming in while Kelvin Sampson’s squad has bounced back from three consecutive losses with a trio of victories after the schedule softened a bit last week.
Eight-seeded UCF is a team to watch this week in Wednesday’s second-round action. The Knights are currently projected as the Big 12’s last at-large as a No. 10 in the NCAA Tournament’s East Region. They were one of four teams to finish .500 in league play after stumbling with three losses since a 97-84 win over BYU on Feb. 25.
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