With March in full swing, it’s time to lock in picks for the sports highlight of the month: March Madness. Consistently commanding the attention of millions of viewers every year, March Madness is among the most popular sporting events in the United States. The tournament serves as a platform for players to demonstrate their skill sets ahead of the WNBA and NBA drafts in April and May, respectively. March Madness brackets will be released on March 15 during Selection Sunday, and the tournament will begin on March 17 with the First Four games, which finalize the 64-team bracket. The first round of official tournament play begins on March 19.
While the brackets aren’t yet set, certain teams have dominated throughout the regular NCAA basketball season and have already become fan favorites to advance deep into the tournament. For my money, I have No. 2 Arizona winning the men’s tournament and No. 5 Vanderbilt winning the women’s tournament.
Arizona will enter March Madness having won its first Big-12 Conference championship after joining the Conference in the 2024-25 season, when it tied for third. The Wildcats claimed the championship by beating No. 6 Iowa State 73-57 on March 2. Arizona currently boasts a 29-2 record, with both losses coming within a five-day span against Kansas and Texas Tech. Since these losses, Arizona has bounced back, winning its last six games of the regular season.
The secret to the success of the Arizona men’s team lies in head coach Tommy Lloyd’s ability to recruit players who mesh with his program. Rather than building the team’s style of play around his five-star recruits, Lloyd is effective in finding players that fit well with the system he already has in place. Lloyd has also gone against the grain by relying heavily on his class of first-year players as opposed to his veteran players. First-years Koa Peat and Brayden Burries have made good on this strategy, already playing seamlessly with the more veteran players on the team and placing in the top three on the roster in season scoring averages.
Both Peat and Burries will likely be first-round picks in the 2026 NBA draft; they are projected to go No. 14 and No. 30 overall, respectively, according to ESPN. I’m expecting that outstanding performances from both of these players will be instrumental in Arizona’s performance in the tournament. March Madness historically contributes a decent amount to a player’s draft stock, and both Peat and Burries will have the chance to boost theirs and move up the draft projections.
Vanderbilt’s women’s team has improved this season from 2024-25, during which they finished 22-11 overall and 8-8 in conference. This season, Vanderbilt holds a 27-3 record and a 13-3 Conference record. Despite their impressive record, Vanderbilt was upset in the quarter finals of the SEC tournament by No. 24 Ole Miss. No. 4 Texas, just above Vanderbilt in the rankings, ended up winning the tournament.
Still, Vanderbilt’s roster has the depth needed to go all the way in the NCAA tournament. Sophomore guard Mikayla Blakes won SEC Player of the Year, averaging 27.1 points per game and posing a formidable offensive threat for opponents. Point guard Aubrey Galvan was named SEC Freshman of the Year, leading all NCAA first-years in assists per game with 5.9 and in steals with 81. Both players contribute significantly to Vanderbilt’s dominant offense, which is ranked No. 5 in the NCAA. Defensively, Vanderbilt’s backcourt is recognized as one of the best in the SEC because of its ability to effectively minimize opponents’ scoring opportunities and capitalize on turnovers.
While undefeated No. 1 UConn is projected to win March Madness, I believe Vanderbilt is a good dark horse pick and a respectable bracket choice to go all the way.
The stage is almost set for tournament play. It’s time to begin the fun by thinking about prediction brackets and placing bets with your friends. Of course, predictions only go so far, especially when it comes to March Madness; after all, the reason it is one of the most popular tournaments in all of sports is because you never know what outcome to expect — anything can happen. Let the madness begin!
