Now that the2026 men's NCAA Tournament brackethas been announced,college basketballfans have begun filling out their brackets for each of the four regions, and the paths that would be required for the 68 teams to reach the Final Four.
So, who will win it all?
Microsoft Copilot AI chatbotbelieves the2026 NCAA Tournamentwill be a redemption story for the reigning national runner-up, Houston.
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USA TODAY Sportsused theMicrosoft Copilot AI chatbotto predict the result of every men's game in this year's NCAA Tournament bracket. The exercise looked a lot like how avid and casual college basketball fans fill out a traditional bracket for their bracket pool groups every year.
The Microsoft Copilot AI simulation selected the 2-seeded Cougars to be crowned the national champion on Monday, April 6 inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, which would be the first national title for Houston and make Kelvin Sampson the oldest Division I coach to win a national championship at 70 years old. Copilot had Houston beating Big 12 foe, 1-seed Arizona, in the national title game. The Wildcats defeated the Cougars in the Big 12 championship game this past weekend.
The artificial intelligence software also predicted three upsets for the entire tournament, two coming in the first round with No. 12 seed High Point beating No. 5 Wisconsin and No. 9 seed Saint Louis beating No. 8 seed Georgia. The other was Houston getting revenge for last year's national championship loss to Florida in the Elite Eight of the South Region. It has a Final Four that includes three No. 1 seeds (Duke and Michigan as the others) and one No. 2 seed in Houston.
There was one major flaw in the simulation, though. It mixed up the region names of the bracket, but it got the matchups through the Elite Eight correct. For the Final Four and national championship, we had to run a different simulation with the correct Final Four matchup pairings of regions from the actual NCAA Tournament bracket.
Here's a complete look at how Microsoft Copilot's AI chatbot predicted every game in the 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament bracket:
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March Madness predictions: AI simulation of every 2026 NCAA Tournament game
First Four
No. 11 seed NC State beats No. 11 seed Texas (West Region)
No. 11 seed Miami (Ohio) beats No. 11 seed Southern Methodist (Midwest Region)
No. 16 seed UMBC beats No. 16 seed Howard (Midwest Region)
No. 16 seed Prairie View A&M beats No. 16 seed Lehigh (South)
First Round
East Region
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No. 1 seed Duke beats No. 16 seed Siena
No. 8 seed Ohio State beats No. 9 seed TCU
No. 5 seed St. John's beats No. 12 seed Northern Iowa
No. 4 seed Kansas beats No. 13 seed Cal Baptist
No. 6 seed Louisville beats No. 11 seed South Florida
No. 3 seed Michigan State beats No. 14 seed North Dakota State
No. 7 seed UCLA beats No. 10 seed Central Florida
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. 12 seed McNeese beats No. 5 seed Vanderbilt
No. 4 seed Nebraska beats No. 13 seed Troy
No. 6 seed North Carolina beats No. 11 VCU
No. 3 seed Illinois beats No. 14 seed Penn
No. 7 seed Saint Mary's beats No. 10 seed Texas A&M
No. 2 seed Houston beats No. 15 seed Idaho
Midwest Region
No. 1 seed Michigan beats No. 16 seed UMBC
No. 9 seed Saint Louis beats No. 8 seed Georgia
No. 5 seed Texas Tech beats No. 12 seed Akron
No. 4 seed Alabama beats No. 13 seed Hofstra
No. 6 seed Tennessee beats No. 11 seed Miami (Ohio)
No. 3 seed Virginia beats No. 14 seed Wright State
No. 7 seed Kentucky beats No. 10 seed Santa Clara
No. 2 seed Iowa State beats No. 15 seed Tennessee State
West Region
No. 1 seed Arizona beats No. 16 LIU
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 Hawai'i
No. 6 seed BYU beats No. 11 seed NC State
No. 3 seed Gonzaga beats No. 14 seed Kennesaw State
No. 7 seed Miami beats No. 10 seed Missouri
No. 2 seed Purdue beats No. 15 seed Queens
Second Round
East Region
No. 1 Duke seed 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. 7 seed UCLA
South Region
No. 1 seed Florida beats No. 8 seed Clemson
No. 4 seed Nebraska beats No. 12 seed McNeese
No. 3 seed Illinois beats No. 6 seed North Carolina
No. 2 seed Houston beats No. 7 seed Saint Mary's
Midwest Region
No. 1 seed Michigan beats No. 9 seed Saint Louis
No. 4 seed Alabama beats No. 5 seed Texas Tech
No. 3 seed Virginia beats No. 6 seed Tennessee
No. 2 seed Iowa State beats No. 7 seed Kentucky
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. 7 seed Miami
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. 3 seed Illinois
Midwest Region
No. 1 seed Michigan beats No. 4 seed Alabama
No. 2 seed Iowa State beats No. 3 seed Virginia
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 Arizona
Final Four
No. 2 seed Houston beats No. 1 seed Duke
No. 1 seed Arizona beats No. 1 seed Michigan
National championship game
No. 2 seed Houston beats No. 1 seed Arizona
USA TODAY's Blake Schuster contributed to this.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:March Madness predictions: Who does AI have winning 2026 NCAA Tournament?
