March Madness preview: who’s in, who’s out, who can win
The Excerpt
USA TODAY
4.1 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 13 March 2026
⏱️ 17 minutes
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Summary
March Madness is almost here, and the bracket picture is starting to come into focus. Is there a true favorite this year, or is the field wide open? USA TODAY college sports reporter Paul Myerberg joins The Excerpt to share which teams look built for a deep tournament run, which big-name programs could miss the bracket and the players who could turn March into their NBA breakout moment.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | March Madness is just around the corner, and that means brackets, buzzer beaters, |
| 0:08.9 | and the annual scramble to figure out which teams are contenders and which ones might bust your bracket. |
| 0:15.3 | Can the defending champion Florida Gators men's basketball make another title run, |
| 0:20.2 | which powerhouse programs might be on |
| 0:22.5 | the outside looking in on Selection Sunday, and which NBA prospects could turn the tournament |
| 0:28.0 | into their breakout moment. |
| 0:35.5 | Hello and welcome to USA Today's The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Friday, March 13th, |
| 0:41.3 | 2026. Joining me to preview the men's NCAA tournament is USA Today College Sports Reporter Paul |
| 0:49.0 | Meyerberg. Thanks for coming on the excerpt, Paul. |
| 0:51.3 | Oh, thank you so much for having me. |
| 0:53.3 | Paul, let's zoom out first. |
| 0:55.5 | What kind of March Madness are we heading into this year? |
| 0:59.7 | Is there a clear favorite? |
| 1:01.3 | Or does this feel like a wide open field? |
| 1:04.2 | Yeah, it kind of feels like both. |
| 1:06.0 | And I know that's hedging might answer. |
| 1:07.9 | But at the same time, you have clear favorites. |
| 1:12.3 | You have maybe at least four, |
| 1:17.1 | maybe six, if you're being optimistic, maybe eight teams. And within that, there's a very wide open competition for who you think is the best team of the country or who you think |
| 1:20.8 | and went into the national championship. Those eight teams, I would say, are kind of sitting in |
| 1:24.8 | first class. And then you have another 60 teams, |
| 1:29.0 | 75 teams, just way back in coach. That's the separation that we're seeing now. Yeah, |
... |
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