NCAA Tournament 2026 Stats And Profiles: No. 1 and No. 2 Seeds East And West Regions

March Madness is set to tipoff and the NCAA Tournament 2026 bracket has been revealed. Record wagering is expected again, and the top teams will draw more watch and wager interest and be most popular picks for millions of fans in NCAA Tournament bracket pools. That includes the East and West Region top seeds Duke Blue Devils and Arizona Wildcats. I chip-in early top seeds No. 1 and No. 2 profiles, stats, coverage and information you can bet on at Off Shore Gaming, and add more below.

A previous season keys to NCAA Tournament success may also assist you in your pursuit of profit when wagering on college basketball and March Madness. As you review more NCAA Tournament matchups, brackets and tips and make your bets, check back ahead of and during the NCAA Tournament for more content, stats, odds updates from leading online sportsbooks with information you can bet on.

Key stats to picking an NCAA Tournament champion

When evaluating the KenPom advanced stats, know that 22 of the last 23 National Champions have finished in the Top 20 in both offensive and defensive adjusted efficiency. This year’s teams include:

• Duke (4 offense, 2 defense)
• Michigan (8,1)
• Arizona (5,3)
• Florida (9,6)
• Houston (14,5)

Other teams to watch with stronger efficiency stat profiles for NCAA Tournament 2026 event include:

• Iowa State (21,4), Illinois (1,28), Michigan State (24,13), Purdue (2,36), Connecticut (30,11), Gonzaga (29,9),  Nebraska (55,7), Alabama (3,67), Vanderbilt (7,30), Virginia (27,16), Kansas (57,10), St. John’s (44,12), Texas Tech (12,33), Arkansas (6, 47), Tennessee (37,15)

Top Coaches

Beyond the top teams in the strongest East Region, four national champion and Hall of Fame coaches are leading their teams in Dan Hurley (No. 2 UCONN), Tom Izzo (No. 3 Michigan State), Bill Self (No. 4 Kansas), Rick Pitino (No. 5 St. John’s) and the top-overall seed in the tournament Duke with coach Jon Scheyer.

No. 1 and No. 2 Seeds East Region

No. 1 Duke Blue Devils

Record: 32-2
Key Wins: Michigan, Kansas, Arkansas, Florida, Michigan State, Louisville (2x), North Carolina, Clemson, Virginia, NC State
Key Losses: North Carolina, Texas Tech
National Title Odds: +360
Final Four Odds: -130
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 15
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 4, Defense No. 2
X: @DukeMBB
Head Coach: Jon Scheyer

Duke won the ACC regular season and conference tournament titles last year, and is a No. 1 seed again after winning the ACC regular season title. The Blue Devils non-conference schedule was tougher, and Duke won a nation-best 15 games against Quad 1 teams. That included Duke’s win over No. 1 Michigan a month ago that moved the Blue Devils up to No. 1 in the country.

Duke was an ACC stats leader as the best shooting team, top defense in scoring and FG shooting, top rebounding margin team and outscored ACC opponents by an average of more than 18 points per game. Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year Cameron Boozer is already an All-American scoring 22+ points per game, 10+ rebounds and 4+ assists. Senior Maliq Brown was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and led the league in steals for ACC Coach of the Year Jon Scheyer. Sophomore guard Isaiah Evans (14.5 ppg) was third-team All-ACC. Sophomore center Patrick Ngongba II (10.7 ppg, 6 rpg) is the teams top shot blocker, and he’ll return for NCAA Tournament after missing the ACC Tournament with a non-contact knee injury.

Duke (-29.5) opens the NCAA Tournament 2026 against No. 16 Siena in Greenville, SC. The winner plays the 8/9 winner between Ohio State (-2.5) and TCU.

No. 2 Connecticut Huskies 

Record: 29-5
Key Wins: BYU, Illinois, Kansas, Villanova (2x), St. John’s, Seton Hall (2x)
Key Losses: Arizona, St. John’s (2x)
National Title Odds: +2500
Final Four Odds: +600
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 36
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 30, Defense No. 11
X: @UConnMBB
Head Coach: Dan Hurley

Connecticut finished runner-up to St. John’s in both the Big East regular season and Big East conference tournament after the Red Storm blew out the Huskies 72-52 with UCONN having their worst shooting night of the season including just 3/19 from 3-point range. Yet St. John’s is a 5-seed while UCONN is a 2-seed with the Huskies still sporting the Big East’s top field goal shooting team at 47.7% in Big East play this season and the second-best 3-point shooting offense, defense and scoring defense. Connecticut also led the Big East in assists, rebounding margin and scoring margin (+10.6).

Three UCONN veterans and All-Big East first-team players will determine the Huskies NCAA Tournament 2026 run. Senior forward Alex Karaban (12.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg), senior center Tarris Reed, Jr.(13.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and junior guard Silas DeMary, Jr. (11.0 ppg, 6.5 apr, 4.5 rpg). Karaban is already a 2-time national champion with the Huskies (2023, 2024), and the all-time winningest player in program history.

Connecticut (-21) opens the NCAA Tournament against No. 15 Furman in Philadelphia. The winner plays the 7/10 winner between UCLA (-6) and Central Florida (UCF).

No. 1 and No. 2 Seeds West Region

No. 1 Arizona Wildcats

Record: 32-2
Key Wins: Florida, UCLA, UCONN, Alabama, San Diego State, UCF, Houston, BYU (2x), Kansas, Iowa State, TCU
Key Losses: Kansas, Texas Tech
National Title Odds: +360
Final Four Odds: -135
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 9
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 5, Defense No. 3
X: @ArizonaMBB
Head Coach: Tommy Lloyd

More Big 12 team stats leaders to review in the Big 12 conference tournament preview. Arizona won the Big 12 and had 14 Quad 1 wins this season. The Wildcats 29 wins during the regular season are a program record. Senior guard Jaden Bradley was voted Big 12 Player of the Year by conference coaches. He averaged 13.4 ppg, led the Wildcats in assists and made 80% free throws with clutch plays late in games. Freshman guard Brayden Burries led Arizona in scoring at 16 ppg, averaged 5 rebounds per game and made a team-high 50 three-pointers delivering as part of a star-studded freshman class. And 7-foot 2 inch center Motiejus Krivas joined those two on the All-Big 12 first team with team-high blocks and more than 8 rebounds per game. Along with 12 points per game, Sixth Man of the Year Tobe Awaka led the Wildcats in rebounding (9.6) and added to a strong front line of Koa Pete and Ivan Kharchenkov.

Arizona was ranked No. 1 for nine-consecutive weeks and has played perhaps the toughest schedule in Wildcats history. A top title contender for 5th-year Big 12 Coach of the Year Tommy Lloyd to challenge the top teams and make their first Final Four under Lloyd.

Arizona (-30.5) opens the NCAA Tournament as the biggest favorite of the event against No. 16 Long Island in San Diego. The winner plays the 8/9 winner between Villanova and Utah State (-2).

No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers

Record: 26-8
Key Wins: Alabama, Texas Tech, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska (2x), UCLA, Michigan
Key Losses: Iowa State, UCLA, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin
National Title Odds: +2200
Final Four Odds: +425
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 6
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 2, Defense No. 36
X: @BoilerBall
Head Coach: Matt Painter

Purdue tied for 6th in the Big Ten, and then went on to win the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 7 seed, beating top-seed Michigan 80-72 with just two turnovers. Coach Matt Painter’s Boiler Ball features 4-year starting senior point guard Braden Smith, a first-team All-Big Ten performer who had a record-setting season in assists averaging 8.7 per game, and 14.9 points per game. That improved to 11.5 assists per game during the 4-game Big Ten Tournament championship run. The Boilermakers were the 2nd best shooting team in the Big Ten behind Michigan, and top 3-point shooting team (37.7%) led by guards Fletcher Loyer (42%) and Smith (39%).

Purdue (-24) opens the NCAA Tournament against No. 15 Queens (N.C.) in St. Louis. The winners plays the 7/10 winner of Miami, FL (-2) and Missouri.

The Big Ten hasn’t won a national championship since coach Tom Izzo led Michigan State to the title in 2000. This year the Big Ten has No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Purdue, No. 3 Michigan State and Illinois and No. 5 Wisconsin as top challengers to lead a Big Ten Final Four and Championship run.

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