NCAA Tournament 2026 Stats And Profiles: No. 3, 4 and 5 Seeds South And Midwest Regions

March Madness is set to tipoff, and the teams just below Florida and Houston as No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the South Region along with Michigan and Iowa State as No. 1 and No. 2 in the Midwest will provide plenty of quality watch and wager actio in the South and Midwest Regionsn. The No. 3, 4 and 5 seeds in the South have been ranked in the AP Top 25 all season, and will be solid challengers in the brackets.

Big Ten contenders Illinois and Nebraska along with Vanderbilt in the SEC provide tournament-ready profiles and stats with quality coaching to win and advance through the South Region of the NCAA Tournament 2026 brackets. Virginia in the ACC, Alabama SEC and Texas Tech in the Big 12 are the 3-5 seeds in the Midwest who will try to challenge top seeds Michigan and Iowa State.

Also check out the 3, 4 and 5 seeds in the East and West Region along with the South and Midwest Region initially provided at OSGA.

No. 3, 4, 5 Seeds South Region

No. 3 Illinois Fighting Illini

Record: 24-8
Key Wins: Texas Tech, Tennessee, Missouri, Ohio State, Iowa, Purdue
Key Losses: Alabama, UCONN, Nebraska, Michigan State, Wisconsin (2x), UCLA, Michigan
National Title Odds: +2000
Final Four Odds: +350
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 23
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 2, Defense No. 28
X: @IlliniMBB
Head Coach: Brad Underwood

Illinois is a legit threat to make the Final Four with the No. 2 Adjusted Offensive Efficiency team in the country and a top 30 defense. The Fighting Illini lost four overtime games to top Big Ten teams since early February. Standout guard, Freshman of the Year and All-Big Ten first team Keaton Wagler (17.9 ppg, 4.3 apr, 4.9 rpg), leads  a strong 2-point shooting team with fellow freshman David Mirkovic (13.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg) guiding a top-3 offensive rebounding team that converts those into points averaging 84.4 points per game.

Illinois (-24.5) opens the NCAA Tournament against No. 14 Penn from the Ivy League with the game played in Greenville, SC. The winner plays the 6/11 winner between North Carolina (-2.5) and Virginia Commonwealth (VCU).

No. 4 Nebraska Cornhuskers

Record: 26-6
Key Wins: Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State, Iowa
Key Losses: Michigan, Illinois, Purdue (2x), Iowa, UCLA
National Title Odds: +10000
Final Four Odds: +2000
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 42
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 55, Defense No. 7
X: @HuskerMBB
Head Coach: Fred Hoiberg

Nebraska started the season 20-0 and led the Big Ten in scoring defense (66.2 ppg) in conference play with a top 10 three-point defense. Junior forward Pryce Sandfort (17.9 ppg, 5 rpg) had a breakout season transfering in from Iowa and earning first-team All-Big Ten honors. Big Ten Coach of the Year Fred Hoiberg‘s son, all-Big Ten defensive team senior guard Sam Hoiberg (9.7 ppg, 4.2 apg, 5.2 rpg) and seventh year senior forward Rienk Mast (13.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg) also helped the Huskers to nearly 11 made 3-pointers per game and a +8.9 scoring margin vs. Big Ten opponents; third-best in the league behind Michigan and Illinois. But Nebraska did lost to Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, UCLA and Purdue (2x) in the final five weeks and are an inflated favorite in the opening round.

Nebraska (-13) opens the NCAA Tournament against No. 13 Troy from the Sun Belt with the game played in Oklahoma City. The winner plays the 5/12 winner between Vanderbilt (-11.5) and McNeese State.

No. 5 Vanderbilt Commodors

Record: 26-8
Key Wins: Central Florida, VCU, St. Mary’s, SMU, Alabama, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Tennessee (2x), Florida
Key Losses: Texas, Florida, Arkansas (2x), Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky
National Title Odds: +7000
Final Four Odds: +1000
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 12
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 7, Defense No. 31
X: @VandyMBB
Head Coach: Mark Byington

Like Nebraska, Vanderbilt outperformed expectations and started 16-0 before losing 3-straight SEC games including to top team Florida. But Vanderbilt played to a high championship level in dominating No. 1 seed Florida in the SEC Tournament. The Commodors had a top 20 Adjusted Offensive and Defensive Efficiency rating much of the season, but enter the tournament No. 7 on offense and 31 defense. That despite first-team All-SEC performer and all-Defensive team guard Tyler Tanner (19.1 ppg, 5.1 apg, 3.6 rpg) leading the ‘Dores to a league-best turnover margin and No. 2 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Vanderbilt (-11.5) opens the NCAA Tournament against No. 12 McNeese State from the Southland Conference with the game played in Oklahoma City. The winner plays the 4/13 winner between Nebraska (-13) and Troy).

No. 3, 4, 5 Seeds Midwest Region

No. 3 Virginia Cavaliers

Record: 29-5
Key Wins: NC State (3x), Louisville, SMU, Ohio State, Miami (2x),
Key Losses: North Carolina, Duke (2x)
National Title Odds: +6000
Final Four Odds: +825
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 70
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 27, Defense No. 16
X: @UVAMensHoops
Head Coach: Ryan Odom

Virginia (-18.5) opens the NCAA Tournament against No. 14 Write State from the Horizon League with the game played in Philadelphia. The winner plays the 6/11 winner between Tennessee or SMU/Miami, Ohio.

No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide

Record: 23-9
Key Wins: St. John’s, Illinois, Clemson, South Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Tennessee
Key Losses: Purdue, Gonzaga, Arizona, Vanderbilt, Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Ole Miss
National Title Odds: +12500
Final Four Odds: +1800
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 2
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 3 , Defense No. 67
X: @AlabamaMBB
Head Coach: Nate Oats

Alabama (-12) opens the NCAA Tournament against No. 13 Hofsta from the Coastal Athletic Conference with the game played in Tampa, FL. The winner plays the 5/12 winner between Texas Tech (-8) and Akron.

No. 5 Texas Tech Red Raiders

Record: 22-10
Key Wins: Duke, BYU, Houston, Arizona, Iowa State
Key Losses: Illinois, Purdue, Arkansas, Houston, UCF, Kansas, TCU, BYU, Iowa State
National Title Odds: +12500
Final Four Odds: +2000
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 8
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 12, Defense No. 33
X: @TexasTechMBB
Head Coach: Grant McClasland

Texas Tech (-8) opens the NCAA Tournament against No. 12 Akron from the MAC with the game played in Tampa, FL. The winner plays the 4/13 winner between Alabama (-12) and Hofstra.

More updates, stats and profiles to be added Wednesday with information you can bet on during the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

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