The Selection Sunday for this year’s March Madness has been wrapped up, and there is now clarity on the matchups to expect in the national tournament. On Sunday, March 15, all 68 teams that will vie for the 2026 national championship were named in the West, South, Midwest, and East Regions. This includes the First Four, which will include eight different teams looking to crack the final-64 pool.
@ESPNInsights on X/Twitter pointed out that this year’s East Region may be the toughest. Labeled the “Region of Doom,” the East is headlined by the top-seeded Duke Blue Devils, along with powerhouse programs such as the Kansas Jayhawks, the UCLA Bruins, and the Michigan State Spartans. Rounding out all of this are the 2023 and 2024 national champions, the UConn Huskies.
Let’s look at five possible matchups in the East Region of the 2026 March Madness:
5 Possible Matchups in March Madness East Region
#5 Elite Eight: Kansas Jayhawks vs. Michigan State Spartans
Coach Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans and coach Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawks can carve out an Elite Eight matchup between two of the most well-respected tacticians in current college basketball. It can be described as a chess match between the two coaches on how they will curate game plans against each other. Both Kansas and the Spartans are worthy picks to advance from the East Region.
#4 Sweet 16: Michigan State Spartans vs. UCLA Bruins
Coach Mick Cronin‘s UCLA Bruins can set up an interesting clash with the Michigan State Spartans, as both programs hail from the Big Ten conference. The two teams matched up recently in the quarterfinals of this year’s Big Ten tournament, with the Bruins coming out on top. It’ll be interesting to see how the Spartans would respond if they meet UCLA again this year.
#3 Second Round: UConn Huskies vs. UCLA Bruins
The UConn Huskies and the UCLA Bruins could go up against one another since they are bracketed to clash in the second round. With both teams projected to make light work of their respective first-round matchups, UConn and UCLA can set up a unique kind of playoff game. The two squads rarely go up against each other despite being established programs.
#2 Sweet 16: Duke Blue Devils vs. Kansas Jayhawks
If both Cameron Boozer’s Duke Blue Devils and Darryn Peterson’s Kansas Jayhawks reach the Sweet 16, the powerhouse programs will face each other. With this, the collegiate hoops world may see the only ever head-to-head game between two top-three projected picks in the 2026 NBA Draft.
#1 Elite Eight: Duke Blue Devils vs. UConn Huskies
If everything goes to plan, the East Region may be headlined by a surefire matchup between coach Jon Scheyer’s Duke Blue Devils and coach Dan Hurley’s UConn Huskies. The Huskies are looking to reclaim the national title after they won in 2023 and 2024. Meanwhile, for Duke, the storied program is looking to win it all since they last did so in 2015, 11 years ago.
Read More: UConn Players Not Spared as Dan Hurley Blames Physicality as Reason for St. John’s Loss
Also Read: ‘Nobody’s Damn Little Brother’: Tom Izzo Hits Back at Critics With Bold Statement Amid Flak From Michigan’s Dave Portnoy and Fans
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