March Madness 2026: Who are Yahoo Sports users picking to win the national championship this spring?

Ryan YoungTue, March 17, 2026 at 9:28 PM UTC

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Millions of fans across the country are filling out their brackets ahead of the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments this week.

But who are they picking to win it all? And are they worth listening to as you fill out yours?

Here’s a breakdown of who Yahoo Sports users are selecting so far in their NCAA tournament brackets.

Note: Data used in this post is as of Tuesday afternoon.

UConn is the overwhelming favorite on the women’s side

This one is not even close, and it makes a lot of sense as to why.

The Huskies, who earned the No. 1 overall seed in this year’s tournament after their undefeated campaign, have been picked to win the national championship by just more than half of all Yahoo Sports users. About 50.2% of users have UConn winning it all.

Lauren Betts and UCLA are the next closest, though they are well back. About 13.7% of users have the Bruins winning the national championship. South Carolina is the only other team to hit double digits with about 10.2% of users selecting the Gamecocks as their title winner.

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The top 10 looks like this:

1. UConn (50.2%) 2. UCLA (13.7%) 3. South Carolina (10.2%) 4. Texas (6.4%) 5. LSU (3.4%) 6. Michigan (2.4%) 7. Iowa (1.6%) 8. Duke (1.3%) 9. Vanderbilt (1.0%) 10. Ohio State (0.7%)

UConn had only one game this season that finished within single digits. Otherwise, the Huskies rolled to blowout win after blowout win. They went a perfect 34-0 to run the table and carried a 38.4-point margin of victory. They’re second in the country in points per game, and they lead the way in scoring defense. Naturally, they are a massive favorite to win the national championship. BetMGM has them listed at -275 to win it all.

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UConn will take on UT-San Antonio in the first round at home on Saturday. No. 8 Iowa State and No. 9 Syracuse will square off on the other side of that four-team pod.

While a national championship isn’t guaranteed for the Huskies by any means, fans are clearly on board after seeing what they’ve accomplished thus far.

Duke, Arizona split on the men’s side

The men’s side of things is much more balanced. At least it is at the very top.

About 30% of Yahoo Sports users have selected Duke to win the national championship in their brackets. The Blue Devils were also the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament after they went 32-2 on the year and won both ACC titles.

But Arizona isn’t far behind. The Wildcats were selected to win the national championship in about 21% of brackets. While there is a nearly 10% discrepancy there, it is much, much closer than on the women’s side.

The top 10 looks like this:

1. Duke (29.3%) 2. Arizona (21.0%) 3. Michigan (14.3%) 4. Florida (6.3%) 5. Houston (5.5%) 6. UConn (3.5%) 7. Purdue (3.2%) 8. Iowa State (1.9%) 9. Gonzaga (1.8%) 10. Kansas (1.5%)

Duke, with star freshman Cameron Boozer leading the way, won 11 straight games to end the regular season. Boozer, who is widely expected to be a top lottery pick in the NBA draft in a few months, has averaged 22.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.

Arizona, though, posted a 32-3 record and ended the year on a nine-game win streak. The Wildcats beat Houston and Iowa State twice during that stretch, too, and picked up a blowout win over Kansas. They’re led by a pair of star freshmen in Koa Peat and Brayden Burries.

If the Wildcats can pull off the national championship, they’ll be the first team from the West coast to do so since 1997. Arizona won that year under head coach Lute Olson, too.

But, like the women’s side, all of the No. 1 seeds were the top choices to win the national championship. If Yahoo Sports’ users are right, both tournaments are going to be very chalky.

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Source: “AOL Sports”