SportsLine's Optimal Bracket simulates 2026 Sweet 16
In this 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket, the team that wins more than 50% of computer simulations is picked to advance each round in March Madness
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After a thrilling first two rounds of 2026 March Madness, the NCAA Tournament rolls into the Sweet 16, which takes place on Thursday and Friday. Three of the No. 1 seeds remain in Duke, Arizona and Michigan, while a couple of March Madness upsets have the likes of No. 9 Iowa and No. 11 Texas still dancing. Meanwhile, 2-seed Houston will play in its own backyard in both the Sweet 16 and potentially the Elite Eight with a chance to advance to the Final Four. With more 2026 NCAA Tournament surprises sure to come, before making Sweet 16 picks or college basketball predictions, you NEED to see the optimal bracket picks from SportsLine's proven model.
Their proven projection model has simulated every game in the tournament 10,000 times. It has absolutely crushed its March Madness picks recently, beating over 91% of all CBS Sports brackets in four of the past seven tournaments. It was all over UConn's championship run two years ago and nailed 12 teams in the Sweet 16 last year. It also correctly predicted all four Final Four teams in 2025.
It knows how to spot an upset as well. The same model has produced brackets that have nailed 27 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception in 2016, including VCU and Texas A&M advancing this year!
Now, it has simulated the rest of the 2026 NCAA Tournament and revealed more surprising picks.
We can tell you the model is calling for No. 2 UConn to beat No. 3 Michigan State in a Friday Sweet 16 matchup in Washington, D.C. The Huskies, who have lost back-to-back matchups versus the Spartans, which comfortably won its opening two games by a combined 24 points, wins this Sweet 16 matchup in 63% of simulations.
The model has picked every other matchup, and it forecasts a team to win its Sweet 16 matchup by double-digits! You ABSOLUTELY NEED to see who it is before making any more bracket picks!
Now, get every pick, every play, every upset and make your bracket picks and college basketball predictions for the rest of the 2026 NCAA Tournament with our help! ... Join SportsLine now to see which teams survive and advance, all from the model that's on a sizzling 11-1 run on its top-rated picks!
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Written by Ross Kelly
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