The road to the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament is beginning to take shape, with 31 teams set to secure their places via automatic bids. These bids are earned by winning their respective conference tournaments.
All eligible teams that win their conference tournaments receive an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. The other 37 spots in March Madness will be filled up by at-large teams as chosen by the selection committee.
LIU Claims First Auto-Bid
LIU has already clinched the first automatic bid for the 2026 NCAA tournament. This was achieved after they defeated Wagner in the Northeast Conference semifinals.
Despite still needing to play Mercyhurst in the NEC finals on March 10, LIU is guaranteed the bid. Mercyhurst are ineligible for the NCAA tournament, handing the Sharks the NEC auto-bid.
Conference Tournament Dates and Locations
Below is a listing of all 31 Division I men’s basketball conferences, tournament dates, locations and bracket information.
- Quarterfinals: March 7
- Semifinals: March 10
- Championship: 11 a.m. ET March 14 on ESPN2
- First Round: March 11
- Second Round: March 12
- Quarterfinals: March 13
- Semifinals: March 14
- Championship: 3:15 p.m. March 15 on ESPN
- First Round: March 11
- Second Round: March 12
- Quarterfinals: March 13
- Semifinals: March 14
- Championship: 1 p.m. March 15 on CBS
- First Round: March 10
- Second Round: March 11
- Quarterfinals: March 12
- Semifinals: March 13
- Championship: 8:30 p.m. March 14 on ESPN
- First round: March 11
- Quarterfinals: March 12
- Semifinals: March 13
- Championship: 6:30 p.m. March 14 on FOX
- First Round: March 4
- Quarterfinals: March 6
- Semifinals: March 7
- Championship: 12 p.m. March 8 on ESPN2
- First Round: March 6
- Quarterfinals: March 7
- Semifinals: March 8
- Championship: 7 p.m. March 9
- First Round: March 3
- Second Round: March 4
- Third Round: March 5
- Fourth Round: March 6
- Quarterfinals: March 7
- Semifinals: March 8
- Championship: 6 p.m. March 9 on ESPN/ESPN
With LIU already booking their place, attention turns to the remaining conference tournaments. The battle for the other 30 automatic bids is well underway.