It’s March Madness! Four schools in North Carolina sent their men’s and women’s teams to the NCAA Tournament. The men’s side also has a first-time participant.
Few states have had as strong an impact on the NCAA Tournament as North Carolina. Men’s schools boast a collective 13 championships, three champion coaches, and three Final Four Outstanding Players. On the women’s side, North Carolina schools have won one championship and have secured Final Four Outstanding Players awards twice. This year’s March Madness is shaping up to continue that trend.
As you’re filling out your brackets, we’re here to give you an edge. Meet this year’s March Madness teams across North Carolina in both men’s and women’s basketball—and get a few tips for winning your championship pool along the way.
Teams from North Carolina in Men’s March Madness
A quartet of North Carolina teams had strong seasons. The fifth barely made it into the tournament, but they’re here all the same. Let the madness begin. All times below are in Eastern Daylight Time.
Duke Blue Devils (No. 1 overall seed)
You would think losing three players who went in the first ten picks of the NBA Draft might harm your chances of success the following year. Yet somehow, this year’s Duke squad looks even better than last year’s, which went 35-4 and reached the Final Four. Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach are all gone, though National Player of the Year Cameron Boozer has filled in admirably as a freshman phenom. He’s joined by sophomores Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba II, plus junior guard Caleb Foster. Those “veteran” players—who have propelled Duke to a top-five defense—all have experience reaching the Final Four, and they’re looking to go the distance this year. Coach Jon Scheyer has steadily improved his postseason performance each season, too. The Blue Devils have finished in the second round, Elite Eight, and Final Four under his tenure. If you’re an optimist, there’s nowhere to go but up. Pessimists may find a rare deterrent, such as injuries to Foster and Ngongba. Both players are question marks heading into the tournament, though their absences didn’t prevent Duke from winning yet another ACC championship.
This year’s record: 32-2
2026 first-round matchup: 16-seed Siena (March 19, 2:50 p.m., CBS)
Best-ever finish: NCAA Tournament champions (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015)
Bracket advice: Duke, Arizona, and Michigan have been consistently a step above everyone else this season. They’re all strong choices to win a championship and cut down the nets in Indianapolis.
North Carolina Tar Heels (6-seed)
The UNC/Duke rivalry runs deep, and this year gave us another magical moment in the longtime series. Senior guard Seth Trimble hit a three-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining, and the Tar Heels upset the Blue Devils. While beating Duke always feels good, the Tar Heels have had a rollercoaster of emotion ever since. Star forward Caleb Wilson broke a bone in his left hand the following game. He was slated to return around the start of the tournament, but then broke his right thumb in a non-contact drill during practice. He’s now officially out for the rest of the season. The bad news: He’s UNC’s best player and likely a top pick in next year’s draft. The good news: This team still has a lot of talent. Trimble, center Henri Veesaar, and guards Derek Dixon and Luka Bogavac are all capable of big scoring nights, while junior Jarin Stevenson is an X-factor who has stepped up his rebounding in Wilson’s absence. UNC won five of the seven regular-season games it played after Wilson’s injury, only losing on the road to its two biggest rivals, NC State and Duke. That should offer some hope to Tar Heel fans (the wins, not the losses to the program’s two biggest rivals).
This year’s record: 24-8
2026 first-round matchup: 11-seed VCU (March 19, 6:50 p.m., TNT)
Best-ever finish: NCAA Tournament champions (1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2017)
Bracket advice: UNC is in a tough spot without Wilson and also has a rough draw. VCU is no slouch in the first round, and a likely second-round matchup against Illinois also does not bode well. It could be an early exit for the Tar Heels.
NC State Wolfpack (11-seed in the First Four)
In 2024, after a magical five-wins-in-five-days run through the ACC Tournament that kept going into a Final Four appearance, things felt positive around the NC State campus. But after a 12-19 record in 2025 and a 16th-place conference finish, the university fired longtime coach Kevin Keatts. Leading the charge this year is Will Wade, who knocked off another Carolina team (Clemson) as McNeese’s coach last year. Guard Quadir Copeland followed Wade from McNeese and is one of the stars of the team, alongside fellow transfers Darrion Williams and Ven-Allen Lubin. Sophomore guard Paul McNeil Jr. is the fourth component of a very balanced scoring attack. All four of those guys average between 13.8 and 13.9 points per game. Unfortunately, the last month or so has not been kind to the Wolfpack, which lost seven of its last nine, including two losses of 29 points apiece and a 118-77 defeat at Louisville. That resulted in a trip to the First Four, a play-in game to even reach the main field of the NCAA Tournament.
This year’s record: 20-13
2026 first-round matchup: 11-seed Texas in the First Four (March 17, 9:15 p.m., truTV)
Best-ever finish: NCAA Tournament champions (1974, 1983)
Bracket advice: This NC State team is sputtering heading into the tournament. The Wolfpack actually played Texas earlier this season, losing 102-97. A win in the rematch is feasible, though it’s tough to see them beating BYU, which would be the matchup in the Round of 64.
High Point Panthers (12-seed)
High Point has only been participating in Division I since 1999, and they’re experiencing their best stretch as a D-I program right now. The Panthers won their third-straight Big South regular season title, as well as their second-straight Big South tournament championship. This season, Flynn Clayman took over as head coach after former coach Alan Huss left to join Creighton. High Point hasn’t missed a beat. In fact, they’re even better this season than last, with the team’s 30 wins (including a 15-1 conference mark) setting a Big South record. This is a veteran-heavy team; graduate students Terry Anderson and Cam’Ron Fletcher and senior Rob Martin lead the way. The Panthers lead college basketball with a +19.7 point differential, and they average 90 points a game—fourth in the nation—so fans of high-scoring offenses will definitely want to tune in.
This year’s record: 30-4
2026 first-round matchup: 5-seed Wisconsin (March 19, 1:50 p.m., TBS)
Best-ever finish: NCAA Tournament First Round (2025), NCAA Division II Tournament Round of 32 (1996, 1997)
Bracket advice: The Panthers will be a trendy upset pick—and for good reason. They match up fairly well with Wisconsin, which lost as a 5-seed to James Madison just two seasons ago. Sure, those were different teams, but this matchup has a similar vibe. If Hawai’i knocks off Arkansas in the other half of the pod, High Point could even advance to the Sweet Sixteen (though a game against the Razorbacks would be a delight to watch).
Queens Royals (15-seed)
What an entrance! In the program’s first season of NCAA Tournament eligibility, Queens University of Charlotte has made it happen. The Royals finished in third place in the Atlantic Sun Conference, then gritted past West Georgia, Austin Peay, and Central Arkansas—the latter two had given the Queens their only two losses in February and March—to secure an automatic bid. The Royals would impress Lorde with their scoring prowess; their 84.9 points a game is 19th in the nation. It’s a good thing Queens has a deep roster (including six guys averaging double figures), since they commit 19.9 fouls per game, tied for the 20th most in Division I.
This year’s record: 21-13
2026 first-round matchup: 2-seed Purdue (March 20, 7:35 p.m., truTV)
Best-ever finish: NCAA Division II Tournament Final Four (2003, 2018)
Bracket advice: Queens is an excellent story, though they’re running into a tough team. The Boilermakers were the preseason No. 1 team and just won the Big Ten tournament. At least Rex the Lion is a far more welcoming mascot than Purdue Pete.
Teams from North Carolina in Women’s March Madness
North Carolina had a nice bit of symmetry during this year’s March Madness. Queens is the only school from the men’s tournament to not also make an appearance in the women’s tournament. And Duke pulled double duty in winning both ACC Tournaments. All times below are in Eastern Daylight Time.
Duke Blue Devils (3-seed)
Duke’s men’s team has been a hot topic of conversation this season, though the women’s program has been excellent, as well. Under head coach Kara Lawson, the Blue Devils have reached three straight NCAA Tournaments, including an Elite Eight finish last season. This year, Duke won the conference regular season for the first time since 2012-13 and topped that successful campaign off with a second consecutive ACC Tournament championship. Sophomore forward Toby Fournier leads the team in points, rebounds, and blocks, and Duke as a whole is third in the country in blocks per game. Taina Mair, a senior guard, is a solid distributor (5.5 assists per game) and a pickpocket on defense, with 2.4 steals per game. Junior forward Delaney Thomas and senior guard Ashlon Jackson round out a well-balanced scoring attack.
This year’s record: 24-8
2026 first-round matchup: 14-seed Charleston (March 20, 11:30 a.m., ESPN2)
Best-ever finish: NCAA Tournament runner-up (1999, 2006)
Bracket advice: Duke should start the tournament off with an easy victory over Charleston. Baylor could be a tough out in the Round of 32, though the Sweet Sixteen is a realistic result for the Blue Devils.
North Carolina Tar Heels (4-seed)
UNC finished two games behind Duke in the ACC standings, yet the team’s overall record was better. The Tar Heels are fantastic from behind the arc, hitting 8.5 threes per game at a 36.4% clip. That percentage is good for 14th among all teams. UNC has a mix of both veteran-laden and newcomer talent, with four players averaging double-digit points: seniors Nyla Harris and Indya Nivar and sophomores Lanie Grant and Elina Aarnisalo. Grant, a Midlothian, VA native, and Aarnisalo, who’s from Helsinki, Finland, are both impressive shooters, hitting 43.1% and 41.9%, respectively, from long range. North Carolina is peaking at the right time, too, winning 13 of its last 14 regular-season games.
This year’s record: 26-7
2026 first-round matchup: 13-seed Western Illinois (March 20, 5:30 p.m. ESPNEWS)
Best-ever finish: NCAA Tournament champions (1994)
Bracket advice: UNC is hosting its first two games, so the Sweet Sixteen seems like a good spot for them. Alas, that’s when they’d meet the buzzsaw of UConn. They’re probably not going any further than that.
NC State Wolfpack (7-seed)
NC State’s women’s and men’s teams pulled off the rare double Final Four appearance in 2024, the best finish in a decade of consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament. NC State reached the Sweet Sixteen last season, though this year’s team has been a bit more uneven. Forward Khamil Pierre is leading the charge here; the junior transferred from Vanderbilt and is averaging 16.8 points and 12 rebounds per game, the latter good for seventh in all of women’s hoops. She’s joined by a pair of Zs who shouldn’t be snoozed on: Zoe Brooks and Zamareya Jones are averaging 16.3 and 14.3 points per game and are the top two passers on the squad.
This year’s record: 20-10
2026 first-round matchup: 10-seed Tennessee (March 20, 8 p.m. ESPN)
Best-ever finish: NCAA Tournament Final Four (1998, 2024)
Bracket advice: Tennessee is actually a slight favorite in this matchup. They could pull the 10-7 upset. Even if the Wolfpack wins, they’ll likely see their season end in a second-round game against Michigan.
High Point Panthers (15-seed)
Make it two seasons in a row where the High Point Panthers women’s team reached the NCAA Tournament. While the men’s side of the program is high scoring, the women play tenacious defense, giving up just 58.8 points per game and holding opponents to 36.8% from the field, 22nd in all of college basketball. The Panthers also score quite a bit, with the nation’s 25th-best point differential at +15.4 points per game. High Point dominated the Big South this year, only losing three conference games out of 19, including the conference tournament. Chelsea Banbury coaches a well-balanced, veteran squad. Junior Macy Spencer leads the team with 18.4 points per game and shoots over 39% from three. The team’s next four top scorers are all seniors, including Aaliyah Collins, Nevaeh Zavala, Anna Hager, and Chana Paxixe.
This year’s record: 27-5
2026 first-round matchup: 2-seed Vanderbilt (March 21, 7 p.m., ESPNEWS)
Best-ever finish: NCAA Tournament first round (2021), NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen (1997)
Bracket advice: High Point is a 35.5-point underdog against Vanderbilt. Enjoy watching them play one more time this season.
