ESPN Projects 2026 NCAA Basketball Tournament Seeds, Houston Tops

College basketball's 2025-26 season is poised for an exciting March Madness, with Purdue Boilermakers favored to break past previous Sweet Sixteen hurdles, closely followed by Houston and Duke. ESPN's Joe Lunardi released an updated Bracketology projecting Houston as the No. 1 overall seed, highlighting the competitive field with strong conference representations, especially from the SEC and Big Ten. Meanwhile, the Sun Belt Conference announced that five of its men's basketball games will be nationally televised on ESPN2 or ESPNU, including key conference and non-conference matchups, with all games also accessible via the ESPN app or ESPN+. In college football, the 2025-26 season will feature the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff format, with games scheduled from December through January, culminating in the national championship game in Miami Gardens, Florida. The NBA is also spotlighting a new in-season tournament called the NBA Cup, in which the Philadelphia 76ers will compete in a group stage against notable teams like the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets, aiming to advance to the knockout rounds in Las Vegas. These developments underscore a dynamic sports landscape across college basketball, football, and professional basketball as the 2025-26 seasons unfold.