The road to Indianapolis has officially been set. On Monday, March 2, 2026, the NCAA announced the 64-team field for the 2026 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship. The tournament begins this weekend at campus sites before concluding with a historic championship weekend at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. This year’s field features 43 automatic qualifiers and 21 at-large selections determined by the NCAA Power Index (NPI).We have the tournament schedule and bracket here for you to play out watching the action.
2026 DIII Men’s Basketball Tournament Schedule
The 2026 NCAA DIII Men’s basketball tournament is a single-elimination gauntlet that spans four weeks across the United States.
| Round | Dates | Location |
| First Round | Friday, March 6 | 16 Campus Sites |
| Second Round | Saturday, March 7 | 16 Campus Sites |
| Sweet 16 | Friday, March 13 | 8 Campus Sites |
| Elite Eight | Saturday, March 14 | 4 Campus Sites |
| Quarterfinals | Thursday, March 19 | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (Fort Wayne, IN) |
| National Semifinals | Saturday, March 21 | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (Fort Wayne, IN) |
| Championship Game | Sunday, April 5 | Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN) |
The 2026 DIII Bracket: Key Pods & Matchups
The top overall seed for the 2026 tournament is Trinity (Conn.), which will host early-round action in Hartford.
Notable First-Round Matchups (Friday, March 6):
- No. 1 Trinity (Conn.) vs. Keuka (Hartford, CT)
- No. 12 Illinois Wesleyan vs. Heidelberg (Bloomington, IL)
- No. 13 UW-La Crosse vs. Hope (La Crosse, WI)
- Wesleyan (Conn.) vs. Lehman (Middletown, CT)
- Mary Washington vs. Worcester State (Fredericksburg, VA)
Analyst Note: The 2026 bracket features significant travel diversity. Whitworth (Washington) has been sent to Texas, while Mary Hardin-Baylor makes the trip to the Midwest. Fans should also keep an eye on the UAA power pod in Chicago, featuring host Chicago vs. Penn State-Behrend.
Printable 2026 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament Bracket
Here’s the printable 2026 NCAA Division III Men’ s basketball tournament bracket. You can also get the most updated version from the NCAA here.
2026 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball First Round Schedule (Friday, March 6 – All Times ET)
Here’s the first round schedule for the 2026 NCAA Division III Men’s basketball tournament for you.
| Time (ET) | Matchup |
| 1:00 p.m. | Bates vs. Yeshiva |
| 3:00 p.m. | Redlands vs. Susquehanna |
| 3:15 p.m. | Mount Union vs. Washington & Jefferson |
| 3:30 p.m. | Catholic vs. Western Connecticut (WestConn) |
| 3:45 p.m. | NYU vs. Gettysburg |
| 4:00 p.m. | Franklin & Marshall vs. Cortland |
| 4:15 p.m. | TCNJ vs. Johns Hopkins |
| 4:30 p.m. | Babson vs. Saint Joseph’s (Maine) |
| 4:45 p.m. | Roanoke vs. Rhodes |
| 5:00 p.m. | WPI vs. Amherst |
| 5:10 p.m. | John Carroll vs. Grinnell |
| 5:15 p.m. | Montclair State vs. Maine-Farmington |
| 5:20 p.m. | Claremont-M-S vs. Aurora |
| 5:30 p.m. | Trinity (Texas) vs. Whitworth |
| 5:35 p.m. | Hood vs. Vassar |
| 5:40 p.m. | Wisconsin-Platteville vs. Otterbein |
| 5:45 p.m. | Christopher Newport vs. Stevens |
| 5:50 p.m. | Wisconsin-Stevens Point vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor |
| 6:00 p.m. | Tufts vs. Penn State Harrisburg |
| 6:05 p.m. | Wisconsin-Whitewater vs. Loras |
| 6:15 p.m. | Wesleyan (Connecticut) vs. Lehman |
| 6:30 p.m. | Endicott vs. Neumann |
| 6:45 p.m. | Randolph-Macon vs. North Carolina Wesleyan |
| 7:00 p.m. | Trinity (Connecticut) vs. Keuka |
| 7:15 p.m. | Emory vs. MUW |
| 7:30 p.m. | Mary Washington vs. Worcester State |
| 7:40 p.m. | Illinois Wesleyan vs. Heidelberg |
| 7:50 p.m. | Wisconsin-La Crosse vs. Hope |
| 8:00 p.m. | Saint Thomas (Texas) vs. Belhaven |
| 8:10 p.m. | UChicago vs. Penn State-Behrend |
| 8:20 p.m. | Gustavus Adolphus vs. Bethany Lutheran |
| 8:35 p.m. | WashU vs. Transylvania |
When do the First Four games start in 2026 for D-I?
The 2026 First Four games are scheduled for March 17–18, 2026, at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. You can also download our free printable 2026 First Four & NCAA Tournament bracket PDF here:Use it to fill in the projected or official teams once announced on Selection Sunday if you like to follow more than just D-III basketball.
2026 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Scores and Results (Friday, March 6 – All Times ET)
Stay tuned, once game play is done for the given day, we’ll update you with the latest 2026 NCAA DIII men’s basketball tournament scores and results.
