Men’s March Madness 2026 auto-bids tracker: Furman, Troy latest to earn NCAA Tournament spots
In the final days before Selection Sunday, 31 of the 68 spots in the 2026 NCAA Men's Tournament will be clinched by teams that earn their conference's automatic bids. Championship week is a smorgasbord of non-stop basketball. We're tracking every conference tournament and will update as the week progresses with what you need to know about the teams heading to the NCAA Tournament. advertisement Closed offers (Most recent winners first) South: Furman Record: 22-12, 10-8 SoCon Last tournament appearance: 2023 All-time tournament record: 2-8 What to know: The Paladins are getting their act together after winning as the sixth seed in the SoCon tournament, knocking off top-seeded East Tennessee State and third-seeded Samford on their way to a second March Madness appearance under coach Bob Richey. The last time Furman made the tournament, he defeated fourth-seeded Virginia as the 13th seed with a game-winning three-pointer that stole the soul of television commentator Stan Van Gundy. “DID WE JUST SEE WHAT WE THOUGHT WE JUST SAW?!” Kevin Harlan almost FELL OUT OF HIS CHAIR. Dan Bonner and @realStanVG were AMAZING. The team's reaction to Furman's dramatic victory over Virginia was incredible. pic.twitter.com/Jym88PALq8 – CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 20, 2023 Sunbelt: Troy Record: 22-11, 12-6 Sun Belt Last tournament appearance: 2025 All-time tournament record: 0-3 What to know: The regular-season champions and top-seeded Trojans return to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season under coach Scott Cross, and just the fourth time since the program moved to Division I in 1993-94. With an automatic berth to the semifinals in the Sun Belt ladder bracket, Troy finally held off a 10th-seeded Georgia Southern team that won five games in five days to reach the championship. The Trojans are led by third-year players Thomas Dowd and Victor Valdes. It's a family affair in Troy: Cross' son Austin is a redshirt freshman coming off the bench, while starters Cooper and Cobi Campbell are brothers, and their father, Scott Campbell, is an assistant coach. The Trojans lost to Kentucky in the first round of last year's tournament. Summit: State of North Dakota Record: Summit 27-7, 14-2 What to know: Nothing like a state battle for the right to go dancing. North Dakota State beat rival North Dakota for the third time this season to clinch the Summit League bid, setting a school record for wins (27) in the process. The Bison will have one of the most balanced scoring attacks in the field, with six players averaging 9.2 points or more. They currently project as a 14th seed, and 14-on-3 upsets only happen about 14 percent of the time, but if they upset someone this month, could 12th-year coach David Richman, who earned his second Summit League coach of the year award this season, be ready for a bigger job? advertisement Atlantic Sun: Queens Record: 21-13, 13-5 ASUN Last tournament appearance: Never All-time tournament record: 0-0 What to know: History was guaranteed either way in the ASUN title game, in which Queens and Central Arkansas pushed each other into overtime for the right to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Camren Hunter scored a school-record 46 points for Central Arkansas, but Queens regained control in overtime. Queens, located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and a Division II school through 2022, prevailed after posting the program's best record in the regular season. Great South: high point Record: 30-4, 15-1 Great South Last tournament appearance: 2025 All-time tournament record: 0-1 What to know: After two decades of meandering through mediocrity, High Point broke through last March, toppling Winthrop in the Big South tournament to earn its first NCAA tournament berth. A year later, the Panthers secured another trip to the Big Dance by defeating the Eagles once again. High Point did it the day before