Who will make it to the Final Four? Experts give us their March Madness picks
Kentucky hasn’t advanced to the Final Four in 11 years. The Cats aren’t expected to end that skid in the 2026 edition of March Madness.
With the NCAA Tournament round of 64 tipping off Thursday — and UK playing its first game Friday against Santa Clara in St. Louis — it’s time for the Herald-Leader’s annual check-in with college basketball experts from around the country.
There’s typically at least one member of our panel willing to advance the Cats all the way to the Final Four, but not this year. Mark Pope’s team goes into the tournament as a 7 seed, making it a long shot to simply survive the first two rounds of the bracket.
The favorites lie elsewhere this year, with 1 seeds Arizona, Duke, Florida and Michigan all popular picks. (Remember, it was all 1 seeds in the Final Four last season.)
The Iowa State Cyclones, the 2 seed in UK’s region and a potential second-round matchup for the Cats, have plenty of support, too. Kentucky would likely need to upset them to advance to the Sweet 16.
Before the brackets start busting, here’s a look at the predictions:
March Madness expert picks
Mark Story, Herald-Leader: Duke, Houston, Arizona, Iowa State
Title game: Arizona over Houston
Ben Roberts, Herald-Leader: Duke, Florida, Arizona, Iowa State
Title game: Arizona over Florida
Cameron Drummond, Herald-Leader: Duke, Houston, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Duke over Arizona
Nicole Auerbach, NBC Sports: Duke, Houston, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Arizona over Houston
Rodd Baxley, Fayetteville Observer: Duke, Houston, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Arizona over Houston
Ryan Black, Courier-Journal: Duke, Houston, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Duke over Arizona
Ben Bolch, California Post: UCLA, Houston, Wisconsin, Michigan
Title game: Michigan over Houston
Travis Branham, 247Sports: Duke, Houston, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Arizona over Duke
C.L. Brown, Courier-Journal: Kansas, Houston, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Houston over Arizona
Rob Dauster, Field of 68: Duke, Illinois, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Arizona over Duke
Mike DeCourcy, The Sporting News: St. John’s, Houston, Arizona, Iowa State
Title game: Arizona over Houston
Chris Dortch, Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook: Duke, Florida, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Arizona over Duke
Jeff Goodman, Field of 68: Duke, Florida, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Arizona over Florida
David Hale, ESPN: Duke, Houston, Purdue, Michigan
Title game: Michigan over Duke
Tom Hart, ESPN: Michigan State, Florida, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Arizona over Florida
Brooks Holton, Courier-Journal: Duke, Houston, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Arizona over Duke
Adam Jardy, Columbus Dispatch: Duke, Houston, Arizona, Iowa State
Title game: Duke over Arizona
Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star: Duke, Houston, Arizona, Alabama
Title game: Arizona over Duke
Anthony Kristensen, WholeHogSports.com: Michigan State, Houston, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Michigan over Houston
Brendan Marks, The Athletic: Duke, Florida, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Duke over Arizona
Jim Meehan, Spokesman-Review: Kansas, Illinois, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Michigan over Illinois
Matt Norlander, CBS Sports: UConn, Houston, Arizona, Iowa State
Title game: Houston over Arizona
Cole Parke, The Cats’ Pause: Michigan State, Florida, Gonzaga, Michigan
Title game: Michigan over Florida
Bruce Pascoe, Arizona Daily Star: Duke, Houston, Arizona, Iowa State
Title game: Duke over Iowa State
Gary Parrish, CBS Sports: St. John’s, Houston, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Houston over Michigan
Joe Rexrode, The Athletic: St. John’s, Houston, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Arizona over St. John’s
Lindsay Schnell, The Athletic: UConn, Houston, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Arizona over Houston
Isaac Trotter, CBS Sports: UConn, Florida, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Arizona over Florida
Kyle Tucker, 247Sports: Duke, Houston, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Arizona over Duke
Steve Wiseman, Raleigh News & Observer: Michigan State, Florida, Arizona, Iowa State
Title game: Arizona over Florida
Adam Zagoria, ZagsBlog: Duke, Houston, Arizona, Michigan
Title game: Arizona over Duke
This story was originally published March 18, 2026 at 6:15 AM.
