2026 has produced the highest point totals in 24 years

There’s been some talk that with NIL and the transfer portal that a perfect March Madness bracket has a greater chance of happening than in previous years. And based on what players in the 2026 OSGA Bracket contest have shown, taking the higher seeded teams is a path to profits.

Using typical bracket scoring, the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament are worth a combined 64 points, 32 points in each round. The most points any player has mustered so far in the OSGA NCAA Bracket Challenge is 54 by gen’sorange! That’s three points better than last year’s leader at the Sweet 16 and a full seven points better than 2021 & 2022. In fact, five players were at 53 points this year heading into the Sweet 16. These six players are all elgibile for the Sweet 16 prize, a week of premium picks from any of the top handicappers at gamblersWORLD.net.

Top Seeds Chosen

Florida was the #1 pick to be crowned the National Champion with 38 players taking the Gators. Unfortunately, for those players it’s safe to say their brackets were busted when Iowa took out Florida in the round of 32! 36 players have Arizona, twenty-six took Michigan and just 25 have the #1 overall seed, Duke as their National Champion. It is interesting to note that none of the top leaders right now, have Duke to win it all.

Still, anyway you slice it, there are still huge possibilities for anyone with at least a handful of teams going in the Sweet 16. The games are worth 3 points each and more upsets (we’re looking at you Iowa) can kill even the best looking brackets. But, it’s the Elite 8 games that will determine who makes a dash for the cash next weekend.

Best of luck to everyone in the OSGA NCAA Bracket Challenge. Remember, the top four places get cash prizes and OSGA Members get an extra prize.