The men's 2026 NCAA Tournament features 13 big cats, nine types of birds, eight types of dogs and four school nicknames based on weather.

How to build your bracket: From Scott Dochterman: “My wife, who knows very little about men’s basketball, won our office pool in 2002, much to the chagrin of our co-workers. Her first name is Meredith, and she picked Maryland to win it all, ‘because my friends all call me Mary.'”

Perhaps the easiest team to pick for an upset is Miami (OH), which finished the regular season 31-0 before an upset to UMass in the MAC tournament. Some may argue that the RedHawks have had an easy schedule, and those people wouldn't be wrong, but going undefeated with any schedule is no small feat.

March Madness is upon us. And whether you’re a die-hard basketball fan or don’t even know what the letters NCAA stand for, you can take part in the bracket betting process. (It’s the National Collegiate Athletic Association, by the way.) But before ...