Purdue men, Notre Dame women ready for March Madness
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
The brackets for the 2026 NCAA men's and women's tournaments are ready for tip-off.
Why it matters: March Madness is major across the nation, but it's an even bigger deal in our basketball-loving state.
- Indianapolis is also the final stop for men's madness. The Final Four takes place April 4 and 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Zoom in: Purdue University was once again the only men's team invited to the tournament.
- The Big Ten Champions locked down a No. 2 seed and will open their tournament against No. 15 seed Queens Friday at 7:35pm.
- Notre Dame will represent the Hoosier State in the women's tournament as a No. 6 seed.
- The Irish will start tournament play at 2pm Saturday against No. 11 Fairfield.
The intrigue: IU men's team missed the NCAA tournament for the third straight year and are declining spots in all other postseason tourneys.
What's next: Axios Indianapolis wants to have a bracket battle!
- Year after year, hundreds of thousands of fans try to craft the perfect bracket.
- Nailing it highly unlikely, but the chances of having lots of fun in the process are sky high.
How it works: Sign up for our Axios Indianapolis group on ESPN and enter a bracket for the men's or women's side or both! Once the tournament ends, we'll see who had the most accurate predictions and select a winner from each group.
- The password is "Axios" if it asks for one.
- The men's bracket locks at 12:15pm Thursday, and the women's bracket locks at 11:30am Friday.
The bottom line: The stakes for our bracket contest are low, so just follow your heart when making your picks!
- Once you're done, let us know how you selected your winners. Personal allegiance? Favorite mascot? Asking AI to do it for you? Spill your secrets.