A pair of HBCU basketball teams—one of which made the NCAA Tournament last season—are projected to experience March Madness in 2026.
Norfolk State and Jackson State are among the early MEAC and SWAC favorites to make the field of 68, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.
The World Wide Leader’s top college basketball prognosticator released an updated bracketology on Tuesday, and he has the Spartans and Tigers projected to play in March.
Norfolk State, which won the MEAC tournament and fell in the first round to eventual national champion Florida, is projected to be a No. 16 and play Central Connecticut State in the First Four. Jackson State, which fell in the SWAC title game in Atlanta last season to Alabama State, is expected by Lunardi to jump into the tournament.
Like Norfolk State, Jackson State is predicted to appear only in the First Four and face Vermont as a No. 16 seed.
The 2025-26 college basketball season will begin in November.
