March Madness is back, which means millions of people are about to spend hours building the “perfect” bracket… only to watch it explode before Friday dinner. On the latest episode of The Stephie Smalls Show, Stephie is joined by Moneyline Mac from The College Experience on SGPN to break down the 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket, the best March Madness bets, and the teams that could completely wreck everyone’s bracket pools.
Right out of the gate, Mac reacts to Selection Sunday and the controversial draw for Miami (Ohio). After a strong season, the RedHawks landed in the First Four against SMU, which Mac sees as one of the more brutal tournament paths. Instead of backing down from it, though, he actually likes Miami (Ohio) as a betting angle if they get through the play-in game.
From there, the conversation shifts to the team Mac thinks could be sitting in a great spot this year: Arizona. With Tommy Lloyd’s Wildcats landing a favorable bracket path, the debate becomes whether this is finally the season Arizona breaks through for a deep Final Four run. For longtime Arizona fans, Mac’s confidence might feel suspiciously optimistic… but the numbers and matchup paths might support it.
They also take a hard look at the teams getting the most hype in the tournament. UConn gets some skepticism as a potential fade in the futures market, while Iowa State pops up as a team with real value if you’re looking at March Madness futures bets.
The episode also dives into some of the classic Round of 64 betting trends that show up every year when tournament time rolls around. Mac talks through which trends are useful, which ones are completely overblown, and why so many people fall into the trap of following “trend bros” who swear they’ve cracked the tournament code.
Of course, no March Madness preview would be complete without some first-round picks. Mac highlights several early games he likes from a betting perspective, including Miami (Ohio), TCU vs. Ohio State, and a potential upset angle with Northern Iowa against St. John’s.
Later in the episode, the conversation expands to teams across the bracket, including Purdue, Wisconsin, Duke, Michigan, Florida, UCLA, UCF, Kansas, Houston, Texas Tech, Akron, and Michigan State, as Stephie and Mac talk through potential paths and bracket chaos scenarios.
And yes, before the episode ends, Mac gives his Final Four predictions and national championship pick for the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Because in March, everyone thinks their bracket is perfect.
