Men's March Madness Sleepers for 2026: a Surprise Contender for Each Region

For all of the parity that now exists in men's college basketball, the group that reduces the nets in April is often a group that has actually been thought about a contender all season. Plenty of those groups live long in the memories of college basketball fans, but the teams that often really make March Madness unforgettable are the Cinderella stories and the sleepers that make deep runs.


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The NCAA Tournament frequently includes some major upsets, and knowing how to select March Madness upsets is crucial to optimizing your chances of success with March Madness bracket contests or making March Madness teases the 67 video games that take location in the competition every year.


Knowing how to identify sleepers who can possibly make an extended run is likewise important. Below, we highlight one group from each area that has the possible to surpass tournament expectations.


But who gets approved for sleeper status?


It doesn't necessarily need to be a mid-major or a potential double-digit seed, though lots of sleepers fit one or both of those requirements. If a team is not an established name, a top contender, or a likely high seed, a team can be thought about a sleeper.


From a betting odds perspective, all groups listed here have March Madness winner odds of +12500 or longer.


Potential March Madness Sleepers for the 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament


South Regional: # 11 North Carolina


The Tar Heels (23-13) were a controversial inclusion in the March Madness bracket and justifiably so. They had only one Q1 win in 13 attempts in the routine season, and the ACC's general weakness even more hurt their standing.