March Madness Betting Preview: South and Midwest Region No. 3, 4 and 5 Seeds

March Madness is set to tipoff, and the teams just below Florida and Houston as No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the South Region along with Michigan and Iowa State as No. 1 and No. 2 in the Midwest will provide plenty of quality watch and wager action. The No. 3, 4 and 5 seeds in the South have been ranked in the AP Top 25 all season, and will be solid challengers in the brackets. 

Big Ten contenders Illinois and Nebraska along with Vanderbilt in the SEC provide tournament-ready profiles and stats with quality coaching to win and advance through the South Region of the NCAA Tournament 2026 brackets. Virginia in the ACC, Alabama SEC and Texas Tech in the Big 12 are the 3-5 seeds in the Midwest who will try to challenge top seeds Michigan and Iowa State. 

More NCAA Tournament 2026 stats, contests, profiles of a national champion, keys to NCAA Tournament success and opening round odds with additional information you can bet on is part of my top seeds coverage in the South and Midwest Regions at OSGA. 

No. 3, 4, 5 Seeds South Region

No. 3 Illinois Fighting Illini

Record: 24-8
Key Wins: Texas Tech, Tennessee, Missouri, Ohio State, Iowa, Purdue
Key Losses: Alabama, UCONN, Nebraska, Michigan State, Wisconsin (2x), UCLA, Michigan
National Title Odds: +2000
Final Four Odds: +350
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 23
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 2, Defense No. 28
X: @IlliniMBB
Head Coach: Brad Underwood 

Illinois (-24.5) opens the NCAA Tournament against No. 14 Penn from the Ivy League with the game played in Greenville, SC. The winner plays the 6/11 winner between North Carolina (-2.5) and Virginia Commonwealth (VCU). 

No. 4 Nebraska Cornhuskers

Record: 26-6
Key Wins: Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State, Iowa
Key Losses: Michigan, Illinois, Purdue (2x), Iowa, UCLA
National Title Odds: +10000
Final Four Odds: +2000
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 42
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 55, Defense No. 7
X: @HuskerMBB
Head Coach: Fred Hoiberg 

Nebraska (-13) opens the NCAA Tournament against No. 13 Troy from the Sun Belt with the game played in Oklahoma City. The winner plays the 5/12 winner between Vanderbilt (-11.5) and McNeese State. 

No. 5 Vanderbilt Commodors

Record: 26-8
Key Wins: Central Florida, VCU, St. Mary's, SMU, Alabama, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Tennessee (2x), Florida
Key Losses: Texas, Florida, Arkansas (2x), Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky
National Title Odds: +7000
Final Four Odds: +1000
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 12
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 7, Defense No. 31
X: @VandyMBB
Head Coach: Mark Byington 

Vanderbilt (-11.5) opens the NCAA Tournament against No. 12 McNeese State from the Southland Conference with the game played in Oklahoma City. The winner plays the 4/13 winner between Nebraska (-13) and Troy). 

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No. 3, 4, 5 Seeds Midwest Region

No. 3 Virginia Cavaliers 

Record: 29-5
Key Wins: NC State (3x), Louisville, SMU, Ohio State, Miami (2x), 
Key Losses: North Carolina, Duke (2x)
National Title Odds: +6000
Final Four Odds: +825
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 70 
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 27, Defense No. 16 
X: @UVAMensHoops
Head Coach: Ryan Odom 

Virginia (-18.5) opens the NCAA Tournament against No. 14 Write State from the Horizon League with the game played in Philadelphia. The winner plays the 6/11 winner between Tennessee or SMU/Miami, Ohio.

No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide 

Record: 23-9
Key Wins: St. John's, Illinois, Clemson, South Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Tennessee 
Key Losses: Purdue, Gonzaga, Arizona, Vanderbilt, Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Ole Miss
National Title Odds: +12500
Final Four Odds: +1800
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 2 
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 3 , Defense No. 67 
X: @AlabamaMBB
Head Coach: Nate Oats 

Alabama (-12) opens the NCAA Tournament against No. 13 Hofsta from the Coastal Athletic Conference with the game played in Tampa, FL. The winner plays the 5/12 winner between Texas Tech (-8) and Akron. 

No. 5 Texas Tech Red Raiders 

Record: 22-10
Key Wins: Duke, BYU, Houston, Arizona, Iowa State
Key Losses: Illinois, Purdue, Arkansas, Houston, UCF, Kansas, TCU, BYU, Iowa State
National Title Odds: +12500
Final Four Odds: +2000
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 8 
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 12, Defense No. 33 
X: @TexasTechMBB
Head Coach: Grant McClasland 

Texas Tech (-8) opens the NCAA Tournament against No. 12 Akron from the MAC with the game played in Tampa, FL. The winner plays the 4/13 winner between Alabama (-12) and Hofstra. 

More updates, stats and profiles to be added Wednesday with information you can bet on during the 2026 NCAA Tournament. 

You can bet on it. 

FairwayJay is a leading sports betting industry analyst, handicapper, content creator, writer, reporter and poker player. He's been covering major sports from a betting perspective for more than two decades from Las Vegas. FairwayJay is also on the scene for major sports and poker events plus industry conferences as a credentialed media member. Follow @FairwayJay on X and OSGA for more betting insight and information you can bet on.