Just like that, the madness of March has mostly surpassed us. The college hoops world descends on Indianapolis this weekend for the sport’s annual grand finale at the Final Four, where two No. 1 seeds, a No. 2 seed and a No. 3 seed will compete for the chance to join college basketball’s list of immortal teams.
Before they do, however, it’s only right that we recognize the MVPs of each NCAA Tournament region after a dance where so many statements were made. Unlike the traditional Most Outstanding Player award for the tournament, you don’t necessarily need to win (in this case your region) to earn this hypothetical honor.
March Madness Coverage: NCAA Coaching Change Tracker | East Region Tracker | South Region Tracker | Midwest Region Tracker | West Region Tracker | What Happened to Cinderella? | Top 6 Upsets So Far | Elliot Cadeau Q & A | Another Double Final Four For UConn | Was UConn’s Escape the Ultimate March Miracle?
More NCAA: East Region Preview | South Region Preview | Midwest Region Preview | West Region Preview | Ballislife Writer’s picks | Ballislife Sweet 16 Writer’s picks
East Region
Tarris Reed, UConn
Tarris Reed has been the most dominant player in the tournament thus far, posting video game-esque numbers in the most literal sense. Reed registered one of the great performances in NCAA Tournament history in UConn’s first round win over Furman, tallying 31 points and 27 (!) rebounds to lead the Huskies to an 11-point win over the upset minded Paladins. Reed briefly reverted back to human form in the second round, before dropping 20 points against Michigan State and 26 points against Duke to help push UConn back to the Final Four for the third time in four seasons. If the tournament ended today, Reed would be the obvious choice as the Most Outstanding Player. However, he’ll have to continue this run he’s led all the way to the trophy if he wants to join the prestigious list.
I have a feeling Tarris Reed Jr. is going to end up being one of the best bigs of this draft class, no matter where he gets drafted. Great energy. Good on the boards. Can protect the rim. Nice touch in the paint. Has some passing chops. Really productive player.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 29, 2026
South Region
Bennet Stirtz, Iowa
Bennet Stirtz and No. 9 seed Iowa fell short of a surprise trip to Indianapolis, but the driving force behind the Hawkeyes’ deepest tournament run since 1999 was the play of their former Division II national champion point guard. Stirtz led the team in scoring in three of its four games, dropping 16 points in a first round over Clemson and 20 points in a Sweet 16 win over Big 10 foe Nebraska. Despite losing to Illinois in the Elite Eight, Stirtz’s 24 points had Iowa in a position to potentially win deep into the second half. Stirtz is expected to be a first round pick in June’s NBA Draft, though his performance in March may have possibly boosted him into lottery territory.
Bennett Stirtz IS Cinderella.
Two D-2 offers out of HS. Goes to NW Missouri State.
Follows Coach to Drake, leads Bulldogs to NCAA tourney.
Coach goes to Iowa, he doesn’t go to NBA Draft, instead takes millions less to follow McCullum to Iowa.
Leads Hawkeyes to Elite 8. pic.twitter.com/bi3q1uvkrp
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 27, 2026
Midwest Region
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
To say Yaxel Lendeborg has been a good investment for Michigan would be an understatement, especially after how the Big Ten Player of the Year has performed for the Wolverines during their NCAA Tournament run. Lendeborg’s 28 points against St. Louis paced Michigan in a decisive win, while his 23 points against Alabama and 27 points against Tennessee also led the team en route to its ninth Final Four in school history and third since 2018. Lendeborg has also led the Wolverines in rebounding twice during the tournament, grabbing 12 boards against Alabama and seven against Tennessee. And of course, he’s added a few high-flying jams to his highlight tape, too.
“Lendeborg is a combination of being a great player on a great team, which maximizes his skills to the fullest.”@wallyball thoughts on the Yaxel Lendeborg’s performance in the NCAA Tournament. pic.twitter.com/ahJdqVafi4
— CBS Sports College Basketball (@CBSSportsCBB) March 29, 2026
West Region MVP
Darius Acuff, Arkansas
It’s somewhat hard to justify selecting Darius Acuff as the West Region MVP after Arkansas was so handily beaten against Arizona in the Sweet 16, but Arizona is so collectively dominant that you can hardly pinpoint who the Wildcats’ team MVP has been this tournament. Braden Smith is far and away the best player on Purdue, but the Boilermakers also got major performances from Trey Kaufmann-Renn and Fletcher Loyer. That leads us to back to Acuff, who pretty unanimously earned the crown as the best guard in college basketball this season with 24 points in the Razorbacks’ first round win over Hawaii and 36 in their second round win over High Point. Not to mention what he did in the SEC Tournament. Unfortunately, his 28 points against Arizona was a mere footnote compared to the Wildcats’ dominance.
Darius Acuff Jr. in tournament play this year:
30.2 PPG
7.2 APG
45.6% FG
48.6% 3P
87.0% FT
His 3 games of 30+ points in tournament play is the most EVER by a Freshman pic.twitter.com/2E5EPTQ7O2
— Underdog (@Underdog) March 22, 2026
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