2025 NCAA Tournament Bracket Predictions: Last Four In & Out

This article provides a holistic view of the NCAA College basketball landscape and identifies some value before the market moves. With March Madness closing in, I'll update this article a couple of more times before we get to the brackets. There's a lot to get into, so let's jump right into takeaways before the final games leading into postseason play. 

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2025 NCAA Men’s Tournament Bracketology

Another week gone and another week closer to Selection Sunday. We are in March now and that means conference tournaments are starting up and the birds chirping hits different. If you're just joining us, welcome. You may have missed a lot, but don't worry. I'm here to catch you up.

The Bubble of Big Names and Big Potential

Every year there's always the talk of "this year’s bubble is the best/worst/most difficult/biggest/smallest bubble we've ever seen." This year, I'm coining it simply as the Bubble of Big Names and Big Potential. Right now, a handful of teams with high preseason hopes and/or big-name brands sit squarely in bubble talks.

Gonzaga, Baylor, UNC, Indiana, Arkansas, Texas and Cincinnati were all ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll. Xavier was a consensus sleeper team, Oklahoma ran a train outside of the conference before being pummeled in the SEC and who knows what under-the-radar team might make a late-season run.

Even UConn - who received 11 first-place votes in the preseason poll - is flirting with double-digit seeding. They aren't on the bubble, so to speak, but if a handful of bid stealers take down their respective conference tournaments, you can easily see how it could get that way.

A lot of these teams have talented rosters and experienced coaches. I'm predicting at least one of them lives up to their preseason hype. And who says no to a UNC/Indiana play-in game?

The Bracket & Seeding

This is the third bracket to feature tenable matchups; what joy. I don't know about y'all, but I love the hypotheticals brackets provide us. With only a few weeks of play left, there is still time for seeding to change, but a lot more teams lock up their bids each day.

Some big winners of the week include Tennessee, BYU and St. John's. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) has gotten all the love this year but the latter two teams have been excellent in the last month of play and I am excited for the tournament. Regardless, here's what I imagine the bracket to be if March Madness started today. 

The Seeding

No. 1 Seeds

• Auburn
• Duke
• Alabama
• Tennessee

No. 2 Seeds

• Florida
• Houston
• St. John's
• Michigan State

No. 3 Seeds

• Wisconsin
• Kentucky
• Iowa State
• Texas Tech

No. 4 Seeds

• Michigan
• Texas A&M
• Arizona 
• Purdue

No. 5 Seeds

• Missouri
• Clemson
• Maryland
• Louisville 

No. 6 Seeds

• Oregon
• St. Mary's
• BYU
• Marquette 

No. 7 Seeds

• UCLA
• Mississippi State
• Kansas
• Memphis

No. 8 Seeds

• Illinois
• Ole Miss
• Creighton
• UConn

No. 9 Seeds

• Gonzaga
• Vanderbilt
• New Mexico
• Utah State

No. 10 Seeds

• West Virginia
• Baylor
• San Diego State
• VCU

No. 11 Seeds

• Nebraska
• Georgia
• Boise State*
• Indiana*
• Oklahoma*
• Ohio State*

No. 12 Seeds

• Drake
• UC San Diego
• Yale
• Liberty

No. 13 Seeds

• McNeese State
• High Point
• Arkansas State
• Lipscomb

No. 14 Seeds

• Chattanooga
• Akron
• Utah Valley
• UNC Wilmington

No. 15 Seeds

• Northern Colorado 
• Milwaukee
• Central Connecticut State
• St. Thomas

No. 16 Seeds

• Bryant
• Norfolk State
• Southeast Missouri State*
• Southern*
• American*
• Quinnipiac*

*Play-in games

First Four Out

• Xavier
• Arkansas
• Texas
• UNC

Next Four Out

• SMU
• Wake Forest
• Cincinnati
• Villanova

The Bracket

Some teams may move around or be in weird regions with the bracketing rules, but here's an official look at how the bracket might play out.

South Region

• 1 Auburn vs. 16 American/Quinnipiac
• 8 Illinois vs. 9 Gonzaga
• 5 Missouri vs. 12 Drake
• 4 Purdue vs. 13 Lipscomb
• 6 Marquette vs. 11 Oklahoma/Ohio State
• 3 Texas Tech vs. 14 UNC Wilmington
• 7 Memphis vs. 10 Vanderbilt
• 2 St. John's vs. 15 Central Connecticut State

West Region

• 1 Alabama vs. 16 Southeast Missouri State/Southern
• 8 Utah State vs. 9 New Mexico
• 5 Clemson vs. 12 Liberty
• 4 Arizona vs. 13 Arkansas State
• 6 St. Mary's vs. 11 Nebraska
• 3 Iowa State vs. 14 Utah Valley
• 7 Kansas vs. 10 San Diego State
• 2 Michigan State vs. 15 Milwaukee

East Region

• 1 Duke vs. 16 Norfolk State
• 8 Ole Miss vs. 9 Creighton
• 5 Maryland vs. 12 UC San Diego
• 4 Texas A&M vs. 13 High Point
• 6 Oregon vs. 11 Georgia
• 3 Kentucky vs. 14 Akron
• 7 Mississippi State vs. 10 VCU
• 2 Houston vs. 15 Northern Colorado

Midwest Region

• 1 Tennessee vs. 16. Bryant
• 8 UConn vs. 9. Baylor
• 5 Louisville vs. 12. Yale
• 4 Michigan vs. 13. McNeese State
• 6 BYU vs. 11. Indiana/Boise State
• 3 Wisconsin vs. 14. Chattanooga
• 7 UCLA vs. 10. West Virginia
• 2 Florida vs. 15. St. Thomas

Ryan Coleman is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Ryan, check out his archive.