The 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket is set and the first round of March Madness begins on Thursday when No. 8 seed Louisville takes on No. 9 seed Creighton in Lexington, KY, for a South Region matchup that tips off at 12:15 p.m. ET. Ryan Kalkbrenner is a four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year and has taken the Bluejays to the Sweet 16 or better in three of the last four seasons. However, Louisville went 18-2 in the ACC during head coach Pat Kelsey’s first season and could benefit from playing in its home state the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament 2025.
The winner will likely take on the Auburn Tigers in the second round after Bruce Pearl’s squad earned the No. 1 overall seed on Selection Sunday 2025. The UConn Huskies won a title as the No. 1 overall seed a season ago, but that’s the only time that’s happened since 2014. How far should you advance Auburn in your 2025 March Madness bracket and which 2025 NCAA Tournament upset picks should you target in the first round? Before making any 2025 March Madness bracket predictions, be sure to check out the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
Their proven projection model has simulated every game in the tournament 10,000 times. It has absolutely crushed its March Madness picks recently, beating over 91 percent of all CBS Sports brackets in four of the past six tournaments. It was all over UConn’s championship run a year ago and nailed 13 teams in the Sweet 16. It also nailed Alabama’s Cinderella run to the Final Four as a 4-seed.
It knows how to spot an upset as well. The same model has produced brackets that have nailed 24 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception in 2016. There’s simply no reason to rely on luck when there’s proven technology to help you dominate your 2025 March Madness pools.
Now, with the 2025 NCAA bracket being revealed, the model is simulating the matchups and its results are in. You can only see it over at SportsLine.
2025 March Madness bracket games to watch
One of the 2025 March Madness matchups to keep an eye on: No. 8 seed Mississippi State vs. No. 9 seed Baylor in the East Region. The SEC was the deepest conference in the country this season, with 14 of the league’s 16 teams earning an invite to the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Mississippi State is led by guard Josh Hubbard, who helped the Bulldogs pile up five wins away from home against NCAA Tournament teams already this season. Meanwhile, Baylor has won at least one tournament game in 10 of the 12 times that it has competed in March Madness since Scott Drew took over the program. Freshman guard V.J. Edgecombe averaged 16.6 points per game during Big 12 play and the NBA prospect could be the X-factor for Baylor in the postseason.
Also in the East Region, BYU vs. VCU figures to be a pivotal 6 vs. 11 matchup. The Rams have gotten used to playing spoiler during March Madness throughout their history, winning at least one game in 11 of their 19 appearances in the NCAA Tournament over the years. However, VCU hasn’t won a tournament game since 2016 when Will Wade was the head coach and this is Ryan Odom’s first time taking the program to the Big Dance in his second year at the helm. Meanwhile, BYU hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2014, but the Cougars should be more prepared than ever after their second season in the Big 12. Road wins over Arizona and Iowa State late in the season along with another win over the Cyclones in the Big 12 Tournament make Kevin Young’s squad look like one that could get to the second weekend.
The third matchup to watch in the East Region features No. 3 seed Wisconsin vs. No. 14 seed Montana. Since the NCAA Tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985 (it has since expanded again to 68 teams), there have been 23 instances of a No. 14 seed upsetting a No. 3 seed. Wisconsin will try to avoid being added to that list after finishing as runners-up in the 2025 Big Ten Tournament thanks to the heroics of guard John Tonje. However, Montana piled up 25 wins on the way to Big Sky regular-season and tournament titles and the Grizzlies can definitely put the Badgers on upset alert if they can replicate their 65.2% shooting performance in the Big Sky title game against Northern Colorado. You can see how far all these teams go over at SportsLine.
How to make 2025 NCAA bracket predictions
How far will those major programs go? And which Cinderella teams will make surprising runs through the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket? With the model’s track record of calling bracket-busting upsets, you’ll want to see which stunners it is calling this year before locking in any 2025 NCAA bracket picks.
So what’s the optimal NCAA Tournament bracket 2025? And which 2025 March Madness underdogs will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which teams you can back with confidence, all from the model that’s nailed 24 upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception and beat over 91% of players in four of the last six tournaments.
