The Houston Cougars have made it to at least the Sweet 16 in five straight seasons under head coach Kelvin Sampson and are a No. 1 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket. This is Sampson’s best offense during his tenure, ranked 10th in adjusted offensive efficiency on KenPom. Houston finished 19-1 in the Big 12 and lost just one regular-season game after Nov. 30, so this could be Sampson’s best shot at winning his first national championship. Should you take the Cougars to win it all with your 2025 March Madness picks?
The other No. 1 seeds in the 2025 March Madness bracket include Auburn, Florida and Duke, who could all be popular picks to win the Big Dance. Duke’s Cooper Flagg and Auburn’s Johni Broome are both contenders to win the Wooden Award, but will either player lead his team to a national title at the end of the 2025 NCAA basketball bracket? 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 bracket picks.
Now, with the 2025 NCAA bracket revealed, the model is simulating the matchups and its results are in. You can only see it over at SportsLine.
Three 2025 March Madness bracket games to watch
One of the most intriguing 2025 March Madness matchups to watch: No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 12 UC San Diego in the South region. The Wolverines will have the distinct size advantage in the matchup with Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf both standing at least 7’0″. Goldin leads the Wolverines with 16.7 points and 1.4 blocks per game, while Wolf ranks first with an average of 9.8 rebounds. UC San Diego hasn’t lost a game since Jan. 19, entering March Madness on the heels of a 15-game winning streak. The Tritons are led by Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, who was named the Big West Player of the Year after averaging 19.7 points per game.
Another 2025 NCAA Tournament matchup to keep an eye on is No. 8 Louisville vs. No. 9 Creighton in the South Region. Cardinals first-year head coach Pat Kelsey engineered an impressive turnaround this season after Kenny Payne was fired following an 8-24 campaign last year. The Cardinals entered the ACC Tournament having won 19 of their last 20 games, and they are led by All-ACC First Team member Chucky Hepburn. Creighton’s best player is center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who averages 19.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots while winning the Big East Defensive Player of the Year award for the fourth time. The Bluejays lost guard Pop Isaacs to a season-ending knee injury in December, but guard Steven Ashworth has continued to step up as a leader.
Another 2025 March Madness game to watch out for: No. 4 seed Texas A&M will battle No. 13 seed Yale in the South Region. The Aggies lead all of college basketball in offensive rebounds per game, in part, because they’re also one of the worst-shooting teams in the nation. They boast a three-time All-SEC selection in Wade Taylor IV, but he knocks down just 35.4% of his shots. His efficiency, or lack thereof, is contrasted by what Yale brings to the table as it ranks among the top dozen teams in the country in both field goal percentage and 3-point percentage. However, Yale hasn’t truly been tested, losing its one game versus a top-25 team, while A&M is 7-5 against top-25 teams. You can see the model’s 2025 NCAA bracket picks here.
How to make 2025 NCAA bracket predictions
Who wins every tournament-defining matchup? And which 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’s calling this year before locking in any 2025 NCAA bracket picks.
So what’s the optimal NCAA Tournament 2025 bracket? And which NCAA Tournament Cinderella teams will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which double-digit seeds you can back with confidence, all from the model that called UConn’s national title and nailed 13 Sweet 16 teams in 2024.
