No team has dominated the 2024-25 college basketball season, or the polls, as four different schools have been ranked No. 1 this season. That means we could be in store for a memorable 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket after UConn reigned supreme the last two years. Kansas, Tennessee, Auburn and Duke have all been ranked atop the AP Poll this season, and all are seen as legitimate-contenders to cut down the nets at the conclusion of March Madness 2025. Kansas was No. 1 through the first five weeks of the season, only to fall out of the Top 25 in late February. The Jayhawks are seeded seventh in the West Region of the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket. Only one 7-seed has ever hoisted the trophy at the end, but a shocking run by Bill Self’s squad could make people forget about the Jayhawks underperforming in the regular season. Before filling out your NCAA Tournament bracket 2025, be sure to see the 2025 March Madness bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
SportsLine’s 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% 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 no reason to rely on luck when there’s proven technology to help you dominate your 2025 March Madness 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.
Top 2025 March Madness bracket picks
One of the Midwest Region picks from the model: No. 2 seed Tennessee, despite losing to Kentucky twice this season, beats Kentucky in the Sweet 16. The Vols enter the tournament with an elite defense for the fifth year in a row under veteran head coach Rick Barnes. They lost SEC Player of the Year Dalton Knecht from last year’s Elite Eight team, but they added a trio of impressive transfers in Chaz Lanier, Igor Milicic Jr. and Felix Okpara.
Senior point guard Zakai Zeigler is Tennessee’s all-time assists leader, averaging 13.1 points and 7.5 assists per game. Kentucky is without guard Jaxson Robinson due to a season-ending wrist injury, and guard Lamont Butler has been dealing with a lingering shoulder injury. The Wildcats are not nearly as good as Tennessee defensively, which is one reason why the model has the Vols avenging their regular-season losses.
Another surprise: No. 5 Clemson takes down No. 4 Purdue in the second round of the Midwest. In early February, Purdue looked like a team that could make it back to the Final Four after last season’s runner-up finish. The Boilermakers, however, then proceeded to lose four straight and go 3-6 over their last nine games. That play down the stretch contrasts with a surging Clemson squad that’s gone 15-2 over its last 17. That stretch includes a win over 1-seed Duke, while Purdue went just 2-6 versus ranked teams away from home this season.
The Tigers are one of seven teams in all of Division I that slot among the top 25 in both offensive and defensive efficiency rankings, per KenPom. Purdue is in the top 25 in offensive rankings, but its defense isn’t up to par. There’s no longer an interior presence like 7-foot-4 Zach Edey as Purdue’s 1.7 blocks are the fifth-fewest in the country. The Boilermakers are also outside the top 300 schools in rebounds per game as Clemson, with three of its top five scorers standing 6-foot-8 or taller, should be able to utilize its size advantage. 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 region features three must-have upsets, including a play-in team that absolutely stuns its first-round opponent, all from the model that’s beaten 91% of bracket players in four of the last six tournaments.
