NCAA Tournament 2025 bracket: Top simulation predicts surprising upsets, March Madness picks, sleepers

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The 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket is set, with Auburn, Duke, Houston, and Florida landing the four No. 1 seeds in the March Madness 2025 bracket. Since 1985, 25 of the 39 eventual national champions entered the NCAA bracket as No. 1 seeds, with No. 2 seeds accounting for five titles. Villanova, as a No. 8 seed in 1985, is the lowest seeded team to win it all. A No. 1 seed has been upset by a No. 16 seed just twice: UMBC over Virginia in 2018 and Farleigh Dickinson over Purdue in 2023.

Two-time defending national champion UConn is the 8-seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament bracket 2025 and will take on Oklahoma in the first round on Friday. The Huskies went 23-10 during the regular season and were knocked out of the Big East Tournament by Creighton. Should the Huskies be on upset alert in the first round, or can head coach Dan Hurley lead the team on another deep run? Before you make your 2025 NCAA Tournament predictions, see the March Madness bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

Last year, SportsLine’s computer simulation nailed massive upsets, including huge wins by No. 11 Oregon over No. 6 South Carolina, No. 11 NC State over No. 6 Texas Tech, No. 10 Colorado over No. 7 Florida, and No. 12 James Madison over No. 5 Wisconsin last year. The model has beaten over 91 percent of all CBS Sports bracket players in four of the past six tournaments.

This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has nailed 24 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception in 2016 and nailed UConn’s championship run last year. It nailed 13 teams in the Sweet 16 and was all over Alabama’s Cinderella run to the Final Four as a 4-seed.

Now, SportsLine’s advanced computer model has simulated the entire 2025 March Madness bracket 10,000 times to come up with the perfect 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket and find out which teams will pull off the biggest upsets. You shouldn’t even think about making a pick without seeing what their model has to say.

Top 2025 March Madness bracket upset picks

One South Region surprise the model has identified: No. 13 Yale beats No. 4 Texas A&M, a team that ranked as high as No. 7 in the AP Poll this year. Yale notched a win in last year’s NCAA Tournament as a No. 13 seed, defeating Auburn 78-76. The Bulldogs went 22-7 during the regular season and won 16 of their last 17 games. Yale is one of the best shooting teams in the country, and can score in bunches when they are connecting from beyond the arc. Yale enters the NCAA Tournament ranked 16th in the country, making 38.03% of their 3-pointers this season. The Aggies climbed to No. 7 in the national polls, and have several high quality wins on their resume, but enter the NCAA Tournament with losses in five of their last seven games.

Another South Region surprise the model has identified: Creighton beats Louisville in the all-important 8-9 matchup. Creighton was blown out by St. John’s in the Big East Conference Championship Game, but had won its prior four games, including a victory over two-time defending national champion UConn. The Blue Jays went 24-10 during the regular season and will make their fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Creighton is led by veteran center Ryan Kalkbrenner. The 7-foot-1 senior could present a significant matchup problem for Louisville and enters the NCAA Tournament 2025 averaging 19.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Kalkbrenner helped lead the Blue Jays to the Sweet 16 last season, and averaged 18.7 points and 9.7 rebounds in three NCAA Tournament games. See which other 2025 March Madness matchups to target here.

How to make 2025 NCAA Tournament 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 two mammoth upsets in the first round, including one by a team that’s only ever won a single tournament game, and see which 6-seed makes the Sweet 16, all from the model that’s nailed 24 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds.

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