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The No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament bracket often garner the most attention and are the most popular picks to go to win it all, but how large is the gap between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds? This year, the No. 2 seeds include the top offense in the country, Alabama, a Michigan State team in its 27th straight NCAA Tournament, a deep St. John’s team bringing college basketball back to New York City, and a Tennessee team that was ranked No. 1 earlier this year. Rather than deciding which No. 1 seed to advance in your 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket picks, a wise 2025 March Madness bracket strategy could be to focus on picking multiple No. 2 seeds to reach the Final Four and possibly one to cut the nets.

Going with a team other than a No. 1 seed will likely differentiate your 2025 NCAA bracket from others in 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket pools. Before making any 2025 NCAA Tournament predictions, see the 2025 March Madness 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% 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, SportsLine’s advanced computer model has simulated the entire 2025 NCAA Tournament 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.

Three 2025 March Madness bracket games to watch

One of the most intriguing 2025 March Madness matchups to watch: No. 8 UConn vs. No. 9 Oklahoma in the West Region. The Dan Hurley era at UConn has the Huskies as one of the elite programs in college basketball as back-to-back national champions. Although UConn only went 23-10 and lost in the Big East Tournament semifinals, the Huskies still have a chance at history by joining UCLA as the only programs to win three straight national titles. Oklahoma is a more challenging first-round test than they’ve faced in recent years though with the Sooners having four wins over ranked opponents and nearly knocking off Kentucky in the second round of the SEC Tournament before a one-point loss at the buzzer.

Another 2025 NCAA Tournament matchup to keep an eye on is No. 7 Kansas vs. No. 10 Arkansas in the West Region. This matchup features two of the most accomplished coaches in college basketball. Kansas’ Bill Self is set to make his 26th NCAA Tournament appearance, which ranks third among active coaches. Arkansas’ John Calipari is set to make his 24th appearance in the NCAA Tournament after leading the Razorbacks to a 20-12 record in his first season in Fayetteville. Arkansas completely overturned its roster under Calipari but did enough to make the March Madness bracket after starting the season 11-2. Kansas features a veteran-laden team, led by Hunter Dickinson, who’s averaging 17.6 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.

Another 2025 March Madness game to watch out for: No. 5 Memphis will battle No. 12 seed Colorado State in the West Region. This matchup pits two All-American guards against one another with Memphis sophomore guard PJ Haggerty named to the All-American second team and Colorado State fifth-year senior guard Nique Clifford an All-American honorable mention. Haggerty, at 6-foot-3, is the No. 3 scorer in the nation at 21.8 points per game in a season that included a 42-point performance. Clifford, 6-6, averaged 19 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game and had two double-doubles during the Mountain West Conference Tournament. Seeing these two go head-to-head could make this contest worth the watch by themselves as one of these two players will likely play a leading role in determining which team advances to the weekend. You can see the model’s 2025 NCAA bracket picks 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 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.