Welcome to Bracket Yard’s home for the 2025 college basketball bracket update. Some websites call it “bracketology.” Our website has “bracket” in the name so I think it just goes without saying that we would get involved in such a thing.
Anyway, we will periodically update the below between now and Selection Sunday in March 2025. Is your team on track to make the tournament? Are they destined to fall short and sadden your educational institution of choice? All will be revealed.
2025 College Basketball Bracket Update
Last Updated: March 16, 2025 – Selection Sunday, Prior to Reveal
A note on “AQ” teams: As of March 14, the team with the top seed standing in a conference tournament is designated as the projected champion. If the #1 seed has been eliminated from the conference tournament, the highest seed standing is our projected automatic bid.
Bracket Update: Seed List (All Teams Ranked 1-68)
These are the “true seeds” of each team. Because of bracket construction principles, not every team may perfectly align with its projected seed.
| # | Team | Conf | AQ/At-Large |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auburn | SEC | AL |
| 2 | Duke | ACC | AQ |
| 3 | Houston | Big 12 | AQ |
| 4 | Florida | SEC | AQ |
| 5 | Tennessee | SEC | AL |
| 6 | Alabama | SEC | AL |
| 7 | St. John’s | Big East | AQ |
| 8 | Michigan State | Big Ten | AL |
| 9 | Arizona | Big 12 | AL |
| 10 | Iowa State | Big 12 | AL |
| 11 | Wisconsin | Big Ten | AL |
| 12 | Texas Tech | Big 12 | AL |
| 13 | Kentucky | SEC | AL |
| 14 | Maryland | Big Ten | AL |
| 15 | Texas A&M | SEC | AL |
| 16 | Michigan | Big Ten | AQ |
| 17 | Missouri | SEC | AL |
| 18 | Gonzaga | WCC | AQ |
| 19 | Purdue | Big Ten | AL |
| 20 | Illinois | Big Ten | AL |
| 21 | Louisville | ACC | AL |
| 22 | UCLA | Big Ten | AL |
| 23 | Clemson | ACC | AL |
| 24 | Oregon | Big Ten | AL |
| 25 | Kansas | Big 12 | AL |
| 26 | BYU | Big 12 | AL |
| 27 | Ole Miss | SEC | AL |
| 28 | Saint Mary’s | WCC | AL |
| 29 | Marquette | Big East | AL |
| 30 | Mississippi State | SEC | AL |
| 31 | Creighton | Big East | AL |
| 32 | Connecticut | Big East | AL |
| 33 | Baylor | Big 12 | AL |
| 34 | Memphis | American | AQ |
| 35 | Georgia | SEC | AL |
| 36 | New Mexico | MWC | AL |
| 37 | Arkansas | SEC | AL |
| 38 | Oklahoma | SEC | AL |
| 39 | Utah State | MWC | AL |
| 40 | West Virginia | Big 12 | AL |
| 41 | Vanderbilt | SEC | AL |
| 42 | San Diego State | MWC | AL |
| 43 | Texas | SEC | AL |
| 44 | Indiana | Big Ten | AL |
| 45 | UC-San Diego | Big West | AQ |
| 46 | Drake | MVC | AQ |
| 47 | Colorado State | MWC | AQ |
| 48 | VCU | A-10 | AQ |
| 49 | McNeese | Southland | AQ |
| 50 | Liberty | C-USA | AQ |
| 51 | Yale | Ivy | AQ |
| 52 | Akron | MAC | AQ |
| 53 | High Point | Big South | AQ |
| 54 | Lipscomb | ASUN | AQ |
| 55 | Grand Canyon | WAC | AQ |
| 56 | Troy | Sun Belt | AQ |
| 57 | UNC-Wilmington | CAA | AQ |
| 58 | Montana | Big Sky | AQ |
| 59 | Robert Morris | Horizon | AQ |
| 60 | Wofford | Southern | AQ |
| 61 | Bryant | Am East | AQ |
| 62 | Omaha | Summit | AQ |
| 63 | Norfolk State | MEAC | AQ |
| 64 | SIU-Edwardsville | OVC | AQ |
| 65 | American | Patriot | AQ |
| 66 | Mount St. Mary’s | MAAC | AQ |
| 67 | Alabama State | SWAC | AQ |
| 68 | St. Francis Univ. | NEC | AQ |
Last Eight In
| 8 | Arkansas | SEC |
| 7 | Oklahoma | SEC |
| 6 | Utah State | MWC |
| 5 | West Virginia | Big 12 |
| 4 | Vanderbilt | SEC |
| 3 | San Diego State | MWC |
| 2 | Texas | SEC |
| 1 (Last) | Indiana | Big Ten |
First Ten Out
| 1 | Boise State | MWC |
| 2 | North Carolina | ACC |
| 3 | Xavier | Big East |
| 4 | Ohio State | Big Ten |
| 5 | Nebraska | Big Ten |
| 6 | UC-Irvine | Big West |
| 7 | Cincinnati | Big 12 |
| 8 | Villanova | Big East |
| 9 | Dayton | A-10 |
| 10 | Northwestern | Big Ten |
2025 College Basketball Bracket Update: Projected Bracket
MIDWEST REGION (INDIANAPOLIS)
Raleigh, North Carolina
| 1 | Florida (SEC) |
| 16 | Norfolk State (MEAC)* |
| 8 | Marquette (Big East) |
| 9 | Baylor (Big 12) |
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
| 4 | Michigan (Big Ten)* |
| 13 | Yale (Ivy)* |
| 5 | Gonzaga (WCC)* |
| 12 | Liberty (C-USA)* |
Denver, Colorado
| 3 | Iowa State (Big 12) |
| 14 | Grand Canyon (WAC)* |
| 6 | Oregon (Big Ten)* |
| 11 | Drake (MVC)* |
Lexington, Kentucky
| 2 | Tennessee (SEC) |
| 15 | Omaha (Summit)* |
| 7 | Saint Mary’s (WCC) |
| 10 | Utah State (MWC) |
SOUTH REGION (ATLANTA)
Lexington, Kentucky
| 1 | Auburn (SEC)* |
| 16 | Alabama State (SWAC)* OR St. Francis U. (NEC)* |
| 8 | Connecticut (Big East) |
| 9 | New Mexico (MWC) |
Providence, Rhode Island
| 4 | Maryland (Big Ten) |
| 13 | High Point (Big South)* |
| 5 | Missouri (SEC) |
| 12 | VCU (A-10)* |
Wichita, Kansas
| 3 | Texas Tech (Big 12) |
| 14 | Troy (Sun Belt)* |
| 6 | Louisville (ACC) |
| 11 | Texas (SEC) OR Indiana (Big Ten) |
Cleveland, Ohio
| 2 | Michigan State (Big Ten) |
| 15 | Robert Morris (Horizon)* |
| 7 | Kansas (Big 12) |
| 10 | Oklahoma (SEC) |
EAST REGION (NEWARK)
Raleigh, North Carolina
| 1 | Duke (ACC)* |
| 16 | American (Patriot)* OR Mount St. Mary’s (MAAC)* |
| 8 | Mississippi State (SEC) |
| 9 | Memphis (American)* |
Seattle, Washington
| 4 | Texas A&M (SEC) |
| 13 | Lipscomb (ASUN)* |
| 5 | Illinois (Big Ten) |
| 12 | Colorado State (MWC)* |
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
| 3 | Wisconsin (Big Ten) |
| 14 | UNC-Wilmington (CAA)* |
| 6 | Clemson (ACC) |
| 11 | Vanderbilt (SEC) OR San Diego State (MWC) |
Providence, Rhode Island
| 2 | St. John’s (Big East)* |
| 15 | Wofford (Southern)* |
| 7 | Ole Miss (SEC) |
| 10 | West Virginia (Big 12) |
WEST REGION (SAN FRANCISCO)
Wichita, Kansas
| 1 | Houston (Big 12)* |
| 16 | SIU-Edwardsville (OVC)* |
| 8 | Creighton (Big East) |
| 9 | Georgia (SEC) |
Denver, Colorado
| 4 | Kentucky (SEC) |
| 13 | Akron (MAC)* |
| 5 | Purdue (Big Ten) |
| 12 | McNeese (Southland)* |
Seattle, Washington
| 3 | Arizona (Big 12) |
| 14 | Montana (Big Sky)* |
| 6 | UCLA (Big Ten) |
| 11 | UC-San Diego (Big West)* |
Cleveland, Ohio
| 2 | Alabama (SEC) |
| 15 | Bryant (Am East)* |
| 7 | BYU (Big 12) |
| 10 | Arkansas (SEC) |
Bracket Update Notes (Most Recent at Top)
March 15
Watch out, North Carolina and other bubble teams: A 5-bid Mountain West could be what wrecks your March. I would also put bubble teams on notice about the American Tournament: Memphis is going to make the tournament no matter what. Should they not win the conference tournament, someone else is losing a bid. Ironically, it might be the Mountain West. It’s madness, baby.
March 14
Just two days until Selection Sunday, and we have a much clearer picture of who are the contenders and who are not. The following teams have recently dropped out of our field:
- Ohio State
- Indiana
- Xavier
- Nebraska
While the following teams are relatively new:
- North Carolina
- Boise State
There is not much preventing us from flipping Indiana and San Diego State for “last team in.”
The 1-seeds have been stable so far, and that’s mostly because all of these teams have not played in their conference tournaments yet, or have played just one game.
February 24
What a dreadful bubble this year. How else can you explain Indiana getting into the field in our latest bracket update?
Here’s the thing: They’ve picked up some recent quality wins while the rest of the bubble sputters and falls apart at the seams. (Oh yeah, sports media talking heads, let’s expand the tournament so we can have even more mediocre teams in the field.) We weren’t putting Wake in because of fewer quality wins and a Quadrant 3 loss, no Georgia because their resume is perhaps just as thin, maybe thinner in some areas, Boise State has a pair of Quadrant 3 losses, and Cincinnati, SMU, and UNC all lack quality wins. Simply put, who else was it going to be?
The SEC is present in almost every pod of the tournament, and the Big Ten is in most as well. Gonzaga and UCLA dropped off of their seed lines because we just couldn’t justify sending them both to Providence.
February 10
14 bids for any conference is insane, but here we are with the SEC. They very nearly got three of the 1-seeds as well, but they will have to settle for two. As usual, it’s tough to keep them away from each other in the second round, but at the moment, it would only be possible in one pod.
January 27
Tough one this week. The SEC and Big Ten have many, many bids, and then throw in the Big 12, and you have three conferences essentially dominating the tournament. It is difficult, if not impossible, to keep those teams away from each other in the early rounds without jumbling the pods where teams go. We managed to avoid as many R32 same-conference games as possible, but the cost was some teams going to weird places. The hope is that this irons out the closer we get to March.
January 20
It took a perfect storm of losing a big game and other teams in position doing well, but Marquette dropped from the final one seed to a four. On the S-Curve, they were actually in position for a three, but sacrifices had to be made to keep the same conference out of too many pods, and not overly screw top teams on travel.
Auburn and Duke are the two teams to beat this season.
Ohio State is a team that we have in, but they almost do not deserve it. Just the teams below them deserve it a little less. Nebraska has played its way out of the field for now, losing four in a row.
January 15
We issued a brief video update to account for a busy day in college basketball the night earlier, with a few changes to the top four lines.
January 14
A few big shake-ups, as a little bit of movement can produce a large swing in NET. There were some teams that had wins convert into Quadrants 1 and 2, which is how we ended up with Arizona and Texas Tech back in the dance.
Marquette has a very strong resume, about as good as Iowa State’s. It was difficult picking between them for the last 1-seed.
Oregon has one of the better resumes out there, with seven Q1 wins, and I looked for ways to push them onto the 2-line. Alas, they are one spot short because the others in front of them did not deserve to fall back off of it.
We were a little more generous this time with Houston, but they need to resolve the situation of no Q1 wins. They are nowhere near being a 1-seed as a result, despite their high NET.
Iowa is in, but a little iffy. They are the only at-large besides Houston (at the moment) to have no Q1 wins.
January 6
This is our first round of bracket assembly for the year. At this point, there are a lot of undeveloped resumes, so I would not get too bent out of shape if your preferred team is not here. Give it about a month for conference play to seep in, and we should have a much better view of where a particular team is going by February.
One team I find particularly interesting is Texas Tech. They have a high NET ranking, but their resume is undeserving of the tournament otherwise. Some other prognosticators have them in, but we do not.
If Memphis did not have that Quad 3 loss, they would be a high seed. Aside from that, they have one of the more impressive team sheets so far.
Marquette has an excellent resume to this point, and one that I think is deserving of a one-seed. Not everyone agrees, but this should make the Golden Eagles fans very happy.
We have Houston as a five despite their very high NET ranking, and even at that, it’s kind of generous. They have no Quad 1 wins as of yet while every other team between 1 and 38, except them, on our S-Curve has at least one. Most have at least two. If not for that NET, we would probably have them in an 8-9 matchup somewhere. The good news for them is that they still have time to work on the resume, and it needs beefing up in some way.
In two pods do we have two teams from the same conference (the SEC) potentially meeting in the second round, which would require at least one to win a play-in game. This is not ideal, but likely to change. The SEC has a lot of teams on the two, seven, and ten lines, and without wholly screwing someone out of their rightful seed, we’ll just have to live with it for the time being. As of now, we have the SEC as an eye-popping 12-bid conference, which is in part due to them being good and in part due to the conference being gigantic. It is almost unavoidable that some will encounter each other.
