By making the 2025 March Madness bracket, UConn has already achieved a feat the last defending back-to-back champion failed to. After Florida won consecutive NCAA Tournaments in 2006 and 2007, the Gators failed to secure a March Madness bid in 2008. The Huskies were 4-seeds in 2023 and 1-seeds in 2024, and Dan Hurley’s crew will enter the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket as an 8-seed against No. 9 Oklahoma in the South Region.
Speaking of Florida, this year’s Gators could add to the title count for the program. The Gators have wins over Auburn, Alabama and Tennessee, so they can beat anyone. Still, this year’s college basketball season has shown that anyone can also be beaten, so which potential March Madness upset picks should be on your radar? 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: the First Four winner of North Carolina vs. San Diego State will knock off No. 6 Ole Miss in the first round. As prospective 11 seeds, who are both among the Last Four In, this upset doesn’t say as much about UNC or San Diego State as it does about Ole Miss. The Rebels seemed to peak in January, courtesy of their season-best No. 16 ranking at that time, but they have struggled over the second half of the season. The Rebels are 7-9 over their last 16 games and 3-5 over their last eight contests. Ole Miss can’t claim to being a victim of its fellow SEC teams as it also has losses to Purdue and Memphis. Meanwhile, the Aztecs have seven March Madness victories over the last two years, and their only defeats over that span were to the eventual champion UConn Huskies. As for UNC, it got hot at just the right time, going 8-2 over its last 10 games.
Another South Region surprise the model has identified: Creighton beats Louisville in the all-important 8-9 matchup. This is Louisville’s coach Pat Kelsey’s fifth trip to March Madness, and first with U of L, but he’s winless all-time. His average margin of defeat is over 10 points, while Creighton HC, Greg McDermott, has 11 tourney wins, including at least one in each of the last four editions. Creighton has a big advantage in the one thing you can’t teach in basketball: size. The Bluejays start four players at least 6-foot-6, while Louisville has just one starter over 6-foot-6. The tallest player on the court, Ryan Kalkbrenner, stands 7-feet and averages 19.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks. 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.
