March Madness predictions: Cinderellas, upsets, Final Four picks and more for the NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments

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After months of waiting, March Madness is finally here.

The First Four is already providing plenty of drama for college basketball fans, but that’s merely an appetizer to the main course that starts on Thursday and picks up on Friday when both the men’s and women’s tournaments will be in full swing.

So what can we expect over the next three weeks? Our experts weigh in with their predictions for which No. 1 seeds are the most vulnerable, which teams are the best Cinderella picks, Final Four teams, national championship winners and more.

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NCAA men’s tournament predictions

Be unusually cautious about projecting too many non-No. 1 seeds to make this year’s Final Four

This could be a year when the Goliaths flex their muscles, the giants stomp the giant slayers.

The 2025 NCAA tournament might have the strongest quartet of No. 1 seeds in recent history. By the numbers, Duke, Florida, Auburn and Houston each have adjusted efficiency margins of 35 or more, according to college basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy. That’s the number of points they would be expected to outscore the average Division I opponent by over 100 possessions. In no other year has more than one team finished the season above 35. This year, only the four No. 1 seeds and Tennessee are above 30.

Anecdotal evidence corroborates what the numbers are suggesting. A Duke team with three projected lottery picks and an array of capable veterans has obliterated everything in its path for weeks. Houston won the always rugged Big 12 by four games and then backed that up by claiming the conference tournament crown. Auburn was on its way to a historic regular season before backsliding a bit the past two weeks. Florida stormed to the SEC tournament title last weekend and appears to be peaking in March.

The only other time that all four men’s No. 1 seeds advanced to the national semifinals, the Final Four was in San Antonio just like it is this year.

Could this be…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/college-basketball/article/march-madness-predictions-cinderellas-upsets-final-four-picks-and-more-for-the-ncaa-mens-and-womens-tournaments-162042713.html

Author : Cassandra Negley,Jeff Eisenberg

Publish date : 2025-03-19 16:20:00

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