Duke’s Cooper Flagg is the biggest name in the NCAA Tournament 2025, but he’s certainly not the only superstar capable of carrying a team through March Madness 2025. Auburn fifth-year senior forward Johni Broome is arguably the most dominant force in the paint in the country, averaging 18.9 points and 10.6 rebounds per game this season. He has scored at least 23 points in three straight games, including 34 against Alabama. With Auburn having the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA bracket 2025, how far should you have Broome leading the Tigers in your 2025 March Madness bracket picks?
Broome had 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting and 13 rebounds in Auburn’s 78-76 upset loss to Yale as a No. 4 seed in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament, so he wasn’t to blame in the defeat, but how should Auburn’s early exit last year affect your NCAA Tournament 2025 bracket strategy? Before making any 2025 March Madness bracket predictions, be sure to check out the 2025 NCAA Tournament 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 percent 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, with the 2025 NCAA bracket revealed, the model is simulating the matchups and its results are in. You can only see it over at SportsLine.
Three 2025 March Madness bracket games to watch
One of the most intriguing 2025 March Madness matchups to watch: No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 12 UC San Diego in the South region. Dustin May took over after six years as Florida Atlantic’s head coach with Michigan coming off its worst year since the 1966-67 season. The Wolverines went 8-24 last year but with a revamped roster and under the proven leadership of May, Michigan won more than 3x as many games this year. Michigan went 25-8 and won the Big Ten Tournament championship. Meanwhile, UC San Diego enters with just two losses this calendar year. The Tritons went 30-4 this season and have the nation’s longest winning streak (15 games). May led Florida Atlantic to a magical Final Four run as a No. 9 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, but this will be his first March Madness with huge expectations and it remains to be seen how he can prepare a squad under those circumstances.
Another 2025 NCAA Tournament matchup to keep an eye on is No. 8 Louisville vs. No. 9 Creighton in the South Region. The game is being played in Lexington, Kentucky, only 70 miles from the Cardinals’ campus which should give them a significant home court advantage. Though Louisville appears to be underseeded as a No. 8 seed despite being ranked 10th in the current AP poll, the NCAA Tournament committee did them a solid with their location. Meanwhile, Creighton enters off a loss in the Big East Championship Game to St. John’s, who earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. This will be the first game played of the Round of 64 on Thursday at 12:15 p.m. ET.
Another 2025 March Madness game to watch out for: No. 4 seed Texas A&M will battle No. 13 seed Yale in the South Region. The Aggies peaked at No. 7 in the AP Top 25 earlier this season but wound up going on a four-game losing streak during a challenging stretch of the schedule. However, they dug themselves out of their hole with a huge win over Auburn late in the regular season. The slide almost certainly pushed them down a seed line or two, and that means Texas A&M draws a program with recent giant-killing history. Yale beat an SEC team (Auburn) as a No. 13 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament and John Poulakidas is back and averaging 19.2 points per game for the Bulldogs after a 28-point outburst in that upset a season ago. You can see the model’s 2025 NCAA bracket picks here.
How to make 2025 NCAA 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.
