SportsLine’s model has nailed 24 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds and revealed its optimal NCAA Tournament bracket 2025
SportsLine’s model has nailed 24 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds and revealed its optimal NCAA Tournament bracket 2025
The Michigan State Spartans might have hoped for a Big Ten Tournament title run that would earn consideration for a No. 1 seed from the selection committee, but Tom Izzo’s squad is still a national title-contender as the No. 2 seed in the South Region. Their chief competition in the 2025 NCAA Tournament in the region is No. 1 overall seed Auburn, one of 14 SEC teams included in the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket. Could the Tigers and Spartans be on a collision course in the 2025 March Madness bracket for the regional final in Atlanta?
This year’s Final Four will take place in San Antonio and the national champion will be crowned on Monday, April 7. Correctly predicting the national champion is the best way to give your 2025 March Madness bracket picks a boost, so who cuts down the nets at the Alamodome next month? Before filling out your NCAA Tournament bracket 2025, be sure to see the 2025 March Madness bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
SportsLine’s 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 no reason to rely on luck when there’s proven technology to help you dominate your 2025 March Madness 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.
Top 2025 March Madness bracket picks
One of the Midwest Region picks from the model: No. 2 seed Tennessee, despite losing to Kentucky twice this season, beats the Wildcats in the Sweet 16. The Volunteers went a perfect 13-0 while playing one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country and then finished fourth in the loaded SEC with a 12-6 record in conference play. As mentioned, two of those losses came against the Wildcats but Kentucky is only 5-4 in the month and change since its second win over the Volunteers.
Meanwhile, Tennessee is 7-2 since that second regular-season matchup with marquee wins at Texas A&M, home against Alabama and at the SEC Tournament over Auburn. The Vols were the runners-up in Nashville and had point guard Zakai Zeigler and shooting guard Chaz Lanier named third-team and honorable mention AP All-Americans, respectively, on Tuesday. The model predicts these two SEC rivals to win their first two games and for Tennessee to avenge its two earlier losses when it matters most.
Another surprise: No. 10 Utah State upsets No. 7 UCLA in the first round of the Midwest. This game will match one team’s strength versus another’s as Utah State ranks second in its conference in points per game, while UCLA is second in the Big Ten in points allowed per game. On the other end of the court, USU appears to have the edge with a frenetic defense that ranks among the top 50 in the country in both steals and turnovers forced per game. Meanwhile, the Bruins offense has no discernible strengths, ranking outside the top 100 in 2P percentage, 3P percentage, FT percentage and points per game.
Utah State has an efficient offense that leads the MWC in assist/turnover ratio and is a perfect 18-0 when shooting at least 48% from the field. The Bruins’ defense enters March Madness not playing its best as it has allowed 48.6% from the field over its last four games. Add in that just five of the 68 tourney teams average fewer rebounds per game than UCLA, and Utah State can surprise many by taking down one of the sport’s Blue Bloods. 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 region features three must-have upsets, including a play-in team that absolutely stuns its first-round opponent, all from the model that’s beaten 91% of bracket players in four of the last six tournaments.