March Madness 2025 bracket: NCAA Tournament picks, predictions by proven college basketball model

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The UConn Huskies began this season as one of the favorites to win the 2025 NCAA Tournament and become the first men’s basketball team to win three straight national titles since the UCLA dynasty in the 1960s and 70s. However, after opening the season No. 3 in the preseason polls, UConn is No. 8 in its own region of the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket and playing Oklahoma. If the Huskies win their opener, they’ll likely face No. 1 seed Florida, so would it be wise to give UConn a deep run when creating 2025 March Madness bracket picks?

UConn won the title as a No. 4 seed in 2023 before winning as a No. 1 seed last year, so the Huskies have proven under head coach Dan Hurley they don’t need to be at the top of the 2025 March Madness bracket to cut down the nets. UConn ranked outside the top 50 in scoring offense and scoring defense is a 23-10 season entering the 2025 NCAA bracket. 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. This isn’t the same Wildcats team that knocked off UT twice in a two-week stretch earlier this season. The Wildcats have gone just 5-4 since, and they’ve lost second-leading scorer, Jaxson Robinson (wrist), for the season, and he dropped 17 in Kentucky’s first win over Tennessee. This also isn’t the same Vols team, which went 7-2 after that second UK defeat, with an improved offense a reason for its success.

The Volunteers averaged 68.1 points through their first 12 games versus SEC teams, but they’ve put up 75.9 points over these last nine games, all which also came versus SEC teams. That offensive uptick shouldn’t minimize what the defense has done all year as Tennessee ranks among the top eight in Division I in FG percentage allowed, 3P percentage allowed and opposing points per game. Additionally, Kentucky coach, Mark Pope, is 0-2 all-time in March Madness, so a deep tourney run in his first year with UK may be expecting a bit too much.

Another surprise: No. 5 Clemson takes down No. 4 Purdue in the second round of the Midwest. The Tigers are 27-6 this season and already set a program record for wins in a season before even playing an NCAA Tournament game. The Tigers advanced to the Elite Eight last season as a No. 6 seed and return two starters from that team. Senior guard Chase Hunter, playing in his sixth year at Clemson, led the Tigers with 16.4 ppg this year as a returning starter. His vast college basketball experience for a program that proved the ability to knock off higher seeds last year should be a benefit.

Although Purdue returns three starters from last year’s team that reached the NCAA Championship Game, the Boilermakers are without the biggest one in two-time National Player of the year Zach Edey, who graduated. Purdue lost 11 games this year, the same it did over the last two years combined, and Purdue enters the NCAA Tournament 3-6 over its last nine games. Purdue should have enough talent to get past No. 13 seed High Point, but the model expects its run to end after then. 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.