Sports

The Three F’s of March Madness

From the field to fans to flops, The Big Dance has everything

Isaac Szmara, Reporter

March 20, 2025

The first round of March Madness begins on Thursday March 20, 2025.

The Auburn Tigers, who are led by Johni Broome, were selected as the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. (Johni_Broome/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0)

The Field

The four 1-seeds in the 2024-25 men’s NCAA basketball tournament are the Auburn Tigers, Duke Blue Devils, Houston Cougars and Florida Gators. The Tigers are 28-5 and will be No. 1 in the South Region. The Blue Devils are 31-3 and will be No. 1 in the East Region. The Cougars are 30-4 and will be No. 1 in the Midwest Region. The Gators are also 30-4 and will be No. 1 in the West Region.

The SEC has the most teams in the bracket with fourteen. Their highest-seeded team is 1-seed Florida. The Big Ten has eight teams, with 2-seed Michigan State being their top seed. The Big 12 has seven teams, with 1-seed Houston being their top seed. The Big East has five teams, with 2-seed St. John’s being their top seed. The ACC and Mountain West both have four teams and the West Coast has two teams. All other conferences received just one bid: the automatic qualifier.

The four No. 1 seeds have the lowest odds to win March Madness. Duke has +300 odds, Florida has +375, Auburn has +500 and Houston has +650.

The Auburn Tigers, who are led by Johni Broome, were selected as the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. (Johni_Broome/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0) (Chris Gillespie)

Duke was a popular pick by all three generations to be one of the final two teams. (20131203 Cameron Crazies/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0)

The Fans

Who is your favorite college basketball team?

Baby Boomer: Buck Szmara – Duke

Millennial: Michael Miller – Indiana

Gen Z: Eli Hopper – Duke

Who do you think can make a Cinderella run?

Szmara – Liberty

Miller – VCU

Hopper – UC San Diego or Colorado State

Who do you think will be the final two teams?

Szmara – Duke and St. John’s

Miller – Duke and Florida

Hopper – Duke and Florida

Duke was a popular pick by all three generations to be one of the final two teams. (20131203 Cameron Crazies/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0)

While Dan Hurley and UConn may not be title favorites anymore, they can still go far in the tournament. (Dan_HurleyUConn_Huskies_men's_basketball_head_coach/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Flops: (Teams that didn’t meet expectations)

Arkansas: Despite having John Calipari and a million-dollar roster, Arkansas finished 8-10 in the SEC and fell to a 10-seed spot in the bracket.

Rutgers: Freshman stars and future NBA lottery picks Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey headlined the Rutgers roster, but the Scarlet Knights finished with a 15-17 record and missed a spot in this year’s dance.

UConn: After winning back-to-back titles, the Huskies were favorites to win again, but a three-game losing streak early in the season eventually caused UConn to become an 8 seed.

Kansas: Kansas was ranked No. 1 in many preseason polls but a 21-12 record has caused one of college basketball’s “blue bloods” to fall to a 7-seed spot.

While Dan Hurley and UConn may not be title favorites anymore, they can still go far in the tournament. (Dan_HurleyUConn_Huskies_men’s_basketball_head_coach/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.0)

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