Kaycee Staton
Staff Writer
March Madness 2025 has arrived, bringing excitement and anticipation for college basketball fans as the men’s and women’s tournaments begin in full force. With both brackets featuring strong contenders, upsets, and potential Cinderella stories, experts have weighed in on what to expect over the next three weeks.
On the men’s side, the 2025 tournament favors the top seeds more than in past years. The four No. 1 seeds—Duke, Florida, Auburn and Houston—are among the strongest in recent history. Statistical analyst Ken Pomeroy, who created a prestigous ratings system to predict NCAA tournament success suggests that each of these teams has an adjusted efficiency margin of 35 or more, an unprecedented feat. Duke, featuring three projected lottery picks and experienced veterans, has dominated its competition. Meanwhile, Houston asserted its strength by winning the Big 12 by four games and securing the conference tournament title. Despite a slight late-season slump, Auburn demonstrated dominance for most of the year, and Florida entered the tournament peaking at the right time after claiming the SEC title.
Historically, it has been rare for all four No. 1 seeds to reach the Final Four, the only occurrence being in 2008. Given the strength of this year’s top seeds, some experts speculate a similar outcome may unfold. However, March Madness is unpredictable by nature. While the No. 1 seeds are favored, upsets remain inevitable. That being said, the odds strongly indicate that a No. 1 seed will win the championship for the 26th time since 1985, making this a challenging year for a dark horse to rise to the top.
In sports management class “The Business of Sports Media” with Professor Mike Nabors, students were treated with a conversation featuring sports personality Rich Hollenburg, who does the Tampa Bays Rays pre and post game, as well as covering the NCAA’s March Madness tournament. Hollenburg gave his insight on both the bracket and a player to keep in mind this month.
“Write down the name, Jaron Pierre, because he will be an NBA player,” Hollenburg said. “I watched him drop 30 on the road against an ACC team last night and that’s what he’s been doing all year. He’s the Conference USA player of the year, fourth leading scorer in the nation. No one knows about this dude.”
On the other hand, the women’s tournament is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in recent memory. Unlike past seasons where dominant teams emerged early, this year’s field is wide open, with no undefeated teams and several top seeds having already beaten one another throughout the season. South Carolina, Connecticut, UCLA, USC and Notre Dame exchanged victories, making it difficult to pinpoint a clear favorite. The frequent AP Top 25 rankings shifts underscore parity in women’s college basketball this year.
Beyond the team matchups, individual stars are set to take center stage. With Iowa’s Caitlin Clark no longer in the tournament, new faces will emerge as the defining players of March Madness. UConn’s Paige Bueckers, a projected No. 1 WNBA Draft pick, is poised for a deep tournament run, aiming to cement her legacy with a national title. Meanwhile, USC’s JuJu Watkins has captivated audiences with her scoring ability yet will be kept out of the rest of the tournament due to a torn ACL suffered in the second round.
As the tournament unfolds, fans will keep a close eye on their brackets, hoping to avoid the inevitable chaos that March Madness brings. Whether it’s a No. 1 seed dominating the men’s bracket or an unexpected Cinderella run in the women’s tournament, this year’s competition promises to be as thrilling as ever.
