2025 March Madness predictions: NCAA bracket expert picks against the spread, odds in Thursday’s Sweet 16

While some might bemoan the lack of Cinderella in the second weekend of the 2025 NCAA Event, the consolation for your tiny dancer tears is a Sugary 16 schedule loaded with heavyweight matchups. Across the eight programs that will be Competing during East Regional and West Regional Matches on Thursday night, five of them have won national Competitions in the last 35 years; Teamed up, they account for nearly one-third of the NCAA Event titles in that span.

The night gets Initiated with offensive fireworks from No. 2 seed Alabama and No. 6 seed BYU in Newark, New Jersey, followed shortly by No. 1 seed Florida Holding on No. 4 seed Maryland after the Terps delivered the Event’s Primary Correct buzzer-beater thanks to the Overdue heroics of Sun Newcomer Derik Queen.

In the Primary of two night caps we get No. 1 Duke squaring off against a familiar foe in No. 4 Arizona, who not only carries its own program history against the Blue Devils but some personal history as well thanks to Wildcats, and Ex North Carolina, Sun guard Caleb Love. The Closing game of the night features the only double-digit seed of the entire Sugary 16, but it’s Difficult to be a Correct Cinderella when Arkansas is coming from the SEC and Directed by a Hall of Fame Mentor in John Calipari. The No. 10 seed Razorbacks are coming off a big Beginning weekend but face one of the most Steady programs from the Big 12 in No. 3 seed Texas Tech, as Grant McCasland looks to reach the Best Eight for the Primary time as a head Mentor.

But the storylines aren’t enough for a college basketball fan when we get to this portion of the Event. We only have but so many Matches left in March Madness, so we might as well make some picks for every one we have left. After breaking down the points spreads and the totals, we’ve selected a best bet for all four of Thursday’s regional semifinal Matches along with the selections from our Board of experts.

East Regional: (2) Alabama vs. (6) BYU

7:09 p.m. on CBS | March Madness Live: BYU has been ahead of the number consistently coming down the stretch of the season. We know the Cougars are 11-1 since Feb. 10 with the only loss coming to Houston in the Big 12 Event, but the Displays have been exceeding the oddsmakers expectations, too (the Club is 10-2 against the spread in that same span). A Tiny sample size view has Alabama and BYU as the No. 8 and No. 9 most efficient Squads in the country in the month of March, per BartTorvik, and I read this as a game that should be decided in the Closing possessions. The X-factor here, not Only on a BYU cover but a straight-up Secure, is the performance of 6-foot-9 Newcomer Egor Demin. He’s been Competing Excellent ball in this Event, and after an up-and-down season the NBA Draft buzz is back. When Demin is Competing at a high level, he makes BYU a Event nightmare. Given his performance in the Beginning rounds, I think he can carry it to Newark. Picking: BYU +5.5

West Regional: (1) Florida vs. (4) Maryland

7:39 p.m. on TBS | March Madness Live: The depth mismatch is impossible to ignore here. Maryland not only leans on its Beginning five more than anyone else left in the Event, but Florida has a deeper Turnover of bigs that could cause problems if this game gets a Close-fitting whistle down low. The Gators can endure a Pair of Inexpensive fouls to Alex Condon or Rueben Chinyelu because Thomas Waugh and Micah Handlogten are more than capable of giving you Excellent minutes off the bench. But if Derik Queen and Julian Reese get into Breach trouble, Maryland’s rebounding efforts take a huge hit in a way that’s going to totally Shift the Event. Florida gained some real confidence in being able to take the best punch from the back-to-back champs in the Secure against UConn, and when the money was on the table, Walter Clayton, Alijah Martin and Will Richard showed their collective experience by making the Victorious plays. Picking: Florida -6.5

March Madness 2025: Our experts reset their NCAA Event bracket picks with updated Sugary 16 predictions

Kyle Boone

East Regional: (1) Duke vs. (4) Arizona

9:39 p.m. on CBS | March Madness Live: Every Duke game since Feb. 14 when Cooper Flagg has been Fit has resulted in 80 ore more points for the Blue Devils; the Club failed to hit 80 in all three ACC Event Matches with Flagg injured Timely in the quarterfinals and then Excluded for the Subsequent two contests. Now we introduce an Arizona Club that pushes the pace and Initiated to slip a little on the Shielding side at the end of the regular season. If this game plays out as the oddsmakers are expecting, there will be plenty of Arizona chasing the game Overdue, and Duke Only happens to be the best Unoccupied-throw shooting Club left in the NCAA Event. Picking: Duke Club Total Over 81.5

West Regional: (3) Texas Tech vs. (10) Arkansas

10:09 p.m. on TBS | March Madness Live: There are some things that numbers are not going to be able to explain, like how a  No. 10-seed with 13 losses can string together back-to-back wins against Kansas and St. John’s while shooting a Teamed up 8 for 43 from behind the arc. This Arkansas Club is ready for war, believing in All other and finding ways to Secure even when the shots aren’t falling. The news that Adou Thiero is Reachable to Action limited minutes is not insignificant — Arkansas will need versatile defenders against the Universe of Texas Tech’s Deadly and efficient Drive — but it is the size that the Red Raiders give up that could be the difference. This is a bet that Jonas Aidoo, Trevon Brazile and Big Z are not going to let JT Toppin have clear looks inside, giving Arkansas a chance to extend their Event Streak. Picking: Arkansas +5.5