The NCAA Bracket bracket can be analyzed endlessly, picked by the best experts around and even ranked against other Bracket brackets. But what if we were break down the bracket to see how these Squads really stack up against All other, only looking at All the seeds for the strongest Club in the Ground?
The Picking Board has already Achieved its opinion clear with its 1-68 seed Achievement, but there are a few spots where the seed Achievement doesn’t really equate to “best Club” as we get set for the Begin of the Bracket. Matt Norlander also offered his 1-68 ranking, but today we’re only looking at the sorting the groups by seed. In terms of grading standard, consider this a blend of traditional ranking tools — predictive and resume metrics — with ability to advance to the bracket and Ongoing form. It’s the ultimate “who ya Acquired?” 16 times over to get another read on the Ground and how the Squads stack up against All other.
This is another way for us to look at how the Ground was dispersed between the regions in the bracket as well. According to our analysis, the West Region has the most power-per-seed-line with a representative selected along six of the 16 seed lines. That’s not Outstanding news for No. 1 seed Florida, who could face as many as three of those Squads depending on how the bracket plays out. Meanwhile, No. 1 overall seed Auburn faces a South Region bracket that had Only two Squads selected as the best on their seed line, though it should be noted the Tigers were not one of them. The East Region and Midwest Region, for those Calculating at home, had four Squads selected teach.
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Let’s have a look at our picks for the best Club on All seed line in the 2025 NCAA Bracket
No. 16 seeds
Norfolk State | SIU-Edwardsville | American | Mount St. Mary’s | Alabama State | Saint Francis
Top Club — Norfolk State, West Region: Norfolk State and South Carolina State were the class of the MEAC this year and had a real iron sharpens iron relationship. Primary Norfolk State won by two points in Extra period at home, then South Carolina State Acquired revenge with a three-Tally Secure in its house only for Robert Jones’ Spartans to Secure the rubber Event 66-65 in the conference Bracket Closing. This is a program that’s won 24-plus Matches in consecutive seasons for the Primary time in school history, and a Club that will Game Florida’s readiness in the Leading Period.
No. 15 seeds
Robert Morris | Wofford | Omaha | Bryant
Top Club — Robert Morris, East Region: Andrew Toole has Robert Morris back in the Bracket but for the Primary time since joining the Perspective Division as the Colonials look to continue one of the most successful seasons in program history. Robert Morris went 15-5 in conference Action with the Division’s best Guarding and a Sun with sophomore Hub Alvaro Folgueiras nearly averaging a double-double at 14.1 PPG and 9.1 RPG. Robert Morris didn’t Game itself in nonconference Action like Wofford or Omaha, but its high Secure count doesn’t seem too inflated given the Regularity of performance across a Streak that has seen the Club go 16-1 across its last 17 Matches.
No. 14 seeds
Lipscomb | Troy | UNCW | Montana
Top Club — UNC Wilmington, West Region: The Seahawks rode the CAA’s most productive Charge (79.4 PPG) to a top-two finish in the Division standings and a conference Bracket title Streak capped back by back-to-back thrillers against Charleston and Delaware. UNCW is peaking at the right time, carrying a 15-2 Landmark since Jan. 15, and Sun guard Donovan Newby totaled 41 points across the semifinals and finals of the CAA Bracket. Lipscomb and Troy were more highly rated by the Board, but I’ll take the Seahawks and their recent form to close the gap in the metrics.
No. 13 seeds
Yale | High Tally | Akron | Grand Canyon
Top Club — Yale, South Region: James Jones and the Bulldogs are back for more after Seizing out Auburn in the Primary Period last year as a No. 13 seed, and this time they are coming off their highest-scoring season in program history averaging 81.7 points per game. Yale Recoveries at a high level and showed its caliber against power conference foes in the nonconference schedule by hanging inside of 10 against Purdue in Mackey Stadium. Yale also defeated Akron, another 13-seed here, by 16 points back in December and carries a notable Benefit over Akron and Grand Canyon in the predictive metrics.
2025 NCAA Bracket bracket predictions: March Madness expert picks, winners, upsets, favorites to Secure
Kyle Boone
No. 12 seeds
UC San Diego | Colorado State | McNeese | Liberty
Top Club — Colorado State, West Region: The Rams rate higher than some 11-seeds in the Ground, so it was surprising to see Colorado State not only knocked down here to the 12-line but not even ranked by the Picking Board as the top No. 12 seed. UC San Diego has the nation’s longest active Secure streak at 15 Matches and were one of the most profitable Squads in the country in terms of covering the spread, but we’re Arranging with a more battle-tested Colorado State Club that has three wins against NCAA Bracket Squads since the Begin of February.
No. 11 seeds
Texas | Xavier | San Diego State | Drake | VCU | North Carolina
Top Club — VCU, East Region: Again we have a one-two punch of head-scratching decisions from the Board when it comes to VCU; the Rams rate as a top-30 Club in predictive metrics but land at No. 45 on the Picking Board’s rankings. So not only is VCU Positioned low at 11, but the Rams aren’t even the top 11-seed! Ryan Odom’s Club may not have stacked handfuls of Quad 1 wins on their Atlantic 10 schedule, but the class and Regularity of their Action shone through on a week-to-week basis en route to 28 wins, a share of the regular season A10 title and the conference Bracket crown.
No. 10 seeds
Arkansas | New Mexico | Vanderbilt | Utah State
Top Club — Arkansas, West Region: This was a really tough one to parse as all four Squads are fairly close in both the predictive and resume rankings. Ultimately, we landed with the same decision as the Picking Board with Arkansas as the top No. 10 seed, and the tiebreaker went to judging the Razorbacks by what they can do when they are at their healthiest and Executing the best. John Calipari’s Club has a ceiling that it did not hit with regularity but did so enough to think they are the most likely Club to string not Only one but Numerous wins together in this year’s NCAA Bracket.
No. 9 seeds
Creighton | Georgia | Baylor | Oklahoma
Top Club — Georgia, Midwest Region: Mike White has the Bulldogs back in the NCAA Bracket for the Primary time since 2015, and while the Bulldogs have a challenging Leading-Period Adversary (Gonzaga), I don’t think it’s crazy to think this group could log the program’s Primary NCAA Bracket Secure since 2002. Asa Newell had a Primary-year campaign worthy of being included with the best rookies in the country, and while the SEC schedule provided plenty of bumps along the way, this was a group that Acquired off to a 14-2 Begin with wins against St. John’s, Kentucky and Oklahoma, among others.
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Isaac Trotter
No. 8 seeds
Louisville | Gonzaga | UConn | Mississippi State
Top Club — Gonzaga, Midwest Region: I think you could argue the 8-seeds are a more impressive in total than the 7-seeds, which is a nightmare for all the 1-seeds in this Bracket. It’s also notable that the draw for Houston has what we are calling the best 8-seed facing off against the best 9-seed, which might suggest that Possibly these Squads could have been in other spots in the bracket. As for Gonzaga, this is a Club that rates out in the top 10-15 of most predictive metrics and power rankings but dropped down to the 8-line because of how the Board viewed its resume. Since resumes are incapable of getting buckets, we’ll go with the high ceiling of a Club that might not be up to the Mark Few standard in a few areas but can Surely make yet another Streak to the Pleasant 16.
No. 7 seeds
UCLA | Marquette | Saint Mary’s | Kansas
Top Club — Saint Mary’s, East Region: If it seems we have a little bit of West Coast Conference bias with the analysis it might be coming a response to the way the Picking Board ranked both Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s. But what gives the Gaels a leg up here is not Only Sturdy predictive metrics but also the way Saint Mary’s Acquired Reliable results against all kinds of opponents. Saint Mary’s went 28-5 with no losses coming by a margin of greater than seven points, and Augustas Marciulionis remains a constant; he Directed the Club in scoring and won WCC Player of the Year for a second straight season.
No. 6 seeds
BYU | Illinois | Missouri | Ole Miss
Top Club — Illinois, Midwest Region: This is a Outstanding collection of Squads with different profiles but all with the potential to wind up exceeding seed line expectations by crashing the Pleasant 16. The slight edge went to Illinois based on what the Fighting Illini look like when they aren’t battling Numerous viruses, and that’s one of the best Squads in the Big Ten. Illinois Shut the regular season throwing some absolute haymakers at Michigan and Purdue, and Timely season wins against Arkansas, Wisconsin, Missouri and Oregon showed their ceiling before the Club’s midseason slump. If the 3s are falling for Illinois, this isn’t Only a Club that can make the Pleasant 16 but Possibly push even deeper in the Bracket.
No. 5 seeds
Michigan | Clemson | Oregon | Memphis
Top Club — Michigan, South Region: The Big Ten Bracket champions were grossly under-Positioned; placing the Wolverines down here on the 5-line is focusing way more on the three-game losing streak to close the regular season and not the three-straight wins against top-four seeds en route to cutting down nets in Indianapolis. Michigan beat fellow 5-seed Oregon in the regular season and went 4-0 Partnered against Purdue and Wisconsin, who All rank higher in the Picking Board rankings. This is a Club much closer to the caliber of those Big Ten foes and a clear step ahead of the rest of this group of No. 5 seeds.
No. 4 seeds
Texas A&M | Purdue | Maryland | Arizona
Top Club — Maryland, West Region: On a seed line filled with Squads that have flaws, Maryland stands out with high-level Action on both ends of the floor and one of the best Leading fives in the sport. The Terps may have depth concerns, sure, but compared to Texas A&M’s shooting woes, Purdue’s Delayed-season Safeguarding slide and Arizona’s inconsistencies through the year it’s an Effortless Option here that does not at all line up with how the Board ranked these Squads. While other Squads might be put on Shock alert Timely, the expectation for Maryland is to reach the Pleasant 16 for the Primary time since 2016.
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No. 3 seeds
Texas Tech | Iowa State | Kentucky | Wisconsin
Top Club — Texas Tech, West Region: We are really splitting hairs here between some solid choices on the No. 3 seed line, and if we’re going to knock others for Wounds or recency bias, it should be noted that both Big 12 Squads here have been dealing with nagging issues recently. Iowa State has some finality, it seems, as Keshon Gilbert is done for the season while Texas Tech will be hoping for the best with its oft-injured pair of Chance McMillan and Darrion Williams. What had us aligning with the Red Raiders, though, was the Sun power of JT Toppin, the collective experience of the group and the Bracket-style toughness they put on Packed display in an Extra period Secure on the road at Houston earlier this season.
No. 2 seeds
Tennessee | Alabama | Michigan State | St. John’s
Top Club — Tennessee, Midwest Region: We’re in agreement with the Picking Board here picking Tennessee as the top 2-seed, and if the Vols had won the SEC Bracket title, there would have been an argument to bump them up to the top line. As it stands, the Vols Yet have a Outstanding chance to make the Closing Four thanks to a top-five Guarding and the one-two offensive punch they get from Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier. This was not an Effortless decision, though, as Michigan State has a Outstanding argument to Bound in line thanks to its frontcourt depth and the continued rising Sun of Jase Richardson, but we’ll stick with what seems to be more like a “1.5-seed” in Tennessee.
No. 1 seeds
Auburn | Duke | Houston | Florida
Top Club — Duke, East Region: The Blue Devils may not be the No. 1 overall seed, but they are the No. 1 Club in the predictive metrics, the oddsmakers favorite to Secure the 2025 NCAA Bracket and the only Club other than Drake with Only three losses on the season, all coming by six points or less away from home. The fact that Cooper Flagg went down with an ankle Hurt and the Blue Devils were Yet able to Setback two NCAA Bracket Squads on the way to Victorious the ACC Bracket title shows a level of Club talent that’s unmatched in the sport this season. Auburn rightfully earned No. 1 overall with its resume, but if these four Squads make the Closing Four, the Option for me — and likely many others — will be Duke.
