March 15, 2025
Why It Matters: March Madness is set to tip off on March 18, as 68 NCAA teams for men’s and women’s basketball leagues battle for the national championship in single-elimination play.
What To Know:
- Selection Sunday, set for March 16, will reveal both the men’s and women’s brackets. The men’s tournament officially begins with the First Four on Tuesday, March 18, in Dayton, Ohio. The women’s tournament begins the next day as the First Four teams play on March 19-20.
Who Is Predicted to Win?
- On the men’s side, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee declared Auburn as the unanimous top overall seed.
- In the women’s tournament, based on the most recent top 16 reveal by the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee, UCLA, Texas, Southern California and Notre Dame hold the No. 1 overall seeds for the 2025 tournament.
- Though as everyone with a busted bracket can tell you, upsets are possible. The first upset of a 16 seed beating a number one team happened in 1998 in the women’s tournament when Harvard beat Stanford. In 2018 in the men’s tournament, 16 seed UMBC beat number one seed pick Virginia.
When Does It End?
- The Final Four men’s teams will play at the Alamodome in San Antonio on April 5, and the championship game will be on April 7.
- The Final Four women’s teams will play on April 4 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. A national champion will be determined by the championship game on April 6.
Read More: 2025 March Madness: Men’s NCAA tournament schedule, dates (NCAA)
2025 March Madness: Women’s NCAA tournament schedule, dates, times (NCAA)
The 15 highest-scoring individual performances in March Madness women’s history (NCAA)
Image Credit: ESPN via X
by Jalen Meyerpeter, Based in Arizona.
