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| Season | 2024–25 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 68 | ||||
| Finals site | Alamodome San Antonio, Texas | ||||
| Champions | Illinois Fighting Illini (1st title, 2nd title game, 6th Final Four) | ||||
| Runner-up | Pittsburgh Panthers (1st title game, 2nd Final Four) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
| ||||
| Winning coach | Brad Underwood (1st title) | ||||
| MOP | Carey Booth (Illinois Fighting Illini) | ||||
| Attendance | 713,877 | ||||
| |||||
The 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's college basketball national champion for the 2024–25 season. The 86th annual edition of the tournament began on March 18, 2025, and concluded with the Illinois Fighting Illini becoming the lowest-seeded team to win the championship, defeating the Pittsburgh Panthers, 90-74 in the championship game on April 7, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Big South champion High Point made their NCAA tournament debut. Additionally, Louisiana Tech made their first appearance since 1991, Navy made their first appearance since 1998, and Arkansas State made their first appearance since 1999.
The Final Four consisted of UConn (third consecutive appearance), Illinois (first appearance since 2005), Pittsburgh (first appearance since 1941), and Xavier (their first Final Four appearance in program history).
Tournament procedure
[edit]A total of 68 teams entered the 2025 tournament. A total of 32 automatic bids were awarded to each program that win a conference tournament. The remaining 36 bids were issued "at-large", with selections extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. The Selection Committee seeded the entire field from 1 to 68.
Eight teams (the four-lowest seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at large-teams) played in the First Four. The winners of these games advanced to the main tournament bracket.
2025 NCAA Tournament schedule and venues
[edit]The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2025 tournament:.[1]
Dayton
Providence
Lexington
Wichita
Denver
Cleveland
Raleigh
Milwaukee
Seattle
2025 First Four (orange) and first and second rounds (green)
Newark
San Francisco
Atlanta
Indianapolis
San Antonio
2025 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)
First Four
- March 18 and 19
First and Second Rounds (Subregionals)
- March 20 and 22
- March 21 and 23
Regional Semi-Finals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
- March 27 and 29
- East Regional
- West Regional
- March 28 and 30
- South Regional
- Midwest Regional
National Semifinals and Championship (Final Four)
- April 5 and 7
San Antonio hosted the Final Four for the fifth time, having previously hosted in 2018.
Automatic qualifiers
[edit]Teams who won their conference championships automatically qualify.
| Conference | Team | Appearance | Last bid |
|---|---|---|---|
| America East | Vermont | 11th | 2024 |
| American | Memphis | 29th | 2023 |
| Atlantic 10 | Dayton | 20th | 2024 |
| ACC | Duke | 47th | 2024 |
| ASUN | Lipscomb | 2nd | 2018 |
| Big 12 | Kansas | 53rd | 2024 |
| Big East | UConn | 37th | 2024 |
| Big Sky | Weber State | 17th | 2016 |
| Big South | High Point | 1st | Never |
| Big Ten | Purdue | 34th | 2023 |
| Big West | UC Santa Barbara | 8th | 2023 |
| CAA | Charleston | 8th | 2024 |
| CUSA | Louisiana Tech | 6th | 1991 |
| Horizon | Milwaukee | 5th | 2014 |
| Ivy League | Princeton | 26th | 2023 |
| MAAC | Iona | 17th | 2023 |
| MAC | Akron | 7th | 2024 |
| MEAC | Howard | 5th | 2024 |
| Missouri Valley | Bradley | 10th | 2019 |
| Mountain West | Boise State | 11th | 2024 |
| NEC | Wagner | 3rd | 2024 |
| Ohio Valley | Morehead State | 10th | 2024 |
| Patriot | Navy | 12th | 1998 |
| SEC | Alabama | 26th | 2024 |
| Southern | Wofford | 6th | 2019 |
| Southland | McNeese | 4th | 2024 |
| SWAC | Texas Southern | 12th | 2023 |
| Summit League | South Dakota State | 7th | 2024 |
| Sun Belt | Arkansas State | 2nd | 1999 |
| WCC | Gonzaga | 27th | 2024 |
| WAC | Grand Canyon | 4th | 2024 |
Seeds
[edit]The tournament seeds and regions were determined through the NCAA basketball tournament selection process and were published by the selection committee after the brackets were released on March 17.
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*See First Four
Source:[2]
Tournament bracket
[edit]All times are listed in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)
First Four – Dayton, Ohio
[edit]The First Four games involved eight teams: the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams.
| March 19 – Midwest Regional | ||||
| 11 | Saint Mary's | 81 | ||
| 11 | Illinois | 87 | ||
| March 19 – East Regional | ||||
| 11 | Clemson | 82 | ||
| 11 | Providence | 64 | ||
| March 20 – Midwest Regional | ||||
| 16 | Texas Southern | 66 | ||
| 16 | Morehead State | 80 | ||
Midwest regional – Indianapolis, Indiana
[edit]| First round Round of 64 March 20-21 | Second round Round of 32 March 22-23 | Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 27 | Regional Final Elite 8 March 29 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Kansas | 78 | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Morehead State | 62 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Kansas | 71 | |||||||||||||||||
| Wichita – Fri/Sun | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Mississippi State | 77 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Mississippi State | 86 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Miami (FL) | 64 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Mississippi State | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Princeton | 72 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | St John's | 65 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Princeton | 88 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Princeton | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
| Providence – Fri/Sun | |||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Vermont | 72 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Indiana | 64 | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Vermont | 65 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Princeton | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Illinois | 80 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | San Diego State | 69 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Illinois | 85 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Illinois | 83 | |||||||||||||||||
| Lexington – Thu/Sat | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Alabama | 77 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Alabama | 95 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Lipscomb | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Illinois | 80 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Michigan | 67 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Michigan | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | NC State | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Michigan | 92 | |||||||||||||||||
| Denver – Thu/Sat | |||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Wofford | 80 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Arizona | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Wofford | 86 | |||||||||||||||||
Midwest regional final
[edit]March 29
6:09 p.m. EDT |
| No. 12 Princeton Tigers 76, No. 11 Illinois Fighting Illini 80 | ||
| Scoring by half: 23−27, 53-53 | ||
| Pts: Hall (28) Rebs: Hall(16) Asts: Girard III (3) |
Pts: Sears (22) Rebs: Nelson (10) Asts: Tied (5) | |
Lucas Oil Stadium – Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 19,181 Referees: Doug Shows, Terry Oglesby, Byron Jarrett |
Midwest regional all-tournament team
[edit]- PJ Hall (MOP) - Clemson
- Mark Sears - Alabama
- Grant Nelson - Alabama
- Joseph Girard III - Clemson
- Dillon Hunter - Clemson
West regional – San Francisco, California
[edit]| First round Round of 64 March 20-21 | Second round Round of 32 March 22-23 | Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 27 | Regional Final Elite 8 March 29 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | UConn | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Howard | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | UConn | 90 | |||||||||||||||||
| Providence – Thu/Sat | |||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | USC | 74 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Texas Tech | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | USC | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | UConn | 79 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Texas A&M | 52 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Texas A&M | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Bradley | 54 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Texas A&M | 77 | |||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland – Fri/Sun | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Creighton | 69 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Creighton | 82 | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Louisiana Tech | 53 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | UConn | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Auburn | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Ohio State | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Boise State | 83 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Boise State | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
| Lexington – Fri/Sun | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Auburn | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Auburn | 83 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Weber State | 64 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Auburn | 93 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Baylor | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Florida | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Maryland | 67 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Florida | 69 | |||||||||||||||||
| Denver – Thu/Sat | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Baylor | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Baylor | 77 | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Milwaukee | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
West regional final
[edit]March 29
8:49 p.m. EDT |
| No. 3 Auburn Tigers 70, No. 1 UConn Huskies 76 | ||
| Scoring by half: 32–32, 38-44 | ||
| Pts: Diarra (25) Rebs: Diarra (11) Asts: Pass (7) |
Pts: Ball (19) Rebs: Ball(11) Asts: Diarra (6) | |
Chase Center – San Francisco, California
Attendance: 19,227 Referees: James Breeding, Keith Kimble, Brian Dorsey |
West regional all-tournament team
[edit]- Solomon Ball (MOP) - UConn
- Hassan Diarra - UConn
- Samson Johnson - UConn
- Mohamed Diarra - NC State
- Breon Pass - NC State
South regional – Atlanta, Georgia
[edit]| First round Round of 64 March 20-21 | Second round Round of 32 March 22-23 | Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 27 | Regional Final Elite 8 March 29 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Houston | 51 | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | South Dakota State | 62 | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | South Dakota State | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
| Wichita – Fri/Sun | |||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Rutgers | 62 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Ole Miss | 58 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Rutgers | 62 | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | South Dakota State | 63 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Xavier | 90 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Xavier | 83 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | McNeese | 62 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Xavier | 85 | |||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland – Fri/Sun | |||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | High Point | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Tennessee | 93 | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | High Point | 95 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Xavier | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | North Carolina | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Cincinnati | 74 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Oregon | 71 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Cincinnati | 50 | |||||||||||||||||
| Raleigh – Thu/Sat | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | North Carolina | 91 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | North Carolina | 90 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Charleston | 82 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | North Carolina | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Gonzaga | 56 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Michigan State | 81 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Wake Forest | 74 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Michigan State | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
| Seattle – Fri/Sun | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Gonzaga | 93 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Gonzaga | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Iona | 58 | |||||||||||||||||
South regional final
[edit]March 30
5:05 p.m. EDT |
| No. 5 Xavier Musketeers 73, No. 3 North Carolina Tar Heels 66 | ||
| Scoring by half: 21−27, 52-39 | ||
| Pts: Cadeau (29) Rebs: Washington (11) Asts: Cadeau (6) |
Pts: Cryer (32) Rebs: Roberts (9) Asts: Cryer (4) | |
State Farm Arena – Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 16,969 Referees: Michael Irving, Brian O'Connell, Doug Sirmons |
South regional all-tournament team
[edit]- LJ Cryer (MOP) - Houston
- J'Wan Roberts - Houston
- Elliot Cadeau - North Carolina
- Jalen Washington - North Carolina
- RJ Davis - North Carolina
East regional – Newark, New Jersey
[edit]| First round Round of 64 March 20-21 | Second round Round of 32 March 22-23 | Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 28 | Regional Final Elite 8 March 30 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Duke | 90 | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Wagner | 48 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Duke | 83 | |||||||||||||||||
| Raleigh – Fri/Sun | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Kentucky | 80 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Kentucky | 77 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Dayton | 74 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Duke | 79 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Grand Canyon | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | UCLA | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Grand Canyon | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Grand Canyon | 67 | |||||||||||||||||
| Seattle – Thu/Sat | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Texas | 52 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Texas | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Arkansas State | 65 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Duke | 65 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Pittsburgh | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Memphis | 88 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Clemson | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Memphis | 88 | |||||||||||||||||
| Milwaukee – Thu/Sat | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Purdue | 67 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Purdue | 89 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | UC Santa Barbara | 71 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Memphis | 58 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Pittsburgh | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Arkansas | 57 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Pittsburgh | 71 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Pittsburgh | 67 | |||||||||||||||||
| Milwaukee – Thu/Sat | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Iowa State | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Iowa State | 85 | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Akron | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
East regional final
[edit]March 30
2:20 p.m. EDT |
| No. 10 Pittsburgh Panthers 70, No. 1 Duke Blue Devils 65 | ||
| Scoring by half: 34−36, 36−29 | ||
| Pts: Kalkbrenner (37) Rebs: Tied (4) Asts: Scheierman(8) |
Pts: Flagg (40) Rebs: Flagg (16) Asts: Proctor (7) | |
Prudential Center – Newark, New Jersey
Attendance: 18,577 Referees: Ron Groover, Marques Pettigrew, Ray Natali |
East regional all-tournament team
[edit]- Ryan Kalkbrenner (MOP) - Creighton
- Baylor Scheierman - Creighton
- Cooper Flagg - Duke
- Tyrese Proctor - Duke
- Khaman Maluach - Duke
Final Four – San Antonio, Texas
[edit]| National Semifinals Final Four Saturday, April 5 | National Championship Game Monday, April 7 | ||||||||
| MW11 | Illinois | 87 | |||||||
| W1 | UConn | 78 | |||||||
| MW11 | Illinois | 90 | |||||||
| E10 | Pittsburgh | 74 | |||||||
| S5 | Xavier | 71 | |||||||
| E10 | Pittsburgh | 79 | |||||||
National semifinals
[edit]April 5
6:09 p.m. EDT |
| MW11 Illinois Fighting Illini 87, W1 UConn Huskies 78 | ||
| Scoring by half: 29−35, 58−43 | ||
| Pts: PJ Hall, 20 Rebs: PJ Hall, 6 Asts: Joseph Girard III, 3 |
Pts: Hassan Diarra, 20 Rebs: Solomon Ball, 12 Asts: Hassan Diarra, 6 | |
Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 74,720 Referees: Keith Kimble, Kipp Kissinger, Michael Reed |
CBS
|
April 5
8:49 p.m. EDT |
| E10 Pittsburgh Panthers 79, S5 Xavier Musketeers 71 | ||
| Scoring by half: 40−44, 39-27 | ||
| Pts: Ryan Kalkbrenner, 24 Rebs: Ryan Kalkbrenner, 15 Asts: Tied, 3 |
Pts: LJ Cryer, 21 Rebs: Tied, 8 Asts: J'Wan Roberts, 9 | |
Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 74,720 Referees: Ron Groover, Patrick Adams, Paul Szelc |
National championship
[edit]CBS
|
April 7, 2025
9:20 p.m. EDT |
| MW11 Illinois Fighting Illini 75, E10 Pittsburgh Panthers 47 | ||
| Scoring by half: 30−36, 60-38 | ||
| Pts: Hassan Diarra, 37 Rebs: Solomon Ball, 10 Asts: Solomon Ball, 8 |
Pts: LJ Cryer, 20 Rebs: J'Wan Roberts, 8 Asts: LJ Cryer, 7 | |
Alamodome - San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 74,423 Referees: Jeffrey Anderson, Terry Oglesby, Roger Ayers |
Game summaries and tournament notes
[edit]Tournament upsets
[edit]Per the NCAA, an upset occurs "when the losing team in an NCAA tournament game was seeded at least five seed lines better than the winning team."[3]
The 2025 tournament saw a total of 13 upsets, with seven in the first round, five in the second round, and one in the Elite Eight.
| Round | West | Midwest | South | East |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round of 64 | No. 11 NC State defeated No. 6 Florida, 91-79 | No. 12 Bradley defeated No. 5 Xavier, 67-64
No. 11 Illinois defeated No. 6 Miami (FL), 87-66 |
No. 13 High Point defeated No. 4 Indiana, 75-63 | No. 13 Arkansas State defeated No. 4 Texas, 74-64
No. 11 Boise State defeated No. 6 Rutgers, 80-70 No. 15 Samford defeated No. 2 Iowa State, 90-79 |
| Round of 32 | No. 11 NC State defeated No. 3 Baylor, 80-78
No. 10 Wake Forest defeated No. 2 Gonzaga, 80-75 |
No. 9 Clemson defeated No. 1 Kansas, 76-58
No. 12 Bradley defeated No. 4 Purdue, 64-63 |
No. 13 High Point defeated No. 5 Texas A&M, 102-68 | None |
| Sweet 16 | None | None | None | None |
| Elite 8 | None | No. 9 Clemson defeated No. 2 Alabama, 89-85 in OT | None | None |
| Final 4 | None | |||
| National Championship | None | |||
- ^ "Future Dates & Sites". NCAA. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
- ^ Salerno, Cameron (March 17, 2024). "March Madness 2024: Committee reveals official NCAA Tournament bracket seed list from 1-68". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ Wittry, Andy (March 15, 2023). "Here's how to pick March Madness men's upsets, according to the data". NCAA. Archived from the original on March 12, 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-12.