Clemson has recorded 27 wins this season, the most in program history, and the Tigers were rewarded with the No. 5 seed in the 2025 NCAA bracket. No. 5 seeds are 101-55 all-time against No. 12 seeds in the first round of the NCAA Tournament bracket. The Tigers made it to the Elite Eight last season, but will have a tough road if they want to advance to their first ever Final Four in San Antonio, with Houston, Purdue, Kentucky and Tennessee among the experienced teams in the Midwest Region of the 2025 March Madness bracket.
Clemson begins its quest to reach the Final Four on Thursday against No. 12 McNeese State. Should you back Clemson to make a deep run in your 2025 March Madness bracket picks, or should you back another No. 5 seed like Memphis, Michigan or Oregon? Before making any 2025 March Madness bracket predictions, be sure to check out the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
Their proven projection model has simulated every game in the tournament 10,000 times. It has absolutely crushed its March Madness picks recently, beating over 91 percent of all CBS Sports brackets in four of the past six tournaments. It was all over UConn's championship run a year ago and nailed 13 teams in the Sweet 16. It also nailed Alabama's Cinderella run to the Final Four as a 4-seed.
It knows how to spot an upset as well. The same model has produced brackets that have nailed 24 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception in 2016. There's simply no reason to rely on luck when there's proven technology to help you dominate your 2025 March Madness bracket picks.
Now, with the 2025 NCAA bracket revealed, the model is simulating the matchups and its results are in. You can only see it over at SportsLine.
Three 2025 March Madness bracket games to watch
One of the most intriguing 2025 March Madness matchups to watch: No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 12 UC San Diego in the South region. UC San Diego is garnering a lot of attention heading into its matchup against the Wolverines. That's because the Tritons have won 15 straight games and feature one of the nation's most suffocating defenses. UC San Diego is giving up just 61.6 points per game, which ranks sixth in college basketball. Michigan, meanwhile, seems to have found some rhythm which helped the Wolverines win the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan is led by a pair of seven-footers in Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf, which could create a mismatch down-low against UC San Diego.
Another 2025 NCAA Tournament matchup to keep an eye on is No. 8 Louisville vs. No. 9 Creighton in the South Region. If you're a fan of star power, this matchup is one to keep an eye on. Louisville has won 11 of its last 12 games behind the brilliance of Terrence Edwards Jr. and Chucky Hepburn, who are both averaging over 16.0 points per game. Creighton is led by center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who's producing 19.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. Kalkbrenner joined Patrick Ewing as the only other player to win the Big East Defensive Player of the Year four times.
Another 2025 March Madness game to watch out for: No. 4 seed Texas A&M will battle No. 13 seed Yale in the South Region. The Aggies offense isn't pretty as it ranks among the bottom five of the 68 tourney teams in both field goal percentage and three-point percentage. It relies on offensive boards to score and leads the nation in that regard, but its seventh-ranked defense, per KenPom, makes up for the inconsistent offense. With Yale, it allowed 92 points in a loss in its only game versus a 2025 NCAA tourney team. However, the offense has top-12 national rankings in both FG percentage and 3P percentage, and the Bulldogs knocked off a fourth-seeded Auburn team in last year's tournament. You can see the model's 2025 NCAA bracket picks here.
How to make 2025 NCAA bracket predictions
Who wins every tournament-defining matchup? And which teams will make surprising runs through the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket? With the model's track record of calling bracket-busting upsets, you'll want to see which stunners it's calling this year before locking in any 2025 NCAA bracket picks.
So what's the optimal NCAA Tournament 2025 bracket? And which NCAA Tournament Cinderella teams will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which double-digit seeds you can back with confidence, all from the model that called UConn's national title and nailed 13 Sweet 16 teams in 2024.