Gonzaga fought its way to a 26th consecutive NCAA Tournament bracket, and now the Zags will try to avoid going one and done for the first time in 17 years. The No. 8 seed Bulldogs were dealt an opening-round matchup against No. 9 seed Georgia, which has won four of its last five games. Gonzaga has made it to the Sweet 16 the past nine seasons, but that streak could be in jeopardy in the March Madness bracket 2025. If Gonzaga is able to beat Georgia in the first round of 2025 March Madness brackets, Mark Few's men will likely face No. 1 seed Houston in the second round.
Can Gonzaga make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament 2025, or will a team like Houston, Tennessee, Kentucky or Purdue represent the Midwest Region in the Final Four? This year's college basketball season has shown that anyone can be beaten, so which potential 2025 March Madness upsets should be on your radar? Before you make your 2025 NCAA Tournament predictions, see the March Madness bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
Last year, SportsLine's computer simulation nailed massive upsets, including huge wins by No. 11 Oregon over No. 6 South Carolina, No. 11 NC State over No. 6 Texas Tech, No. 10 Colorado over No. 7 Florida, and No. 12 James Madison over No. 5 Wisconsin last year. The model has beaten over 91 percent of all CBS Sports bracket players in four of the past six tournaments.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has nailed 24 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception in 2016 and nailed UConn's championship run last year. It nailed 13 teams in the Sweet 16 and was all over Alabama's Cinderella run to the Final Four as a 4-seed.
Now, SportsLine's advanced computer model has simulated the entire 2025 March Madness bracket 10,000 times to come up with the perfect 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket and find out which teams will pull off the biggest upsets. You shouldn't even think about making a pick without seeing what their model has to say.
Top 2025 March Madness bracket upset picks
One South Region surprise the model has identified: the First Four winner of North Carolina vs. San Diego State will knock off No. 6 Ole Miss in the first round. Ole Miss hasn't seen the Round of 32 in 12 years, while the Tar Heels and Aztecs have much more recent and notable March Madness success. San Diego State was the national runner-up in 2023 and made the Sweet 16 last year. UNC also had a Sweet 16 run in 2024 and was in the National Championship Game in the prior NCAA Tournament, falling to champion Kansas in 2022.
The Rebels were ranked most of the season, peaking at No. 16, but they fell out of the Top 25 entirely in late February. They enter March Madness with five losses over their last eight games, with a 13.8-point average margin of defeat in those setbacks. They also narrowly scraped by in the three wins, prevailing by three points or fewer in each of them. Ole Miss is going in the wrong direction entering the tournament, and its stay could be short-lived in facing a First Four team that will have confidence after winning on Tuesday.
Another South Region surprise the model has identified: Creighton beats Louisville in the all-important 8-9 matchup. Louisville had a successful season and is making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2019. The Cardinals posted a 27-7 record and reached the ACC Tournament Championship Game, eventually losing to Duke in the title game.
However, Louisville has struggled with consistency on the defensive end of the floor, ranking 86th in scoring defense (68.9) and 98th in the country in field goal percentage defense (42.48). Creighton, meanwhile, is one of the biggest teams in the NCAA Tournament, led by veteran center Ryan Kalkbrenner. The 7-foot-1 senior presents a significant matchup problem for Louisville, and enters this first round matchup averaging 19.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. He's knocking down 65.5% of his field goals, which ranks fourth in the nation. See which other 2025 March Madness matchups to target here.
How to make 2025 NCAA Tournament 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 region features two mammoth upsets in the first round, including one by a team that's only ever won a single tournament game, and see which 6-seed makes the Sweet 16, all from the model that's nailed 24 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds.