Auburn, Duke Among 1 Seeds in 2025 NCAA Men's Tournament Bracket Preview

One month away from Selection Sunday for the 2025 NCAA men's tournament, the selection committee has shared its first preview of what the top 16 seeds look like based on the current standings.

The top four seeds in the tournament right now are Auburn (No. 1 overall seed), Alabama, Duke and Florida.

Here is the full bracket with the top 16 teams:

The SEC could become the second conference ever to have three No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. The ACC did it in 2019 with eventual national champion Virginia, Duke and North Carolina.

Auburn is in its fifth consecutive week as the No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Its tied with Kansas for the longest run atop the rankings by a team this season.

The Tigers were able to maintain their status in this week's poll, despite losing at home to Florida on Feb. 8. That game helped elevate the Gators into the conversation for the No. 1 overall seed.

There is almost guaranteed to be a shakeup in the committee's current rankings by the end of Saturday. The marquee game of the day is the SEC showdown between Auburn and Alabama.

A close game either way doesn't figure to hurt either team, but a Crimson Tide victory would seemingly be enough to leapfrog their conference rival. These two teams in theory could play three times before the NCAA tournament begins. They also meet in the regular-season finale on March 8 and could square off in the SEC tournament.

Duke is on the one line despite its own recent setback with a 77-71 loss to Clemson on Feb. 8. The Blue Devils did rebound on Wednesday with a win over California. They also have the benefit of a head-to-head win over Auburn back in December to enhance their resume.

Per ESPN's basketball power index, Duke is the best team in the nation, with Houston a close second.

The Cougars' signature win of the season so far was against Kansas on Jan. 25, but their hopes for a No. 1 seed could be hindered by head-to-head losses against Auburn and Alabama.

Things could change in Houston's favor because three of its next four games are against teams currently ranked in the top 12 of the AP poll, starting with Saturday's showdown against Arizona at McKale Center.

The race for the final No. 1 seed figures to be intense over these next four weeks. Florida is currently in that spot right now on the strength of a 21-3 overall record, a 30-point win over Tennessee and that recent victory over Auburn.

Tennessee did get revenge on the Gators in the rematch on Feb. 1 with a 64-44 win.

Of all the teams on the one line right now, the Gators have the worst strength of schedule (No. 46) and non-conference strength of schedule (112th). Tennessee, by comparison, is 28th and 87th in those categories.

The key stretch for the Gators comes at the very end of the regular season when they play Texas A&M, Alabama and Mississippi. If they can win two of those games and have a good run in the SEC tournament, it will solidify their spot on the top line of the NCAA tournament.

Selection Sunday is on March 16, with the first four games being played on March 18 and 19.