March Madness 2025: Predicting Top 4 Seeds and Men's Championship Bracket Favorites

College basketball fans, Selection Sunday is just two days away.

The identity of the four top seeds is nearly certain.

However, the order of seeding remains up in the air after Duke freshman sensation Cooper Flagg suffered a left ankle sprain in the first half of the team's ACC Tournament quarterfinal win over Georgia Tech on Thursday.

While Blue Devils’ head coach Jon Scheyer told media that Flagg’s X-rays were negative, the third-year coach did mention that it’s “a long shot” that Flagg plays in the ACC tournament semifinals.

Flagg's ultimate status can possibly determine whether the Selection Committee ends up moving the Blue Devils from a likely top No. 1 seed to the third No. 1 seed.

Here’s everything you need to know for the 2025 men’s NCAA Tournament, including the projected favorites and seeding predictions.

Predicting Top Four Seeds

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No. 1 seeds

Auburn, Duke, Florida, Houston

No. 2 seeds

Alabama, Michigan State, Tennessee, Texas Tech

No. 3 seeds

Iowa State, Kentucky, St. John's, Texas A&M

No. 4 seeds

BYU, Clemson, Purdue, Wisconsin

Favorite: Auburn

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After sitting atop the AP Top 25 for eight straight weeks, Auburn came back to earth in the final week of the regular season, losing consecutive games to Texas A&M and Alabama.

But it’d be foolish to let Auburn’s back-to-back losses in the final week of the regular season overshadow their year-round dominance.

Playing the nation’s second-toughest schedule, Auburn went 27-4 in the regular season, winning 15 of their 19 Quad 1 games.

Three of the four Tigers’ losses came against teams that rank in the top six in the NET Rankings, while their fourth loss came on the road against a likely No. 3 tournament seed in Texas A&M.

The Tigers rank first in offensive efficiency per KenPom, and while Wooden Award finalist Johni Broome is undoubtedly their leader, the team poses threats from all over.

Denver Jones, Miles Kelly, and Chad Baker-Mazara are all averaging double-figure points on at least 38.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

Then, there's freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford, who's seemingly risen to the occasion all year long.

Coach Bruce Pearl's squad is the deepest of all tournament teams and should be expected to reach the Final Four.

Favorite: Duke

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Despite Cooper Flagg’s status hanging over them, Duke still remains a firm favorite to win this year’s tournament.

The Blue Devils have been one of the most dominant teams all season long, going 19-1 in regular-season conference play—16 of which were double-digit wins.

While their strength of schedule is questionable (42nd overall), they boast impressive non-conference wins against both Auburn and Illinois.

Jon Scheyer’s squad has few weaknesses all-around, ranking as the only team in the top five in both offensive and defensive efficiency per KenPom.

Even with Flagg's unknown status, this team boasts exceptional depth with rookie guard Kon Knueppel, junior Tyrese Proctor, and Isaiah Evans, who has hit at least three three-pointers in five of his last seven games.

At the very least, a Final Four berth should be expected for the Blue Devils.