March Madness 2025: Odds for First Four, 1st Round of NCAA Men's Tournament Bracket

The Field of 68 is set.

After an exciting week of conference tournaments, teams are preparing to battle it out in the NCAA Tournament. It's the time of year for upsets and Cinderella runs, and we should be in for an exciting tournament.

Ahead of the start of the tournament later this week, odds for the First Four games and First Round games have been set, via DraftKings Sportsbook.

First Four
No. 11 North Carolina (-4.5) vs. No. 11 San Diego State
No. 11 Xavier (-1.5) vs. No. 11 Texas
No. 16 St. Francis vs. No. 16 Alabama State (-3.5)
No. 16 Mount St. Mary's vs. No. 16 American (-2.5)

South Region (Atlanta)
No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 16 Alabama State/Saint Francis
No. 8 Louisville (-2.5) vs. No. 9 Creighton
No. 5 Michigan (-2.5) vs. No. 12 UC San Diego
No. 4 Texas A&M (-7.5) vs. No. 13 Yale
No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 San Diego State/North Carolina
No. 3 Iowa State (-14.5) vs. No. 14 Lipscomb
No. 7 Marquette (-3.5) vs. No. 10 New Mexico
No. 2 Michigan State (-19.5) vs. No. 15 Bryant

East Region (Newark)
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 American/Mount St. Mary's
No. 8 Mississippi State vs. No. 9 Baylor (-1.5)
No. 5 Oregon (-6.5) vs. No. 12 Liberty
No. 4 Arizona (-14.5) vs. No. 13 Akron
No. 6 BYU (-2.5) vs. No. 11 VCU
No. 3 Wisconsin (-17.5) vs. No. 14 Montana 
No. 7 Saint Mary's (CA) (-4.5) vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt
No. 2 Alabama (-22.5) vs. No. 15 Robert Morris

Midwest Region (Indianapolis)
No. 1 Houston (-29.5) vs. No. 16 SIUE
No. 8 Gonzaga (-6.5) vs. No. 9 Georgia
No. 5 Clemson (-7.5) vs. No. 12 McNeese
No. 4 Purdue (-9.5) vs. No. 13 High Point
No. 6 Illinois vs. No. 11 Texas/Xavier
No. 3 Kentucky (-10.5) vs. No. 14 Troy
No. 7 UCLA (-4.5) vs. No. 10 Utah State
No. 2 Tennessee (-19.5) vs. No. 15 Wofford

West Region (San Francisco)
No. 1 Florida (-27.5) vs. No. 16 Norfolk State
No. 8 UConn (-4.5) vs. No. 9 Oklahoma 
No. 5 Memphis vs. No. 12 Colorado State (-3.5)
No. 4 Maryland (-11.5) vs. No. 13 Grand Canyon
No. 6 Missouri (-6.5) vs. No. 11 Drake
No. 3 Texas Tech (-15.5) vs. No. 14 UNCW
No. 7 Kansas (-4.5) vs. No. 10 Arkansas
No. 2 St. John's (NY) (-18.5) vs. No. 15 Omaha

Some of the odds for the first round might stand out at first, like Michigan only being favored by 3.5 points against UC San Diego, but a closer look shows why the Tritons are only slight underdogs.

UC San Diego finished the season 30-4 and is currently ranked No. 36 in KenPom's net ratings, just one spot below UConn. The Tritons might not have the prestige of some Power 5 schools, but they could certainly give the Wolverines some trouble.

The No. 5 vs. No. 12 game between Memphis and Colorado State is another interesting one with the Rams being favored despite being the lower seed. The Tigers have a decent resume, heading into the tournament 29-5, but Colorado State has a top-50 offense and defense in KenPom, so it should be quite the matchup.

The No. 8 vs. No. 9 games always tend to be close, and the initial odds for Mississippi State vs. Baylor suggest that should be true again this year. While many first-round matchups are blowouts, the games between close-seeded teams are always fun to watch.

All of the No. 1 and No. 2 seed teams are double-digit favorites, but as we've learned over the years, nobody is safe from an upset.