Printable NCAA Bracket 2025: Downloadable Men's Bracket and Picks Advice

It's a glorious time to be a college basketball fan! Conference tournaments have wrapped, and the NCAA men's and women's tournaments are set to begin in a matter of days.

The men's tournament will kick off on Tuesday with the first of four play-in games. It'll then run, with occasional breaks, through April 7, when the two remaining teams will face off in San Antonio for the NCAA Championship Game.

The tournament was set on Sunday, which means plenty of fans will spend the next few days analyzing the field and preparing for various bracket challenges and games.

Here, we'll examine what lies ahead and dive into some advice for those difficult early-round matchups.

Click here to play the NCAA March Madness Men's Bracket Challenge.

First Four Schedule

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Xavier F Dailyn Swain

While most bracket challenges don't award bonus points for the four play-in games, there's no reason to miss out on the tournament's opening course.

Tuesday, March 18

16. Alabama State vs. 16. St. Francis PA: 6:40 p.m. ET on TruTV

11. San Diego State vs. 11. North Carolina: 9:10 p.m. ET on TruTV

Wednesday, March 19

16. Mount St. Mary's vs. 16. American University: 6:40 p.m. ET on TruTV

11. Xavier vs. 11. Texas: 9:10 p.m. ET on TruTV

*All first four games at University of Dayton's UD Arena. Full schedule and venue information can be found at NCAA.com.

2025 Bracket and Overview

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Duke's Cooper Flagg

Once the first four games are finished, the field of 64 will be set. First-round games will be held on Thursday and Friday, followed by second-round games on Saturday and Sunday.

The favorites are relatively clear. Auburn, Duke, Florida and Houston are the No. 1 seeds, and Auburn was awarded the top seed. The SEC will be well-represented during the tournament with a record 14 of its 16 teams earning bids.

There's a good chance that the SEC will send at least one school deep into the bracket, due to the talent of its top squads.

"Whether it was Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, us — all four of those teams have a very realistic shot to make it to San Antonio,” Florida coach Todd Golden said, per The Athletic's Brian Hamilton.

Fans will, of course, have plenty of chances to root for their favorite underdogs in the coming days.

A downloadable and printable bracket can be found at NCAA.com.

Picks Advice

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Akron's Isaiah Gray

The first tip we can offer is to do a little research before finalizing any bracket. Some fans have inevitably watched almost every second of every game this season, but for everyone else, it's good to get to know the teams involved.

Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller and Joel Reuter offer up plenty of information in B/R's NCAA Tournament power rankings. It's a great resource for those who want to know the strengths, weaknesses, best players, and biggest wins of all 68 of this year's participants.

Historical data can also be extremely helpful. USA Today's Jim Sergent offers plenty of that, including trends that can help with picking upsets and final-four participants.

For example, all four No. 1 seeds have only made the final four once, in 2008. Yet, top seeds have only lost twice in the opening round and have won the entire tournament at least every other year since 2005.

And while it's worth picking a few upsets, it makes the most sense to do so in the opening round. Since the bracket moved to 64 teams in 1985, tournaments have averaged 8.5 upsets per year—not including No. 8 vs. No. 9 games—with an average of 4.7 coming in Round 1.

The upset average drops to three in Round 2, 0.26 in Round 3, and 0.3 in the Elite Eight.

In other words, it's OK to pick a sleeper to make a run, but picking upset after upset, round after round, probably isn't the best strategy.

Don't Get Carried Away With Cinderella Dreams

So, history suggests that we're not going to see Duke, Florida, Auburn, and Houston in the Final Four this year. That doesn't mean, however, that simply penciling in a No. 2 seed in one of the slots will guarantee a path to victory.

At least one team seeded 7th or lower has made it to the Final Four every year since 2011, with the exception of the 2019 tournament. According to Sergent, if a 10th, 11th, or 12th seed wins its first-round matchup, it has a 40-percent chance of at least advancing to the Sweet 16.

While everyone loves a good Cinderella story, though, it's wise not to get carried away. 15th and 16th seeds have won a combined 13 times in the 64-team tournament.

No team seeded lower than 11th has reached the Final Four and Np. 11 seeds have only gotten there six times. N.C. State did pull off the feat last year, but the 11th seeds should probably be your cutoff for deep tournament runs.

It's also wise to avoid picking a Cinderella to win it all, unless you're a huge believer in UConn. Since Florida won the tournament in 2006 as a No. 3 seed, a 1st or 2nd seed has won every year tournament except for three.

Connecticut won as a 3rd seed in 2011, as a 7th seed in 2014, and as a No. 4 seed in 2023. UConn is a No. 8 seed this year, so even picking the Huskies could be a stretch.

You'll probably want to pick a few upsets in the first round, though, and perhaps a couple in the second. Of course, even opening-round upsets can be hard to predict.

Basketball is a game of styles, so finding a lower seed that has the speed, size, or range-shooting needed to hang with a "better" program is often a good place to start.

Bleacher Report's Joe Tansey, for example, recently highlighted No. 13 Akron and its tempo and shooting that could allow for an upset over No. 4 Arizona.

No. 12 UC-San Diego has an older roster, partially built through the transfer portal, that plays fundamentally sound team basketball. They shoot well from range and typically win the turnover battle, and while that style doesn't always dominate highlight reels, it can make a team dangerous in March.

The Tritons will have to get past North Carolina in the first four, but they'll be a Cinderella to consider if they do.

Our final, and most important, tip is to have fun. And, if you have the time, fill out a few brackets so that one stunning result or bizarre finish doesn't leave you throwing your picks sheet out the window.