Men's Bracketology: 2025 NCAA Tournament

By Joe Lunardi Updated: 11/12/2024 at 11:00 a.m. ET

A new college basketball season is fully underway. Here at Bracketology HQ, we'll be tracking every result from November until April, ranking and reranking what will eventually constitute the NCAA tournament's field of 68. We'll update the bracket every Tuesday for the remainder of November and December, before moving to twice weekly updates when conference play picks up in January 2025.

Bracket Watch

The Iron Bowl, as per usual, will pit Alabama against Auburn for bloodthirsty bragging rights on the last day of November. But it is just the third most important game between the two schools in the 2024-25 sports calendar. Feb. 15 and March 8 are the dates to circle, when the SEC rivals meet on the hardwood for a whole lot more than bragging rights. One week of college hoops in, and they're two of the top five teams in the country. Their regular-season encounters could decide not only a conference championship but No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. Alabama began the year ranked near the top of every poll, then Auburn joined the party by posting the most impressive win of the young season -- fighting its way to a victory against higher ranked Houston. The immediate result was a leap to No. 5, knocking on the door of the top line. It's very possible Bruce Pearl's deep and experienced team, boasting nine fourth- and fifth-year players, is just getting started.

On the Bubble

Last Four Byes

Last Four In

First Four Out

Next Four Out

68-Team Bracket

MIDWEST (INDIANAPOLIS)

Wichita

Cleveland

Denver

Providence

EAST (NEWARK)

Raleigh

Providence

Wichita

Lexington

SOUTH (ATLANTA)

Lexington

Seattle

Raleigh

Milwaukee

WEST (SAN FRANCISCO)

Seattle

Milwaukee

Cleveland

Denver

Conference Breakdown

Conference

Team

Photo illo by ESPN Illustration, additional photos courtesy of Getty Images, Associated Press, Imagn, USA TODAY Sports, Icon Sportswire, EPA/Shutterstock

RULES

ESPN's Bracketology efforts are focused on projecting the NCAA tournament field just as we expect the NCAA Division I basketball committee to select the field in March. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi uses the same data points favored by the committee, including strength of schedule and other season-long indicators, including the NET and team-sheet data similar to what is available to the NCAA, in his projections of the field. Visit the NCAA's website for a fuller understanding of NCAA selection criteria.

68-Team Bracket

The 68-team bracket is the standard version of the NCAA tournament field that has been in place since 2011. If the 2021 field is comprised of 68 teams, there will be some key differences to past years, however.

The primary adjustment from a normal year is, of course, the playing of the entire NCAA tournament at a single site. This eliminates the need for geographical considerations in seeding. Additionally, there will be at least one fewer automatic qualifier this season, as the Ivy League's decision to forgo the 2020-21 season reduces the number of AQ entries to 31 for this season.

48-Team Bracket

In this projection, a condensed selection process would reduce the field by 10 at-large teams and 10 automatic qualifiers (the latter of which still receive a revenue unit). The top four seeds in each region would receive a bye into the second round, with four first-round games per region - 5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10 and 8 vs. 9 - being played without fans on the higher seed's home court.

To minimize travel, first-round pairings will be guided by geography to the greatest extent possible. And the reduced field results in only 32 teams competing at the central site. All participants must post a minimum .500 conference record - the "Lunardi Rule" - for at-large consideration.

16-Team Bracket

In this projection, the committee selects and seeds the 16 best available teams. There are no automatic qualifiers, although all non-competing conference champions receive the designated revenue unit.

To maintain some sense of national balance, conference participation is capped at four teams. And no region shall have more than one team from the same conference.

ESPN

Bracket Watch

Top Overall Seed

First Team Out

Last Team In

On the Bubble

Last Four Byes

Last Four In

First Four Out

Next Four Out

68-Team Bracket

MIDWEST (INDIANAPOLIS)

Wichita

Cleveland

Denver

Providence

EAST (NEWARK)

Raleigh

Providence

Wichita

Lexington

SOUTH (ATLANTA)

Lexington

Seattle

Raleigh

Milwaukee

WEST (SAN FRANCISCO)

Seattle

Milwaukee

Cleveland

Denver

Conference Breakdown

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