The 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's college basketball national champion for the 2024–25 season. The 86th annual edition of the tournament began on March 18, 2025, and concluded on April 7 with the championship game at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) broke the record for the most bids earned to the tournament, with 14 of the 16 teams qualifying. Each regional final featured at least one SEC team. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) had historic lows, with only four teams earning bids, the smallest percentage of the conference since tournament expansion in 1975. Big South champion High Point, Big West champion UC San Diego, Ohio Valley champion SIU Edwardsville, and Summit League champion Omaha made their tournament debuts. ASUN champion Lipscomb made its second-ever appearance, its first since 2018. America East champion Bryant also made its second-ever appearance, its first since 2022, and its first time in the first round. NEC champion Saint Francis also made its second-ever appearance, the first since 1991. A week after losing in the First Four, Saint Francis announced they would move down from Division I to Division III. UC San Diego qualified in its first year of eligibility, becoming only the fourth school since 1972 to achieve this.
This was the second time since the First Four was established in 2011 that no teams in the First Four advanced past the first round, and the first since 2019. For the first time since 2017, no team seeded lower than 12 made it past the first round. In the first round, the Big Ten went 8–0, setting an NCAA record for the most wins without a loss by any conference. The eight total wins were also a record, matched by the SEC in the same first round (8–5). In doing so, both conferences combined to represent 50% of the field in the second round. In the ACC, only Duke advanced past the first round, the first time since at-large bids were granted that multiple teams from that conference failed to reach the second round.
With 10-seed Arkansas advancing to the Sweet 16, it marked the 17th consecutive occurrence in which at least one double-digit seed advanced to the regional semifinals. UConn was attempting to be the first team to win three consecutive titles since UCLA won seven consecutive from 1967 to 1973, but its elimination by the eventual champion Florida in the second round marked the seventh time in the last eight tournaments that the defending champion failed to make the Sweet 16. For the first time since the tournament's 1985 expansion to 64 teams, the Sweet 16 was composed entirely of teams from the Power Four conferences (SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC).
Though recent tournaments were some of the most upset-prone, 2025 had some of the fewest upsets in NCAA tournament history. No top-four seed lost in the first round, and 10th-seeded Arkansas was the only Sweet 16 team with a higher seed than a #6 seed. All 12 games of the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight were won by the higher-seeded team. As a result, the Elite Eight had four #1 seeds, three #2 seeds, and one #3 seed, tying it with 2007 as the lowest seed total for an Elite Eight in tournament history, and all four #1 seeds made the Final Four, an occurrence only matched by the 2008 tournament (which was also played in San Antonio). The Final Four were the four #1 seeds: Florida, Duke, Houston, and Auburn. The championship matchup was between Florida and Houston. Florida defeated Houston, 65–63, to claim its third title, and its first since 2007.
Tournament procedure
Out of 355 eligible Division I teams, 68 participated in the tournament. A total of 31 automatic bids are awarded to each program that wins a conference tournament. The remaining 37 bids are issued "at-large", with selections extended by the NCAA selection committee on Selection Sunday (March 16). The selection committee also created seeds for the entire field from 1 to 68.
Eight teams (the four-lowest seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams) play in the First Four. The winners of these games will advance to the main tournament bracket.
+First four outNETSchoolConferenceRecord51West VirginiaBig 1219–1354IndianaBig Ten19–1341Ohio State17–1544Boise StateMWC24–10
Schedule and venues The following were the sites selected to host each round of the 2025 tournament:
First Four March 18 and 19 University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)
First and second rounds (Subregionals) March 20 and 22 Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence, Rhode Island (Host: Providence College) Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky) Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita, Kansas (Host: Wichita State University) Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado (Host: Mountain West Conference) March 21 and 23 Rocket Arena, Cleveland, Ohio (Host: Mid-American Conference) Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Host: Marquette University) Lenovo Center, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University) Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington (Host: University of Washington)
Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 27 and 29 East Regional Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey (Host: Seton Hall University) West Regional Chase Center, San Francisco, California (Host: San Francisco of University) March 28 and 30 South Regional State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Institute of Technology) Midwest Regional Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana (Hosts: Horizon League, IU-Indianapolis)
National semifinals and championship game (Final Four) April 5 and 7 Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas (Hosts: UTSA, University of the Incarnate Word)
San Antonio hosted the Final Four for the fifth time, having previously hosted in 2018.
Qualification and selection of teams
The 68 teams came from 35 states and the District of Columbia.
Automatic qualifiers Teams who won their conference championships (31) automatically qualify. +Automatic qualifiers in the 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournamentConferenceTeamAppearanceLast bidAmerica East Bryant2nd2022American Memphis 29th2023 Atlantic 10 VCU20th2023ACC Duke47th2024ASUN Lipscomb2nd2018Big 12 Houston26th2024Big East St. John's31st2019Big Sky Montana13th2019Big South High Point1stNeverBig Ten Michigan32nd2022Big West UC San Diego 1stNeverCAA UNC Wilmington7th2017CUSA Liberty6th2021Horizon Robert Morris9th2015Ivy League Yale8th2024MAAC Mount St. Mary's7th2021MAC Akron7th2024MEAC Norfolk State4th2022Missouri Valley Drake8th2024Mountain West Colorado State13th2024NECSaint Francis2nd1991Ohio ValleySIU Edwardsville1stNeverPatriot American4th2014SEC Florida25th2024SouthernWofford6th2019Southland McNeese4th2024SWAC Alabama State5th2011Summit League Omaha1stNeverSun Belt Troy3rd2017WAC Grand Canyon4th2024WCC Gonzaga27th2024
Seeds
The tournament seeds and regions are determined through the NCAA basketball tournament selection process and were published by the selection committee after the brackets are released on March 16. +East Regional – Prudential Center, Newark, NJSeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall seedBerth typeLast bid1DukeACC31–32Automatic20242AlabamaSEC25–86At Large20243WisconsinBig Ten26–912At Large20244ArizonaBig 1222–1216At Large20245OregonBig Ten24–919At Large20246BYUBig 1224–921At Large20247Saint Mary'sWCC28–527At Large20248Mississippi StateSEC21–1232At Large20249BaylorBig 1219–1435At Large202410VanderbiltSEC20–1239At Large201711VCUAtlantic 1028–645Automatic202312LibertyC-USA28–650Automatic202113AkronMAC28–653Automatic202414MontanaBig Sky25–958Automatic201915Robert MorrisHorizon26–859Automatic201516*AmericanPatriot22–1265Automatic2014Mount St. Mary'sMAAC22–1266Automatic2021+West Regional – Chase Center, San Francisco, CASeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall seedBerth typeLast bid1FloridaSEC30–44Automatic20242St. John'sBig East30–48Automatic20193Texas TechBig 1225–89At Large20244MarylandBig Ten25–815At Large20235MemphisAmerican29–520Automatic20236MissouriSEC22–1123At Large20237KansasBig 1221–1228At Large20248UConnBig East23–1031At Large20249OklahomaSEC20–1336At Large202110ArkansasSEC20–1337At Large202311DrakeMissouri Valley30–344Automatic202412Colorado StateMountain West25–948Automatic202413Grand CanyonWAC26–754Automatic202414UNC WilmingtonCAA27–757Automatic201715OmahaSummit22–1261AutomaticNever16Norfolk StateMEAC24–1063Automatic2022+South Regional – State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GASeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall seedBerth typeLast bid1AuburnSEC28–51At Large20242Michigan StateBig Ten27–67At Large20243Iowa StateBig 1224–910At Large20244Texas A&MSEC22–1013At Large20245MichiganBig Ten25–917Automatic20226Ole MissSEC22–1124At Large20197MarquetteBig East23–1026At Large20248LouisvilleACC27–729At Large20199CreightonBig East24–1033At Large202410New MexicoMountain West26–738At Large202411*San Diego StateMountain West21–943At Large2024North CarolinaACC22–1346At Large202412UC San DiegoBig West30–447AutomaticNever13YaleIvy22–751Automatic202414LipscombASUN25–955Automatic201815BryantAmerica East23–1162Automatic202216*Alabama StateSWAC19–1567Automatic2011Saint FrancisNEC16–1768Automatic1991+Midwest Regional – Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, INSeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall seedBerth typeLast bid1HoustonBig 1230–43Automatic20242TennesseeSEC27–75At Large20243KentuckySEC22–1111At Large20244PurdueBig Ten22–1114At Large20245ClemsonACC27–618At Large20246IllinoisBig Ten21–1222At Large20247UCLABig Ten22–1025At Large20238GonzagaWCC25–830Automatic20249GeorgiaSEC20–1234At Large201510Utah StateMountain West26–740At Large202411*TexasSEC19–1541At Large2024XavierBig East21–1142At Large202312McNeeseSouthland27–649Automatic202413High PointBig South29–552AutomaticNever14TroySun Belt23–1056Automatic201715WoffordSouthern19–1560Automatic201916SIU EdwardsvilleOhio Valley22–1164AutomaticNever *See First Four Source:
Tournament bracket All times are listed in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4). Games on CBS are also on Paramount+, while games on TBS, TNT, and truTV are also on Max.
First Four – Dayton, Ohio The First Four games involve eight teams: the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams.
South regional – Atlanta, Georgia
South regional final
South regional all-tournament team Johni Broome (MOP) - Auburn Tahaad Pettiford - Auburn Jase Richardson - Michigan State Danny Wolf - Michigan Sean Pedulla - Ole Miss
West regional – San Francisco, California
West regional final
West regional all-tournament team Walter Clayton Jr. (MOP) - Florida Thomas Haugh - Florida Darrion Williams - Texas Tech JT Toppin - Texas Tech Johnell Davis - Arkansas
East regional – Newark, New Jersey
East regional final
East regional all-tournament team Cooper Flagg (MOP) - Duke Kon Knueppel - Duke Khaman Maluach - Duke Mark Sears - Alabama Caleb Love - Arizona
Midwest regional – Indianapolis, Indiana
Midwest regional final
Midwest regional all-tournament team Emanuel Sharp (MOP) - Houston LJ Cryer - Houston Milos Uzan - Houston Jordan Gainey - Tennessee Braden Smith - Purdue
Final Four – San Antonio, Texas
National semifinals
National championship
Final Four all-tournament team Walter Clayton Jr. (MOP) – Florida Will Richard – Florida LJ Cryer – Houston J'Wan Roberts – Houston Cooper Flagg – Duke
Record by conference