The 2024-25 college basketball season started on Nov 4. For the next five months, chaos ensued. The preseason number one team ended unranked, the SEC had an unprecedented 14 teams in the tournament, and unexpected teams rose to the top. On March 18, arguably the most popular sports tournament in the country, March Madness, will start. 68 teams will have a chance at a national title, with only one coming out on top.
Contenders
Auburn remained the number one overall seed despite ending the season on a skid, dropping three of their last four games. They have the second best offensive rating in the country, and are led by National Player of the Year candidate, senior forward Johni Broome. The Tigers claimed the regular season title in the rugged SEC, but fell in the tournament semis to Tennessee.
They can grind out wins in very different ways, and they have an NCAA-record 16 quad one wins this season, the driving force behind their seeding. Auburn is ranked second in the net rankings, and has the perfect blend of experience and youth with seniors like Broome and Chad Baker-Mazara and star freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford.
The Duke Blue Devils are an absolute juggernaut. They have the second overall seed despite boasting the number one overall net ranking and a 31-3 record. Despite playing in a historically weak ACC, Duke has a 9-3 quad one record, securing wins over Auburn, Arizona, and Louisville twice.
The Blue Devils are the most balanced team, with the third overall rated offense, and the fourth overall rated defense. They are led by stud freshman guard Kon Knueppel and freshman forwards Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach. Flagg is the head of the snake however, as the expected number one draft pick averaging 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists per game. Flagg was injured in the ACC tournament quarterfinals after spraining his ankle landing with a rebound. Duke said that he should be ready for the first weekend, but his status is still up in the air.
The Florida Gators might just be the best team in the country. Led by a trio of experienced talented guards, Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard, the Gators don’t just rely on one player. They won the SEC tournament, and won their last six games of the season, five of those coming against ranked teams. They score 85.4 points per game, and average 42 rebounds per game, best for third in the country.
Florida has the most efficient offense in the country on top of the ninth best defense. They were dominant at home with a 15-1 record, but were also 7-3 on the road, an impressive record given that they play in the SEC. They have a tough draw with the South region. A potential three game stretch of UConn, Maryland and Texas Tech would be an absolute gauntlet for the Gators.
The Houston Cougars play the classic, rugged defensive minded play style of most Kelvin Sampson teams. The main difference between this year’s team and the teams of the past is the offense. Junior guard Milos Uzan and senior guard LJ Cryer have both been efficient all year, and players like Emmanuel Sharp and J’Wan Roberts add some extra offensive firepower.
The Cougars have a top-10 offense on top of the second best defense in the country. Houston has 14 quad one wins, good enough for second best in the country. Three of their four losses are also from the first quadrant. The Cougars captured both the Big 12 regular season and tournament championship, their second straight regular season one.
Cinderellas
Mid majors are alive and well in 2025, and the VCU Rams are a perfect example of that. Hailing from the Atlantic 10, the Rams took down George Mason in a highly contested A10 championship game. Despite their success, VCU did draw an extremely hard matchup, facing off against a red-hot BYU team that shoots the three at a very high rate.
The Cougars will have to defend against Rams star guard Max Shulga, who is averaging 15.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. However, BYU might have the antidote with Richie Saunders, who averages 16 points per game.
The Drake Bulldogs are one of the most surprising mid majors of the season. Despite making the tournament three of the last four years, they were written off by most after losing head coach Darian DeVries and his son, star forward Tucker DeVries to West Virginia before the season. However, they seem to have hitten a home run with the hiring of former Division-II head coach Ben McCollum. Though they have mostly D-II players, they have been dominant all season, and are led by junior forward Bennett Stirtz, who is averaging 19 points and nearly six assists per game.
Drawing Missouri is a very interesting matchup for Drake, who plays the exact opposite as the Tigers. Mizzou likes to get out and run in transition, and they have the offensive pieces to do so with players like Tamar Bates and Mark Mitchell. On the other hand, the Bulldogs like to slow the game down to a crawl and grind out possessions, using their elite defense.
The New Mexico Lobos might have the best mid major player in the country with junior guard Donovan Dent. Dent has been outstanding all season, averaging 20.6 points and 6.4 assists per game. He has led New Mexico to a 26-7 record and the regular season Mountain West championship.
Dent will have to match up against another one of the best players in the country: Marquette senior guard Kam Jones. Jones is averaging 19.3 points, 5.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game on a 23-10 Golden Eagles squad. Marquette takes care of the ball very well, and despite having a 2-4 record in their last six, they should pose a significant threat to the Lobos.
The High Point Panthers have one of the best offenses in the country, with a top 25 Kenpom rating. The Panthers took down Radford in the Bog South semifinals, and then beat Winthrop in the finals to move on to March Madness, where they got matched up against Purdue.
The Boilermakers are led by NPOY contender guard Braden Smith. Smith is averaging 16.1 points and 8.7 assists per game on the season. Furthermore, the Panthers also have to deal with Trey Kaufman-Renn who is averaging 20.2 points per game. The Boilermakers run a potent pick and roll with those two.
