Final Four expert predictions for the 2025 Sweet 16: Who's winning the tourney?
Final Four expert predictions for the 2025 Sweet 16: Who's winning the tourney?
As the clock ticks down to Thursday, the men's Sweet 16 looms. After this weekend? We'll be down to the Final Four teams left in the NCAA tournament who will fight for a national title.
Wondering who will be remaining and who will win it all? Just like we did last week, we've got those predictions from our staffers who know ball, with Final Four picks, along with who's hoisting the trophy while confetti rains down in San Antonio.
So as you read up on the best survivor pool picks, the amount of perfect brackets left and some Sweet 16 power rankings, here's a look at our expert predictions:
Florida over Duke (with Florida, Tennessee, Duke and Michigan State in the Final Four)
I said this would be the result in our first predictions post, and I'm sticking with it. Chalky but this should be epic. -- Charles Curtis
Florida over Duke (with Florida, Houston, Duke and Michigan State in the Final Four)
Florida was my original pick for a champion, and I feel even better about it now after seeing the Gators play and survive a close game against the defending champ, UConn. -- Prince Grimes
Duke over Florida (with Florida, Michigan, Tennessee and Duke in the Final Four)
You know what? Florida has shown just enough cracks for me to flip my pre-tournament pick. Also, thanks for nothing, Marquette. -- Christian D'Andrea
Duke over Auburn (Auburn, Maryland, Duke and Tennessee in the Final Four)
I'm sticking with the same group I had before the tournament, except this time, I'm replacing the eliminated Zags with the dancing Vols. -- Bryan Kalbrosky
Houston over Florida (Michigan State, BYU, Florida and Houston in the Final Four)
The Big Ten is incapable of winning a tournament since Y2K, BYU is a sneaky tough matchup for the Duke-Arizona winner, but ultimately the Big 12 reminds everyone it's still the toughest conference in the country. -- Blake Schuster
Duke over Auburn (Auburn, Florida, Duke and Tennessee in the Final Four)
As someone who starts watching any sort of college basketball in March, GIMME ALL THE CHALK, BABY. Let's stick with the theme. -- Robert Zeglinski
Maryland over Duke (Michigan, Maryland, Duke and Houston in the Final Four)
Coach K always said the only way Duke would ever play Maryland again after the Terps left the ACC was in the tournament. Here we go. For all the marbles. -- Mike Sykes
Duke over Florida (Florida, Duke, Michigan State and Houston in the Final Four)
Duke is the most talented team in the tournament and meets all the historic criteria for past champions. So, I'm sticking with the Blue Devils. -- Andrew Joseph
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
2025 NBA mock draft: A consensus survey shows the latest predictions from experts
The 2025 NBA Draft is less than two weeks away and we are finally starting to get a consensus of when each player could hear their name called. To get a sense of where prospects stand as of right now, For The Win has surveyed all of the leading mock drafts to provide a general consensus. For this exercise, we're using my latest mock along with other mainstream mocks from the following publications (sorted alphabetically): Our scoring methodology was based on a trade value chart from ESPN's Kevin Pelton. Meanwhile, for more prospect coverage, here is our latest NBA mock draft at For The Win. Note: These rankings do not reflect our personal opinions or team fit but rather where experts currently have each prospect slated. The best takes and the sharpest bets on all the hoops storylines you need to know. Sign up for our Layup Lines newsletter, hitting your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 1. Cooper Flagg TEAM:Duke POSITION: Wing HEIGHT: 6-9 DRAFT AGE: 18.5 2. Dylan Harper TEAM: Rutgers POSITION: Guard HEIGHT: 6-6 DRAFT AGE: 19.3 3. Ace Bailey TEAM: Rutgers POSITION: Forward HEIGHT: 6-10 DRAFT AGE: 18.9 4. V.J. Edgecombe TEAM: Baylor POSITION: Wing HEIGHT: 6-5 DRAFT AGE: 19.9 5. Tre Johnson TEAM: Texas POSITION: Wing HEIGHT: 6-6 DRAFT AGE: 19.3 6. Kon Knueppel TEAM: Duke POSITION: Wing HEIGHT: 6-7 DRAFT AGE: 19.9 7. Jeremiah Fears TEAM: Oklahoma POSITION: Guard HEIGHT: 6-4 DRAFT AGE: 18.7 8. Khaman Maluach TEAM: Duke POSITION: Big HEIGHT: 7-2 DRAFT AGE: 18.8 9. Derik Queen TEAM: Maryland POSITION: Big HEIGHT: 6-10 DRAFT AGE: 20.5 10. Egor Demin TEAM: BYU POSITION: Guard HEIGHT: 6-9 DRAFT AGE: 19.3 11. Kasparas Jakučionis TEAM: Illinois POSITION: Guard HEIGHT: 6-6 DRAFT AGE: 19.1 12. Noa Essengue TEAM: ratiopharm ulm (Germany) POSITION: Wing HEIGHT: 6-8 DRAFT AGE: 18.5 13. Carter Bryant TEAM: Arizona POSITION: Forward HEIGHT: 6-8 DRAFT AGE: 19.6 14. Collin Murray-Boyles TEAM: South Carolina POSITION: Big HEIGHT: 6-8 DRAFT AGE: 20.1 15. Nolan Traoré TEAM: Saint-Quentin (France) POSITION: Guard HEIGHT: 6-3 DRAFT AGE: 19.1 16. Cedric Coward TEAM: Washington St. POSITION: Forward HEIGHT: 6-6 DRAFT AGE: 21.8 17. Nique Clifford TEAM: Colorado St. POSITION: Forward HEIGHT: 6-6 DRAFT AGE: 23.4 18. Jase Richardson TEAM: Michigan St. POSITION: Guard HEIGHT: 6-3 DRAFT AGE: 19.7 19. Asa Newell TEAM: Georgia POSITION: Forward HEIGHT: 6-11 DRAFT AGE: 19.7 20. Thomas Sorber TEAM: Georgetown POSITION: Big HEIGHT: 6-10 DRAFT AGE: 19.5 21. Liam McNeeley TEAM: Connecticut POSITION: Wing HEIGHT: 6-7 DRAFT AGE: 19.7 22. Danny Wolf TEAM: Michigan POSITION: Big HEIGHT: 7-0 DRAFT AGE: 21.2 23. Joan Beringer TEAM: KK Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia) POSITION: Big HEIGHT: 6-11 DRAFT AGE: 18.6 24. Rasheer Fleming TEAM: Saint Joseph's POSITION: Forward HEIGHT: 6-9 DRAFT AGE: 21.0 25. Will Riley TEAM: Illinois POSITION: Wing HEIGHT: 6-8 DRAFT AGE: 19.3 26. Walter Clayton Jr. TEAM: Florida POSITION: Guard HEIGHT: 6-3 DRAFT AGE: 22.3 27. Drake Powell TEAM: North Carolina POSITION: Wing HEIGHT: 6-6 DRAFT AGE: 19.8 28. Maxime Raynaud TEAM: Stanford POSITION: Big HEIGHT: 7-1 DRAFT AGE: 22.2 29. Noah Penda TEAM: Le Mans Sarthe (France) POSITION: Forward HEIGHT: 6-8 DRAFT AGE: 20.5 30. Ben Saraf TEAM: ratiopharm ulm (Germany) POSITION: Guard HEIGHT: 6-5 DRAFT AGE: 19.2 SECOND ROUND 31. Ryan Kalkbrenner 32. Hugo González 33. Adou Thiero 34. Yanic Konan Niederhäuser 35. Hansen Yang 36. Alex Toohey 37. Chaz Lanier 38. Bogoljub Marković 39. Kam Jones 40. Tyrese Proctor 41. Johni Broome 42. Koby Brea 43. Jamir Watkins 44. Javon Small 45. Hunter Sallis 46. Sion James 47. John Tonje 48. Eric Dixon 49. Rocco Zikarsky 50. Micah Peavy 51. Ryan Nembhard 52. Alijah Martin 53. Vlad Goldin 54. RJ Luis Jr. 55. Kobe Sanders 56. Tamar Bates 57. Payton Sandfort 58. Amari Williams 59. Brice Williams 60. Michael Ružić
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Auburn basketball learns opponent for 2025 ACC-SEC challenge
Auburn basketball learns opponent for 2025 ACC-SEC challenge Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers will face a former SEC head coach in this year's edition of the ACC-SEC Challenge. The 2024 ACC-SEC Challenge was a huge success for the SEC, who posted a 14-2 record in the event. Auburn, unfortunately, was not on the winning side of last year's challenge, falling to Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, 84-78. This year, the Tigers will aim for revenge in front of their home crowd as they will host the NC State Wolfpack at Neville Arena for this year's edition of the ACC-SEC Challenge, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reports. This year's matchup is intriguing as it will pit Auburn's Bruce Pearl against former LSU head coach Will Wade, who is set to begin his first season as the Wolfpack's head coach after spending the last two seasons at McNeese State. Wade is set to take on the challenge of building NC State back into an ACC contender after the program recorded a 38-34 record, with a 14-26 mark in ACC play over the last two seasons under Kevin Keatts. Wade won 105 games in five seasons at LSU. Since arriving in Raleigh, Wade has worked tirelessly in his rebuilding efforts through the transfer portal by landing former North Carolina forward Ven-Allen Lubin, former Houston forward Terrance Arceneaux, and ex-Texas Tech forward Darrion Williams. He also landed the nation's No. 14 recruiting class with four-star guard Matt Able headlining the haul. Auburn basketball will nearly start from scratch with its roster following last season's Final Four run. Auburn signed key players, including Mississippi State forward Keshawn Murphy, the Big 12's leading scorer Keyshawn Hall, and a talented wing player in Elyjah Freeman this offseason. Pearl also landed a top-20 recruiting class that features two JUCO stars and a pair of four-stars from the high school ranks. This season's matchup with NC State has the makings of a classic. Here is a look at the complete lineup for this season's ACC-SEC Challenge. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
ICE's go-to charter airline for deportations also flew NCAA teams, Inter Miami and more
Cheers greeted the Memphis men's basketball team as it emerged from an Airbus A320 on the night of March 16. The plane had carried the team from Fort Worth, Texas, to Memphis International Airport, and the flight home was a joyous one. The 16th-ranked Tigers were American Athletic Conference tournament champions and NCAA Tournament-bound. The trophy, topped by a large silver basketball, was buckled into a seat next to head coach Penny Hardaway. On the tarmac, cameras flashed. Hardaway gave well-wishers a thumbs-up. Players high-fived fans. Advertisement Less than 12 hours later, the same Airbus A320 – tail number N281GX – flew from El Paso, Texas, to Tapachula, Mexico. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) flight transported 105 men, seven women and one child. Handcuffs, leg irons, and a waist chain likely restrained most adults' wrists and ankles. Guards monitored the cabin. After landing in Tapachula, the sullen passengers filed off the plane, met by Mexican authorities in safety vests. Both flights were operated by Global Crossing Airlines, commonly referred to as GlobalX, a charter company based in Miami. In the last eight months, the company has transported athletic teams from Arkansas, Kentucky, Houston, Kansas, Marquette, Memphis, Miami, North Carolina and St. John's, among others. During March Madness, GlobalX planes carried the Duke men back from the Final Four and the UConn women home after winning the national title. GlobalX also has ferried professional teams, including Inter Miami CF and its star, Lionel Messi. At the same time, GlobalX has operated more than half of ICE deportation flights. The airline regularly shuttles deportees to Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and elsewhere, sometimes on the same planes that only hours or days earlier carried sports teams. The Trump administration's controversial March 15 deportation of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia and more than 200 others to El Salvador involved three GlobalX planes. Two of them carried college basketball teams in the weeks prior. Advertisement 'When you get asked to do an NCAA flight, you feel lighter,' said a former GlobalX pilot who spoke on the condition he not be identified. 'If your team wins, you get the honor of transporting the winning team. It's just a feeling of accomplishment. For me doing an ICE flight, I don't want to be dramatic and say it's like a death sentence, but I hated it.' The system of chartered ICE flights – referred to as ICE Air – has operated for more than a decade, spanning presidential administrations, immigration policies and airlines. The flights have long drawn criticism from human rights advocates, raising concerns about mistreatment of detainees, safety and a lack of transparency. Less spotlighted has been the crossover between GlobalX's sports charters and ICE Air, as universities and sports organizations unwittingly support a company deeply involved in and profiting from deportation flights. 'They may not have known, but now they do, so now they have a choice to make,' said Ann Skeet, a senior director at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. 'They need to think about the purpose of their organization and their mission, and whether or not using a charter service that also serves ICE is consistent with their mission.' GlobalX and ICE didn't respond to emailed questions. Only 10 of 20 universities responded to requests for comment from about flights their teams took on GlobalX in recent months. The schools willing to speak about the matter said they were unaware that the planes they were on were also used to deport people. Memphis, for one, said in a statement: 'The University of Memphis uses multiple sources to charter athletic flights and have no knowledge of their customer base.' Many schools and coaches declined to address the issue at all; several feared potential retaliation given the Trump administration's targeting of some universities. Advertisement The first GlobalX revenue flight took off in August 2021. A slogan on the airline's website promised: 'You can't beat the eXperience.' The company soon became a major player in the sports charter business as its fleet expanded to more than a dozen. Past clients include professional basketball and football teams, a national soccer team, a major cricket tournament and an array of college sports teams. 'We do fly some of the biggest stars in professional sports, in soccer and some of the top – I think 10 of the top 20 college basketball teams for this season,' Ryan Goepel, the company's president and chief financial officer, said during an earnings call in March. GlobalX provided four dedicated aircraft for the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments this year as part of a contract worth at least $5 million, continuing a years-long relationship with the NCAA. March Madness travel is organized through the NCAA's charter program. Third-party brokers usually arrange travel for college teams during the regular season. In response to questions from about GlobalX, the NCAA issued a statement that didn't address them: 'The NCAA contracts only with safe and regulated charter plane vendors that maintain specified certifications, high ratings on reliable scales and meet insurance standards. The approval process for vendors is rigorous. We are not aware of any instances of sub-standard service on any charter flights during this championship season.' Advertisement A promotional video for sports charters on the GlobalX website earlier this year featured gourmet snacks, a grinning flight crew and spacious seats, complete with pillows, blankets and Fiji bottled water. A company brochure described its charter flights as 'the ultimate in flexibility, convenience, and luxury' and 'your ticket to wherever you want, whenever you want.' 'They were great flights, they are all excited about playing and having fun,' a second former GlobalX pilot said of the sports charters. 'That was one part of GlobalX's business model. The other part was the deportations.' Tom Cartwright, an immigration advocate who tracks ICE flights, first noted ICE's use of GlobalX in late 2021. GlobalX announced a five-year contract in August 2024 worth $65 million per year as a subcontractor to CSI Aviation for the flights. Cartwright estimates that from March through May of this year, GlobalX operated 64 percent of total ICE Air flights and 62 percent of deportation flights. Most adult passengers are required to be 'fully restrained' with 'handcuffs, waist chains, and leg irons,' according to the ICE Air Operations handbook. Carry-on items like books aren't allowed. Detainees can't wear belts, hats or shoelaces. Advertisement 'They're in conditions that you would see in a POW camp,' said the first former GlobalX pilot. An Airbus A320 with the tail number N291GX joined the GlobalX fleet last year, and its usage in recent months illustrates the disparate worlds the airline straddles. That plane carried San Diego State, Maryland, Kentucky and Auburn during the NCAA Tournament. In the two months preceding March Madness, N291GX flew dozens of times with flight numbers and destinations that match ICE Air routes. The plane traveled from Alexandria, La., to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, then onto Comayagua, Honduras. The Honduran foreign minister tweeted a photo of the aircraft. ICE later announced that 177 detained migrants from Venezuela had been flown from Guantanamo Bay to Honduras, where a Venezuelan plane picked them up. Another trip deported 157 migrants from El Paso, Texas, to Tapachula, Mexico. Local media reported that passengers had been 'handcuffed and shackled from the waist to the feet and hands.' Advertisement The plane flew from El Paso to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, using a flight number associated with ICE Air. The airport is a regular destination for deportation flights. The next day, March 17, the same plane carried the San Diego State men's basketball team to Dayton, Ohio, and on March 19, it flew the Maryland men to Seattle. The plane traveled to San Salvador, El Salvador on another trip using a flight number associated with ICE Air, then, a week later, on April 2, ferried the Auburn men's basketball team to San Antonio International Airport for the Final Four, where a mariachi group and dancers in bright dresses greeted them in a hangar. Another GlobalX plane – tail number N278GX – landed in San Salvador on Jan. 29, according to flight records and local media reports. More than 80 deportees were aboard. A reporter for El Diario de Hoy photographed the red wrists of one of the passengers and wrote they 'show signs of having been handcuffed for hours.' Two days later, the Kansas State men's basketball team flew from Manhattan, Kan., to Des Moines, Iowa, aboard the same plane in advance of a game against Iowa State in Ames, Iowa. (In a statement, Kansas State said it has been 'pleased' with GlobalX's 'aircraft and service.') Advertisement Also on Jan. 29, a different GlobalX plane with the tail number N837VA ferried 40 deportees to San Pedro Sula. 'They brought me in chains from last night until we arrived here. We're not criminals,' one of the passengers, Dagoberto Portillo, told local media. 'I don't understand the treatment of migrants.' Three days later, the Nebraska men's basketball team traveled aboard the same plane from Lincoln, Neb., to Eugene, Ore. The university said in a statement that the school wasn't 'involved in how that plane was received or procured.' Another GlobalX plane with the tail number N276GX landed at Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus, Brazil, on Jan. 24 with 88 Brazilian deportees. Someone activated the aircraft's emergency exit slides. Photos and videos recorded a chaotic scene where shackled passengers stood on a wing and others roamed the tarmac. Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs derided 'the use of handcuffs and chains' and 'undignified treatment' on the flight. Advertisement 'The most difficult moment was when the air conditioning broke down in the air, people started to feel sick, some fainted and children were crying,' Kaleb Barbosa, one of the passengers, told the Brazilian media outlet G1. 'The turbines were stopping during the flight; it was desperate, like something out of a movie.' The same plane carried the men's basketball teams from Arkansas and Houston in the previous two months, amid a stream of deportation trips. Those didn't stop. Neither did the sports flights. On May 13, the plane transported the Miami track and field team to the Atlantic Coast Conference outdoor championships in Winston-Salem, N.C. Miami's men's and women's basketball teams and baseball team also have flown GlobalX this year. The university didn't respond to a request for comment. A higher-profile Miami team is featured on GlobalX's Instagram account. The airline shuttled Messi and the rest of Inter Miami CF to preseason matches in Peru and Honduras this year in addition to a match in Kansas City. Inter Miami also didn't respond to a request for comment. Advertisement When Inter Miami arrived at Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport in San Pedro Sula on Feb. 8, fire trucks shot arcs of water over the plane with the tail number N281GX. Photographers snapped pictures of players, including Messi, walking down the passenger stairs. Contrast that with a flight that same plane made into San Pedro Sula on Dec. 4. Deportees, some of them with children, were photographed as they walked the tarmac. Behind them was the plane they traveled on, 'GlobalX' written in giant blue letters across its fuselage. 'On the one hand, you have the low-end flights for people, which are basically shackled in the sky,' said Angelina Godoy, director of the University of Washington's Center for Human Rights and author of a 2022 study about ICE Air, 'and then you have the other end, the very high-end flights, with these corporate logos and everything on the plane and the athletes in there looking great … and it's the same damn (plane).' This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Advertisement Inter Miami CF, MLS, College Football, Men's College Basketball, Soccer, Sports Business, Women's College Basketball, FIFA Club World Cup, A1: Must-Read Stories, Graphics 2025 The Athletic Media Company
