2025 March Madness updates: NCAA tournament bracket news, Selection Sunday analysis, snubs, first-round times
March Madness is here, and the craziness started with the opening game of the NCAA men's tournament. The First Four began Tuesday night with Alabama State stunning St. Francis on a layup with a second left following a football-style, length-of-the-court pass that was tipped.
Alabama State will now take on overall No. 1 seed Auburn in the South region on Thursday. North Carolina ran past San Diego State, 95-68, in Tuesday's second First Four game and will now face No. 6 Ole Miss on Thursday.
The women's First Four begins on Wednesday.
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Selection Sunday was full of surprises, celebration and heartbreak. The bracket reveals are complete with the full selections for the men and women listed below.
Here's how the No. 1 seeds shook out for the men:
Auburn (South Region)
Duke (East Region)
Houston (Midwest Region)
Florida (West Region)
The SEC won the day with a record 14 of 16 teams making the NCAA tournament. The Big Ten was next with eight teams, followed by the Big 12 with seven.
Here's how the No. 1 seeds shook out for the women:
UCLA (Spokane 1)
South Carolina (Birmingham 2)
Texas (Birmingham 3)
USC (Spokane 4)
So, what can we make of the men's committee's selections? Here were some takeaways from Yahoo Sports analyst Jeff Eisenberg:
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It was clear by Sunday morning that Auburn, Duke, Houston and Florida had each separated themselves in the race for No. 1 seeds. Credit the committee for not messing that up — and for getting that in the right order.
The same goes for the SEC getting 14 bids. You'll probably hear some complaints about it, but the truth is the SEC earned that respect.
Where the selection committee stumbled a bit: selecting North Carolina over more deserving teams like West Virginia. The Tar Heels snared the final at-large spot in the field despite going 1-12 in Quadrant 1 games and only defeating one at-large-caliber NCAA tournament team.
Also wrong: The committee claims that conference tournament title games matter — even the ones on Sunday that bump right up to the selection show. That's undoubtedly true when there's a bid thief involved. It's a little more difficult to believe, however, when there is just a potential seed line bump or two at stake. Michigan being slotted in as a No. 5 seed while the team it just beat (Wisconsin) was given a No. 3 seed, despite comparable résumés, makes the claim seem dubious.
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On the women's side of the bracket, Ryan Young thinks the selection made at least one mistake.
Going into Selection Sunday, it seemed as if South Carolina had the edge for the No. 1 overall seed.
The reigning national champions were fresh off a blowout win in their conference championship game and looked strong closing out the year. The Gamecocks had won seven straight, all by double digits, and had clearly put a 29-point home loss to UConn behind them.
But the committee opted to go with UCLA instead. And it shouldn't have.
The Bruins absolutely earned a No. 1 seed in the tournament. That was never in doubt. They went 30-2 and won the Big Ten tournament title with a win over USC. They started the year on a 23-game win streak, too. So the committee gave UCLA the top overall seed for the first time in program history.
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The biggest reason for that, they said on ESPN, was two-fold. First, UCLA beat South Carolina by 15 points in November. While a head-to-head matchup usually does the trick, that was months ago. The second was South Carolina losing by nearly 30 points to UConn at home. UCLA didn't have a loss that bad.
Here's what you need to know about March Madness:
First-round game schedule
South region
No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 16 Alabama State (Lexington, Thursday, 2:50 p.m. ET, CBS)
No. 8 Louisville vs. No. 9 Creighton (Lexington, Thursday, 12:15 p.m. ET, CBS)
No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 12 UC San Diego (Denver, Thursday, 10 p.m. ET, TBS)
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No. 4 Texas A&M vs No. 13 Yale (Denver, Thursday, 7:25 p.m. ET, TBS)
No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 North Carolina (Milwaukee, Friday, 4:05 p.m. ET, TNT)
No. 3 Iowa State vs. No. 14 Lipscomb (Milwaukee, Friday, 1:30 p.m. ET, TNT)
No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 10 New Mexico (Cleveland, Friday, 7:25 p.m. ET, TBS)
No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Bryant (Cleveland, Friday, 10 p.m. ET, TBS)
East region
No. 1 Duke vs. American/No. 16 Mount St. Mary's (Raleigh, Friday, 2:50 p.m. ET, CBS)
No. 8 Mississippi State vs. No. 9 Baylor (Raleigh, Friday, 12:15 p.m. ET, CBS)
No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 Liberty (Seattle, Friday, 10:10 p.m. ET, TruTV)
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No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 13 Akron (Seattle, Friday, 7:35 p.m. ET, TruTV)
No. 6 BYU vs. No. 11 VCU (Denver, Thursday, 4:05 p.m. ET, TNT)
No. 3 Wisconsin vs. No. 14 Montana (Denver, Thursday, 1:30 p.m. ET, TNT)
No. 7 Saint Mary's vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt (Cleveland, Friday, 3:15 p.m. ET, TruTV)
No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 15 Robert Morris (Cleveland, Friday, 12:40 p.m. ET, TruTV)
Midwest region
No. 1 Houston vs. No. 16 SIU Edwardsville (Wichita, Thursday, 2 p.m. ET, TBS)
No. 8 Gonzaga vs. No. 9 Georgia, (Wichita, Thursday, 4:35 p.m. ET, TBS)
No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 McNeese (Providence, Thursday, 3:15 p.m. ET, TruTV)
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No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 13 High Point (Providence, Thursday, 12:40 p.m. ET, TruTV)
No. 6 Illinois vs. No. 11 Texas/Xavier (Milwaukee, Friday, 9:45 p.m. ET, CBS)
No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Troy (Milwaukee, Friday, 7:10 p.m. ET, CBS)
No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 Utah State (Lexington, Thursday, 9:25 p.m. ET, TNT)
No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Wofford (Lexington, Thursday, 6:50 p.m. ET, TNT)
West region
No. 1 Florida vs. No. 16 Norfolk State (Raleigh, Friday, 6:50 p.m. ET, TNT)
No. 8 UConn vs. No. 9 Oklahoma (Raleigh, Friday, 9:25 p.m. ET, TNT)
No. 5 Memphis vs. No. 12 Colorado State (Seattle, Friday, 2 p.m. ET, TBS)
No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 13 Grand Canyon (Seattle, Friday, 4:35 p.m. ET, TBS)
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No. 6 Missouri vs. No. 11 Drake (Wichita, Thursday, 7:35 p.m. ET, TruTV)
No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 14 UNC Wilmington (Wichita, Thursday, 10:10 p.m. ET, TruTV)
No. 7 Kansas vs. No. 10 Arkansas (Providence, Thursday, 7:10 p.m. ET, CBS)
No. 2 St. John's vs. No. 15 Omaha (Providence, Thursday, 9:45 p.m. ET, CBS)
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