The final weeks of the 2024-25 college basketball regular season has some key games that will determine conference regular season champions as teams push towards the conference tournaments and March Madness. The AP Top 25 has just a few weeks remaining until tournament time, and the smaller conference tournaments start next week while the major conferences finish the final two weeks of the regular season ahead of the most watched and wagered games of the season.
Tracking All 31 Men’s College Basketball Conference Tournaments
Auburn remained No. 1 for the seventh straight week with the Monday, Feb. 24 AP Top 25 college basketball rankings. The Tigers 94-85 beatdown of No. 2 Alabama Feb. 15 kept Auburn (25-2) in first place in the SEC.
Auburn is the unanimous No. 1 team now with all 60 first place votes in the Associated Press poll. That’s significant with Duke moving up to No. 2 and Blue Devils’ 6-foot 9 freshman sensation guard Cooper Flagg (-150) the favorite to win the John Wooden Award for Most Outstanding men’s college basketball player. Auburn senior center Johni Broome (+115) is the top challenger, according to odds on FanDuel Sportsbook. Broome had 31 points and 14 rebounds in this past Saturday’s 82-70 win over Georgia. Flagg had 16 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists as seven Duke players scored double-digits in a 110-67 blowout win over Illinois at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Auburn is 25-2 with 14 Quad 1 victories and four wins over current top-10 teams. One of those losses was to Duke 84-78, as Flagg had 22 points and 11 rebounds in the Dec. 4 home win. Broome also led his team with 20 points and 12 rebounds in defeat. Duke was a -3.5 point favorite in that game.
The Tigers are 13-1 in Southeastern Conference play ahead of Florida (11-3) and Alabama (11-3) with four games remaining in the regular season. Florida plays at Alabama March 5, and Alabama plays at Auburn March 8 to conclude the regular season.
Cooper Flagg #2 of the Duke Blue Devils dunks against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the second half … [+]
Duke (24-3) has 6 Quad 1 wins with their only three losses against Quad 1 teams Kentucky, Kansas and Clemson, who handed Duke their only ACC loss on Feb. 8. Clemson (14-2) and Louisville (14-2) are just 1-game behind Duke (15-1) in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings with four games remaining in the regular season.
Auburn, Duke, Houston, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama are currently the top-6 teams in the NCAA basketball NET rankings – the NCAA Evaluation Tool (explained) that essentially rewards teams for beating quality opponents, particularly away from home, as well as an adjusted net efficiency rating, which is adjusted for strength of opponent.
College Basketball Top 25
FanDuel is the official odds provider for The Associated Press, who selects voters for the AP Poll from sports reporters around the country who cover college basketball. The AP Poll is largely just a tool to compare schools throughout the season and spark debate, as it has no bearing on postseason play. Following the NCAA Tournament, the AP Poll will released its final poll for the second straight season.
“We believe the end-of-season poll will help satisfy fan demands, play into off-season conversations, and, frankly, give some teams bragging rights over others,” AP’s director of sports products Barry Bedlan said.
The Associated Press will also announce its men’s All-America teams, Players of the Year and Coaches of the Year for the season in the days leading up to the Final Four, which starts Saturday, April 5 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX.
- Auburn (25-2)
- Duke (24-3)
- Florida (24-3)
- Houston (24-4)
- Tennessee (22-5)
- Alabama (22-5)
- St. John’s (22-4)
- Michigan State (22-5)
- Iowa State (21-6)
- Texas Tech (21-6)
- Wisconsin (21-6)
- Texas A&M (20-7)
- Clemson (22-5)
- Missouri (20-7)
- Michigan (21-6)
- Maryland (21-6)
- Kentucky (18-9)
- Memphis (22-5)
- Louisville (22-6)
- Purdue (19-9)
- Marquette (20-7)
- Arizona (18-9)
- St. Mary’s (25-4)
- Mississippi State (19-8)
- BYU (19-8)
Others receiving votes: Creighton 53, Mississippi 28, Kansas 25, New Mexico 23, VCU 20, Oregon 20, UCLA 14, Drake 12, UC San Diego 8, Gonzaga 3, High Point 3, Illinois 3, Vanderbilt 2, Utah St. 1, Yale 1.
Also of note is that the Kansas Jayhawks (18-9) fell out of the AP Poll for the first time since Feb. 8, 2021 – a record 231 consecutive weeks in the Top 25 for Kansas. The Jayhawks are 9-7 in Big 12 play and in 6th place. Kansas suffered a pair of conference road losses the past 10 days to Utah and BYU, who entered the AP Poll this week at No. 25. The 91-57 in Provo against BYU was the biggest margin of defeat in KU school history for a ranked Kansas team against an unranked opponent.
Houston now has the nation’s longest active streak in the AP Top 25 at 102 weeks. The Cougars (24-4) have secured the Big 12 regular season title (16-1) with three games remaining, and Houston boasts the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense (57.8 points per game), and top-5 field goal defense (38%) along with No. 1 Tennessee and No. 5 Duke. The Cougars road win Monday at Texas Tech was their 13th straight road victory to extend the nation’s longest active streak.
Houston is also projected to bet a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year as they battle Alabama for a No. 1 seed with the Crimson Tide leading the country in scoring offense (90.8 points per game). Alabama finishes the regular season with four games against Top 25 teams.
Houston is 8-4 vs. Quad 1 teams with three neutral court losses including to Alabama over Thanksgiving. Alabama is 9-5 vs. Quad 1 teams with four more remaining vs. SEC teams the final two weeks of the regular season.
NCAA Bracketology
Joe Lunardi of ESPN released his NCAA Tournament update today, Feb. 25. It’s updated on Tuesday and Friday each week providing a tournament “bubble watch” picture along with the top teams and forecasts for seedings and more based on ESPN’s analytics forecast model. Currently, 30 teams have achieved at least a 95% chance to make the NCAA Tournament. Another 21 teams sit between 25% and 70% odds with their fates currently unknown.
The SEC leads the way with 9 teams projected to make the NCAA Tournament field with at least a 96% chance. Auburn is a No. 1 seed with Florida and Alabama also projected No. 1 or No. 2 seeds. The Big Ten has 8 with a 94% chance or better led by current conference co-leaders Michigan State (13-3) and Michigan. The Big 12 has 6 teams 94% or better including Kansas (99%). The Big East has 4 teams with defending national champion Connecticut (18-9) a 94% chance, and ACC just 3 teams with Duke a projected No. 1 seed.
The top mid-majors include St. Mary’s (WCC), Memphis (AAC) and two Mountain West teams Utah State and New Mexico in the field. Perennial powerhouse Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference has an 84% chance to make the NCAA Tournament field, according to ESPN analytics. Gonzaga has the second-longest active NCAA Tournament appearance streak in the country at 25 straight behind Michigan State (26). Next closest is Purdue (9). Kansas owns the longest streak of making the NCAA Tournament at 28 years, and had its 2018 appearance vacated.
Odds To Win NCAA Tournament
Selection Sunday is March 16, 2025 and the brackets will be unveiled for March Madness, along with Final Four odds.
FanDuel reported today that Duke has taken the most bets and produced the most money (handle) bet to win the NCAA Tournament. The five teams with the most money bet to win the NCAA Tournament are Duke, Connecticut, Auburn, Florida and Kansas.
FanDuel Sportsbook provides college basketball betting odds for the most watched and wagered college basketball games. Bet types, odds and futures refresh periodically and are subject to change, including on props and live betting.
- +340: Auburn
- +370: Duke
- +750: Houston
- +850: Florida
- +1200: Alabama
- +1500: Tennessee
- +2000: Iowa State
- +2500: St. John’s
- +3500: Arizona, Texas Tech
- +4000: Missouri, Kentucky, Michigan State
- +4500: Texas A&M, Wisconsin
- +5000: Maryland, Michigan
- +5500: Purdue
- +6500: Kansas, Gonzaga
- +7500: Clemson
- +8000: Connecticut, Ole Miss, UCLA
- +10000: Creighton, Baylor, Marquette, Louisville
- +10000: Illinois, St. Mary’s, BYU, Mississippi State
- +15000: New Mexico, Memphis
Follow more college basketball betting news, picks and information you can bet on as the road to conference tournaments, March Madness and the Final Four continues with major watch and wager college basketball action.
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