Five months of college basketball’s glorious season will meet its end this week as all four No. 1 seeds in this year’s NCAA Tournament — Auburn, Florida, Duke and Houston — will meet up in San Antonio, Texas, to finish off March Madness with a star-studded Final Four.
It’s the first time since 2008 all four top seeds are left standing in the final weekend of the tournament in a near-guarantee that goodness awaits us in the final three games of the 2024-25 season.
On the left side of the bracket, No. 1 overall seed Auburn faces SEC foe Florida with a potential first-ever trip to the title game on tap. Auburn is a narrow underdog in the game vs. the Gators after falling to them 90-81 in their lone regular-season matchup.
On the right side of the bracket, Duke, the favorite to win the championship, is also favored to advance in its Final Four matchup vs. Houston. Duke has CBS Sports Player of the Year Cooper Flagg leading the best show in college hoops, but the Cougars and their experienced, physical team stand in the way aiming to bust into the season finale.
Houston, like Florida on the other side, is no slouch and has saved its best ball for last. The Cougars have won 30 of their last 31 entering the weekend, while the Gators are 15-1 in their last 16 outings.
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2025 Final Four expert predictions
Gary Parrish
My original bracket included Auburn and Houston in the title game — with Auburn winning it all. I’m going to stick with that, if you don’t mind, in part because moving off of Bruce Pearl’s Tigers only to watch them win the national title would be frustrating. So, yeah, I’m riding with the No. 1 overall seed even though this is the first time in the history of the NCAA Tournament that the No. 1 overall seed has been considered the least-likely of the four schools at the Final Four to actually win the national championship.
That’s a testament to the strength of Duke, Houston and Florida — each of which is now ranked ahead of Auburn at KenPom.com. But the Tigers were the best team in the country for stretches of this season, and I’m going to trust them to finish it with two more victories.
Matt Norlander
I took Houston on Selection Sunday. Why stop now? There’s no denying how great Duke is. But Duke has been beaten three times this season, and what’s more, two of those three losses came to teams in the top 20 of adjusted defensive efficiency.
This season, Duke is 1-2 in games vs. top-20 defense. Houston? The Cougars are 8-2 against top-20 defenses. And Duke hasn’t faced a defense anything like Houston’s. The same thing goes the other way, but Houston almost always dictates the conversation.
As for the other side of the bracket, I like Auburn over Florida because the Tigers have gathered their confidence. They’re looking more and more like the dominant team we saw in the first three months of the season. And Johni Broome is expected to be fully capable on Saturday night. He’ll be the best player on the floor. Auburn has its edge back. Either way, I think we’re in for one of the best pair of semifinal games the sport has seen in a long time.
Dennis Dodd
Sometimes it’s best not to overthink things. Duke is playing the best in the tournament. Duke is the best in this tournament. Their height, their length. Their Flagg waving. This is a franchise ready to win it all in Jon Scheyer’s third season. The matchup against Houston in one semifinal is not good.
For Houston. Duke is among the tallest teams in the country. As much as Houston has improved offensively this season, I envision Milos Uzan and L.J. Cryer having problems maneuvering against the likes of Sion James and Tyrese Proctor. Cooper Flagg is simply on a heater. The best one-and-one freshman since Kyrie? Anthony Davis? Carmelo Anthony? (pick one) can do it all. Kelvin Sampson will throw his host of bigs at Flagg trying to slow him down. It will work, for a while. Flagg sees angles and openings that others don’t see.
In the other semifinal, Auburn seems too banged up to survive this matchup. Like Houston, Florida has lost once since Feb. 1. In March alone the Gators have beaten five top 20 KenPom teams by at least 14 points. The comebacks against UConn and Texas Tech sort of anoint these Gators as a team of destiny.
Almost.
In a thriller of a championship game, Walter Clayton Jr. and Flagg each go for 25 with the Blue Devils winning 85-83.
Kyle Boone
For months it’s felt like we’ve been on a collision course to see the two best teams — Auburn with the best resume and Duke with what I think is the best team — face off against each other with everything on the line.
That’s how I had my bracket entering the tournament and it’s how I’ll predict it entering the final weekend.
I’m sticking with my pick of Duke to prevail. It has the No. 1 offense to go with a top-five defense, a top-10 3-point shooting team by percentage and, oh by the way, Cooper Flagg at the center of the operation. This team has multiple lottery picks on it along with length and depth to match up with any of the possible remaining matchups. It has no obvious flaws.
The best teams don’t always win the NCAA championship, of course. The 2014-15 Kentucky team is a great example of this, as is the great 1998-99 Duke team that fell in the title game. But in this case I think Duke, the best team, pushes it across the finish line and finishes at the summit to put a bow on one of the best seasons in college hoops history.
David Cobb
Of these four teams, Florida has had more wobbly moments so far in the NCAA Tournament. Things got tense in a second-round victory over UConn and again during a comeback victory over Texas Tech in the Elite Eight. But surviving through those fires taught the Gators how to perform in clutch situations.
More importantly, UF had a hero emerge. Walter Clayton Jr. is the best guard left in this tournament, and he’s already shown the ability to hit winning shots for his team with games on the line. His clutch gene and Florida’s battle-tested bona fides will help the Gators cut down the nets Monday night.
Cameron Salerno
Duke was my national championship pick last month, so it’s only right I stick with that selection. The Blue Devils have the best player (Cooper Flagg) and overall team. This current Duke team reminds me a little bit of its 2015 squad that won the national title.
Duke will face Florida Monday night in San Antonio and bring home its sixth national title in program history. If that happens, there won’t be a debate about Flagg having the best one-and-done season in college basketball history.
Isaac Trotter
Auburn-Duke was my National Championship Game prediction from the beginning, and I’m riding with it until the wheels fall off. But as tipoff nears, I’m getting more nervous. Maybe it’s just the San Antonio vibe, but I think Houston can win this game way more than I did when the matchup was official. Those guards are so tough. The defense is so vicious.
But Duke has given off UConn vibes all season long with its size, rim protection and an offense that creates the most unguarded catch-and-shoot 3-pointers in college basketball. Talent is one thing. But the process is just so sound. I think that’s the differentiator.
Chip Patterson
Duke’s size has helped make them the best 2-point offense and the best 2-point defense left in the tournament and at the end of a long and grueling tournament — especially given the opponents in the semifinals — being able to convert the easy points is a path to victory. Duke can do that, and defend that, better than anyone and it’ll help win games at the margins in this all-time Final Four.
Another way to win at the margins?
Adjustments.
Jon Scheyer showed multiple lineups and in-game tweaks that helped the Blue Devils run away from a late-charging Arizona team and totally shut the water off for a potent Alabama offense just two nights later. Styles make fights but the ability to adjust styles can win fights, and so whether it’s Houston’s tenacious defense or whichever SEC power the Blue Devils may face in the title game my expectation is that Duke will have answers to whatever is thrown their way.
Jerry Palm
I picked Florida at the beginning of the tournament because they looked like the best team entering it. They somewhat miraculously survived a scare against Texas Tech in the regional final, but the champion usually has a game like that. The Gators have had two though, needing all forty minutes to eclipse UConn. Florida should feel confident facing Auburn, having already beat them at their place.
Duke has been the best team in the tournament so far, but Houston’s defense should make the Blue Devils work hard for a victory. This weekend will be the biggest challenge for Duke this season. I believe that Duke’s talent will still prevail against the Cougars.
For Florida to beat Duke, their backcourt, led by Walter Clayton, Jr. will have to come big, but the game could likely swing on how well forwards Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh control the paint and especially Duke center Khaman Maluach.
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