NCAA Tournament 2025 bracket picks, top upsets, Cinderella teams: Model simulates March Madness 10,000 times

Six schools have won 16 of the last 20 national titles heading into the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket. Duke, Florida, Kansas, North Carolina and UConn are all in the 2025 March Madness bracket, while Villanova missed the Big Dance this year. The Blue Devils and Gators are both No. 1 seeds in the 2025 NCAA bracket, so they could be among the most popular 2025 March Madness bracket picks in 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket pools. Finding a lower-seeded team to make a deep run can give you an advantage over the competition though, so should you avoid Duke and Florida with your national championship pick?

UConn is considered a longshot to win a third straight championship this season, even though it has not lost an NCAA Tournament game since 2022. The Huskies only have one player remaining from their last two title teams, so how should you approach the No. 8 seed in the West Region with your 2025 March Madness bracket picks? Before making any 2025 March Madness bracket predictions, be sure to check out the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine. 

Their proven projection model has simulated every game in the tournament 10,000 times. It has absolutely crushed its March Madness picks recently, beating over 91 percent of all CBS Sports brackets in four of the past six tournaments. It was all over UConn’s championship run a year ago and nailed 13 teams in the Sweet 16. It also nailed Alabama’s Cinderella run to the Final Four as a 4-seed.

It knows how to spot an upset as well. The same model has produced brackets that have nailed 24 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception in 2016. There’s simply no reason to rely on luck when there’s proven technology to help you dominate your 2025 March Madness pools. 

Now, with the 2025 NCAA bracket being revealed, the model is simulating the matchups and its results are in. You can only see it over at SportsLine.

2025 March Madness bracket games to watch

One of the 2025 March Madness matchups to keep an eye on: No. 8 seed Mississippi State vs. No. 9 seed Baylor in the East Region. The Bulldogs are making their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Chris Jans, who is in his third season with the program. He previously took New Mexico State to three NCAA Tournaments, but he has a 1-5 record in the Big Dance. Baylor head coach Scott Drew has the second-most NCAA Tournament victories by a Big 12 head coach all-time (20), and he is one of six active coaches in college basketball with a national title.

Also in the East Region, BYU vs. VCU figures to be a pivotal 6 vs. 11 matchup. The Cougars have never made a Final Four, but they won 24 games this season and their lone loss in their last 10 games came against Houston in the Big 12 Tournament. They lost to No. 11 seed Duquesne in the Round of 64 last year, so they will try to avoid losing in a similar matchup this year. VCU is a 28-win team after winning its third Atlantic 10 Tournament title in school history, and it is making its 20th NCAA Tournament appearance.

The third matchup to watch in the East Region features No. 3 seed Wisconsin vs. No. 14 seed Montana. Wisconsin came up short against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament title game on Sunday after losing three of its final five games in the regular season. The Badgers are led by one of the top scorers in college basketball, as senior guard John Tonje is averaging 19.5 points per game. He is going up against a Montana squad that won the Big Sky Tournament. You can see how far all these teams go over at SportsLine.

How to make 2025 NCAA bracket predictions

How far will those major programs go? And which Cinderella teams will make surprising runs through the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket? With the model’s track record of calling bracket-busting upsets, you’ll want to see which stunners it is calling this year before locking in any 2025 NCAA bracket picks.

So what’s the optimal NCAA Tournament bracket 2025? And which 2025 March Madness underdogs will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which teams you can back with confidence, all from the model that’s nailed 24 upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception and beat over 91% of players in four of the last six tournaments.