The Latest: Men’s NCAA Tournament bracket revealed on Selection Sunday

By Canadian Press on March 16, 2025.

March Madness brackets are being revealed.

The men’s bracket reveal began at 6 p.m. EDT on the Selection Sunday show on CBS. The women’s tournament bracket will be shown at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

Here’s the latest on this Selection Sunday:

Men’s Midwest Region

1. No. 1 Houston vs. No. 16 SIU Edwardsville
2. No. 8 Gonzaga vs. No. 9 Georgia
3. No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 McNeese State
4. No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 13 High Point
5. No. 6 Illinois vs. No. 11 Texas/ Xavier
6. No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Troy
7. No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 Utah State
8. No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Wofford

Men’s East Region

9. No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 American/Mount St. Mary’s
10. No. 8 Mississippi State vs. No. 9 Baylor
11. No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 Liberty
12. No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 13 Akron
13. No. 6 BYU vs. No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth
14. No. 3 Wisconsin vs. No. 14 Montana
15. No. 7 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt
16. No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 15 Robert Morris

Men’s South Region

17. No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 16 Alabama State/Saint Francis
18. No. 8 Louisville vs. No. 9 Crieghton
19. No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 12 UC San Diego
20. No. 4 Texas A&M vs. No. 13 Yale
21. No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 San Diego St/North Carolina
22. No. 3 Iowa State vs. No. 14 Lipscomb
23. No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 10 New Mexico
24. No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Bryant

Conference realignment slightly alters bids

Each conference receives an automatic bid to both the men’s and women’s tournaments, and then the rest of those fields are filled by the committee’s at-large selections.

The recent demise of the Pac-12 lowered the number of automatic qualifiers to 31, leaving room for 37 at-large teams.

Hey football fans, the SEC is a basketball power, too

The Southeastern Conference, normally a football power, has been unusually strong this season in basketball.

Its two newest members — Oklahoma and Texas — are both on the bubble, but if they get in, the SEC could have as many as 14 of its 16 teams in the men’s tournament.

March Madness is ready for its ‘Cinderella

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A high seed that makes a run to the Sweet 16 or beyond is affectionately called “Cinderella.”

Five No. 11 seeds have advanced to the men’s Final Four: LSU (1986), George Mason (2006), VCU (2011), Loyola Chicago (2018) and N.C. State (2024).

Villanova is considered the ultimate Cinderella — the Wildcats won the 1985 NCAA Tournament by upsetting top-seeded Georgetown as a No. 8 seed, the lowest to ever win the title.

Finding a Cinderella is tougher on the women’s side. No teams lower than a No. 3 seed have won the women’s event. It happened three times: 1994 North Carolina, 1997 Tennessee and 2023 LSU.

Men’s NCAA Tournament schedule

25. First Four: March 18-19
26. First round: March 20-21
27. Second round: March 22-23
28. Sweet 16: March 27-28
29. Elite Eight: March 29-30
30. Final Four: April 5
31. Championship game: April 7

Women’s NCAA Tournament schedule

32. First Four: March 19-20
33. First round: March 21-22
34. Second round: March 23-24
35. Sweet 16: March 28-29
36. Elite Eight: March 30-31
37. Final Four: April 4
38. Championship game: April 6

Men’s tournament locations

The First Four will be played in Dayton, Ohio. The first and second rounds are in Cleveland; Denver; Lexington, Kentucky; Milwaukee; Providence, Rhode Island; Raleigh, North Carolina; Seattle; and Wichita, Kansas.

The regional semifinals (Sweet 16) and finals (Elite Eight) will take place in Newark, New Jersey (East Region); Atlanta (South); Indianapolis (Midwest); and San Francisco (West). The tournament ends with the Final Four and championship game at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Women’s tournament locations

The women’s First Four is played at campus sites, which also will host first- and second-round games.

The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games will be held at two venues — one in Birmingham, Alabama, and the other in Spokane, Washington.

The Final Four and championship game will be at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

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AP March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

The Associated Press

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