Men's Bracketology: 2025 NCAA Tournament

By Joe Lunardi Updated: 10/22/2024 at 9:00 a.m. ET

The countdown to opening night on Nov. 4 is fast approaching. Accordingly, this is the final preseason edition of Bracketology. Our next update on Nov. 5 will include the results from a stacked opening night of games across the country.

Bracket Watch

As Kansas enters the 2024-25 season as the nation's No. 1 team, it's worth reviewing just how elite the Jayhawks have been under Bill Self. The five preseason No. 1 rankings, including the past two Octobers, are a small part of the story. Its most recent 4-seed equals its worst NCAA tournament position in Self's 21 years in Lawrence. In 11 of those seasons, the Jayhawks were a No. 1 seed -- truly one of the most remarkable achievements in modern college basketball. One could argue Kansas has underwhelmed its seeding with spotty performances in March, but the Jayhawks have managed a pair of national championships along with eight other Elite Eight or Final Four finishes. They're not exactly chopped liver. And, if you value the season-long reward of seeding as equal to or greater than highly variant tournament results, there is simply no questioning KU as the nation's top program of the past two decades.

On the Bubble

Last Four Byes

Last Four In

First Four Out

Next Four Out

68-Team Bracket

MIDWEST (INDIANAPOLIS)

Wichita

Cleveland

Denver

Lexington

SOUTH (ATLANTA)

Lexington

Seattle

Raleigh

Milwaukee

EAST (NEWARK)

Raleigh

Providence

Milwaukee

Providence

WEST (SAN FRANCISCO)

Wichita

Denver

Cleveland

Seattle

Conference Breakdown

Conference

Team

Photo illo by ESPN Illustration, additional photos courtesy of Getty Images, Associated Press, Imagn, USA TODAY Sports, Icon Sportswire, EPA/Shutterstock

RULES

ESPN's Bracketology efforts are focused on projecting the NCAA tournament field just as we expect the NCAA Division I basketball committee to select the field in March. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi uses the same data points favored by the committee, including strength of schedule and other season-long indicators, including the NET and team-sheet data similar to what is available to the NCAA, in his projections of the field. Visit the NCAA's website for a fuller understanding of NCAA selection criteria.

68-Team Bracket

The 68-team bracket is the standard version of the NCAA tournament field that has been in place since 2011. If the 2021 field is comprised of 68 teams, there will be some key differences to past years, however.

The primary adjustment from a normal year is, of course, the playing of the entire NCAA tournament at a single site. This eliminates the need for geographical considerations in seeding. Additionally, there will be at least one fewer automatic qualifier this season, as the Ivy League's decision to forgo the 2020-21 season reduces the number of AQ entries to 31 for this season.

48-Team Bracket

In this projection, a condensed selection process would reduce the field by 10 at-large teams and 10 automatic qualifiers (the latter of which still receive a revenue unit). The top four seeds in each region would receive a bye into the second round, with four first-round games per region - 5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10 and 8 vs. 9 - being played without fans on the higher seed's home court.

To minimize travel, first-round pairings will be guided by geography to the greatest extent possible. And the reduced field results in only 32 teams competing at the central site. All participants must post a minimum .500 conference record - the "Lunardi Rule" - for at-large consideration.

16-Team Bracket

In this projection, the committee selects and seeds the 16 best available teams. There are no automatic qualifiers, although all non-competing conference champions receive the designated revenue unit.

To maintain some sense of national balance, conference participation is capped at four teams. And no region shall have more than one team from the same conference.

ESPN

Bracket Watch

Top Overall Seed

First Team Out

Last Team In

On the Bubble

Last Four Byes

Last Four In

First Four Out

Next Four Out

68-Team Bracket

MIDWEST (INDIANAPOLIS)

Wichita

Cleveland

Denver

Lexington

SOUTH (ATLANTA)

Lexington

Seattle

Raleigh

Milwaukee

EAST (NEWARK)

Raleigh

Providence

Milwaukee

Providence

WEST (SAN FRANCISCO)

Wichita

Denver

Cleveland

Seattle

Conference Breakdown

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