Men's Bracketology: 2025 NCAA Tournament

By Joe Lunardi Updated: 11/26/2024 at 10:00 a.m. ET

Feast Week is upon us, so expect plenty of movement as the big boys start facing one another on neutral courts. Here at Bracketology HQ, we track every result every night, ranking and reranking what will eventually constitute the NCAA tournament's field of 68. We'll update the bracket every Tuesday for the remainder of November and December, before moving to twice weekly updates when conference play picks up in January 2025.

Bracket Watch

Danny Hurley and UConn may still get their wish: The Huskies could very well become the first three-peat national champions since UCLA in 1973. But one thing they can no longer duplicate is UCLA's undefeated season. The Bruins went 30-0 in both 1972 and 1973, so the Huskies' opening day loss in Maui, at a minimum, takes perfection off the table. What remains to be seen is how they recover from being outplayed by Memphis. The Huskies were fortunate to force overtime, but the loss costs them a No. 1 seed. Moving up is Tennessee, which already owns a pair of Quad 1 wins away from home (at Louisville and on a neutral site against Baylor). The Vols' next real challenge doesn't come until a Dec. 14 visit to Illinois, so they could hang around the top line for a while. Their move also solidifies the SEC's claim as the nation's top conference, with a pair of 1-seeds (Auburn, Tennessee) plus a whopping 11 projected bids overall.

On the Bubble

Last Four Byes

Last Four In

First Four Out

Next Four Out

68-Team Bracket

MIDWEST (INDIANAPOLIS)

Wichita

Seattle

Cleveland

EAST (NEWARK)

Lexington

Denver

Wichita

Providence

WEST (SAN FRANCISCO)

Seattle

1aq - Gonzaga
16aq - Grambling
aq - Central Connecticut/
8 Texas
9 Ole Miss

Denver

Raleigh

SOUTH (ATLANTA)

Lexington

Providence

Milwaukee

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

Seattle

Cleveland

Cleveland

EAST (NEWARK)

Lexington

Denver

Wichita

Providence

WEST (SAN FRANCISCO)

Seattle

Denver

Raleigh

Raleigh

SOUTH (ATLANTA)

Lexington

Providence

Milwaukee

Milwaukee

Conference Breakdown

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