Bracketology 2025: March Madness Predictions (Version 10.6)

Posted on March 15, 2025 by Jon Teitel

For our latest CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK VIDEO NOTEBOOK where we recap all of yesterday’s conference tournament games, preview all of today’s action, have all the conference tournament brackets, and links to so much more – CLICK HERE

We are only 1 day away from Selection Sunday as we continue to make our NCAA tourney predictions. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel correctly picked 67 of the 68 teams that made the 2024 tourney: 62 of his 67 were within 1 spot of their actual seed and 41 were right on the money. He will spend the weekend predicting which 68 teams will hear their names called on March 16th. See below for his list of who would make the cut if they picked the field today and if you agree or disagree then feel free to tweet us. To see how he stacks up with other websites (ranked 7th out of 179 bracket veterans over the past 5 years), check out: www.bracketmatrix.com

SEED: TEAM (CONFERENCE)
1: Auburn (SEC)
1: Duke (ACC)
1: Houston (Big 12)
1: Florida (SEC)

2: Alabama (SEC)
2: Tennessee (SEC)
2: Michigan State (Big 10)
2: St. John’s (Big East)

3: Texas Tech (Big 12)
3: Kentucky (SEC)
3: Wisconsin (Big 10)
3: Maryland (Big 10)

4: Iowa State (Big 12)
4: Texas A&M (SEC)
4: Purdue (Big 10)
4: Arizona (Big 12)

5: Clemson (ACC)
5: Michigan (Big 10)
5: Oregon (Big 10)
5: Mississippi (SEC)

6: Louisville (ACC)
6: UCLA (Big 10)
6: BYU (Big 12)
6: Illinois (Big 10)

7: St. Mary’s (WCC)
7: Missouri (SEC)
7: Kansas (Big 12)
7: Marquette (Big East)

8: Gonzaga (WCC): AUTO-BID
8: Memphis (AAC)
8: Creighton (Big East)
8: Connecticut (Big East)

9: Mississippi State (SEC)
9: New Mexico (MWC)
9: Georgia (SEC)
9: Utah State (MWC)

10: Baylor (Big 12)
10: Arkansas (SEC)
10: Oklahoma (SEC)
10: Vanderbilt (SEC)

11: West Virginia (Big 12)
11: Drake (MVC): AUTO-BID
11: San Diego State (MWC)
11: Indiana (Big 10)
11: VCU (A-10)
11: Texas (SEC)

12: Boise State (MWC)
12: UC San Diego (Big West)
12: McNeese (Southland): AUTO-BID
12: Liberty (C-USA)

13: Yale (Ivy)
13: High Point (Big South): AUTO-BID
13: Lipscomb (Atlantic Sun): AUTO-BID
13: Akron (MAC)

14: Troy (Sun Belt): AUTO-BID
14: Utah Valley (WAC)
14: UNC-Wilmington (CAA): AUTO-BID
14: Wofford (SoCon): AUTO-BID

15: Robert Morris (Horizon): AUTO-BID
15: Montana (Big Sky): AUTO-BID
15: Omaha (Summit): AUTO-BID
15: Bryant (America East)

16: Norfolk State (MEAC)
16: SIUE (OVC): AUTO-BID
16: American (Patriot): AUTO-BID
16: Mount St. Mary’s (MAAC)
16: Jackson State (SWAC)
16: St. Francis (NEC): AUTO-BID

1ST 4 OUT
Colorado State (MWC)
North Carolina (ACC)
Ohio State (Big 10)
Xavier (Big East)

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Championship Week Video Notebook – Day 13

Posted on March 15, 2025 by David Griggs

WELCOME SELECTION COMMITTEE MEMBERS!!!! We have all the information you need to help guide you through the process!!!

To see the progress that our Hoops HD Mock Committee is making, including who we’ve selected into our field and where they’ve been placed on the seedlist – CLICK HERE

Check out the HOOPS HD SURVIVAL BOARD, which shows who is a lock, who is on the bubble, and who needs the auto-bid

Also, don’t miss our CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT PAGE, which has brackets, times, and viewing information for all 31 conference tournaments

Check out our new HOOPS HD TEAM SHEETS AND DEFCON RATINGS for all 364 D1 teams

Finally, be sure to keep an eye on our most recent BRACKET PROJECTIONS

It was another crazy day in college hoops! Both ACC Semifinal games were crazy as North Carolina came back and nearly pulled the upset against Duke, and Clemson made a late run to almost knock off Louisville. Chalk held in the MAC, Big West, and Conference USA as we head into some exciting championship games tomorrow. The four teams in the SEC semifinals all have a shot at ending up as #1 seeds, and the Mountain West is getting exciting as several bubble teams are trying to play their way in. We will discuss all

And, for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…

ACC CHAMPIONSHIP:

AMERICA EAST CHAMPIONSHIP:

BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP:

BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP:

BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP:

CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP:

METRO ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP:

MEAC CHAMPIONSHIP:

MAC CHAMPIONSHIP:

MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPIONSHIP:

SWAC CHAMPIONSHIP:

WAC CHAMPIONSHIP:

AMERICAN SEMIFINALS:

ATLANTIC 10 SEMIFINALS:

BIG TEN SEMIFINALS:

IVY LEAGUE SEMIFINALS:

SEC SEMIFINALS:

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Tourney Talk: HoopsHD interviews St. Francis dancer Zoey Dunkle

Posted on March 15, 2025 by Jon Teitel

Last Tuesday St. Francis beat CCSU 46-43 in the NEC tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to next week’s NCAA tournament. The Red Flash had losing seasons each of the past 4 years but won each of their final 6 games to claim the school’s 1st NCAA tourney bid since 1991. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with St. Francis dancer Zoey Dunkle about the historic win earlier this week and making the NCAA tourney.

You are from Altoona, PA: what made you choose St. Francis? My brother came up here for basketball camps every year when he was younger. To see the school at such a young age made me want to be around that environment.

You are double-majoring in marketing/management with a minor in sports management: how did you choose those subjects? I just switched over to those majors this year. I really want to work in athletics: hopefully something in pro sports. I love marketing, and management just goes along with that.

You are the choreographer for the dance team: what does that involve? I create our halftime dances as well as the routine we are taking to nationals. I teach the dances at practices and then correct/clean them up.

You are a sophomore: do you have a post-graduation plan yet? I hope to work in marketing and would like to stay local, but I am willing to work for any athletic team.

How did you 1st get into dancing, and what is the best part? I was diagnosed with arthritis when I was 2 and my doctor said that dancing would help treat that by allowing me to keep moving. It is so rewarding to go out and showcase what we can do: it is very relaxing.

Your team was 10-17 in mid-February: what was the mood like inside DeGol Arena last month, and how has it changed since then? The environment at our games has remained the same. It was obviously more exciting when we won the conference tourney, but our band brings the best energy every single time. Coach Rob Krimmel and the band/cheer/dance teams support each other like a little family, so it is exciting whether we win or lose.

Last Tuesday in the NEC tourney title game your team had a 3-PT win at CCSU: what was the reaction like after the final buzzer went off, and how excited is everyone on campus this week? Everyone is so excited: it is truly historic because it had been so long since we won a title. It is amazing to be a part of it.

How does your school decide who gets to go to the NCAA tourney, and what will it mean to you to see your group doing its thing in front of a national TV audience? We are allowed to take 12 people combined from cheer/dance, and the dance team bases it on seniority/leadership. I am so excited to see what the environment is like, and I know that our team will do an amazing job.

Does your squad have anything extra-special planned for next week? We plan on doing sideline routines and will most likely do a halftime routine. The girls who cannot travel with us as part of our official 12-person roster can still show up and perform with us during halftime.

Any predictions for next week? I think we are going to win because I have the most confidence in my team. I am not even “hopeful”: I know that we are going to win!

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The Hoops HD Selection Committee – Friday, March 14th

Posted on March 14, 2025 by John Stalica

Tonight was the second night of our Hoops HD Selection Committee – we had two main tasks that we carried out during tonight’s meetings. The first thing we did was more of a housecleaning maneuver; SMU was voted off of the Under Consideration board after their loss in the ACC Tournament on Thursday. After this, we added more teams to consider for addition to the at-large board (along with carryovers Arkansas, Indiana and Vanderbilt). Each member of the Committee nominated eight teams; the top five vote getters would be added for consideration. In this round, Boise State, UC-San Diego, West Virginia and Xavier were nominated; Oklahoma beat out San Diego State in a tiebreaker for the fifth spot.

The next step was to rank those teams one through eight; the four teams added to the board were Arkansas, West Virginia, UC-San Diego and Oklahoma. Xavier and Boise State move on to the next round of at-large voting; Indiana and Vanderbilt returned to Under Consideration since they could not carry over in consecutive rounds of voting. This also means that a potential contingency spot could open up if UC-San Diego wins the Big West championship tomorrow night.

After this, the bulk of tonight’s work was adding the top eight lines to the Master Seed List. Each member of the Committee nominated twelve teams for consideration; the top 12 vote-getters would be ranked 1 through 12. (The real committee would nominate 8 teams and then rank them 1 through 8 as they go one seed line at a time, but we go 2 lines at a time to save time in the process.) Our 1-line included Auburn, Duke, Houston and Florida; our 2-line included Alabama, Tennessee, Michigan State and St. John’s.

We repeated this process three more times as we built the top 32 places for the Master Seed List. Below is where we finished the night:

Also note the 5 spots in orange at the at-large board: these are spots that are guaranteed to open up as the Big 12, B1G, Big East, SEC and ACC will not have bid thieves this year. The Mountain West (with Boise State in the championship game), American and A-10 could still have bids stolen depending on what happens this weekend (although you will note that we have not added VCU to our field).

Tomorrow night, we will fill up the remaining at-large spots and contingency spots and then we will finish building the master seed list. It will include more than 68 teams since not all the conference championships will have gone final until Sunday. After the Master Seed list is complete, we will do an initial scrub of the Master Seed list. Tune in tomorrow/early Sunday morning for the next update!

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All-Access at the A-10 Tournament in DC: Quarterfinal Friday

Posted on March 14, 2025 by Jon Teitel

Conference tournaments are about basketball but also so much more: the fans, parents, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The A-10 Tournament is taking place this week in Washington, DC, and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of access in the days ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage from DC with a recap of the quarterfinal quadruple-header on Friday.

GAME #1: VCU-ST. BONAVENTURE
I had to work, but the Rams won 76-59.

GAME #2: LOYOLA CHICAGO-ST. LOUIS
I had to work, but the Ramblers won 72-64.

GAME #3 GEORGE MASON-GEORGE WASHINGTON
I arrived midway through the 2nd half and was in disbelief to see that my assigned seat was 2 spots away from John Feinstein…because he died yesterday. However, another media member told me that they were leaving John’s assigned seat in place all weekend to honor his memory, so that made me feel much better:

As I was heading to the concourse to get some food I heard a loud roar in the arena to celebrate the GMU women’s basketball team, who beat St. Joe’s in their own conference tourney title game last weekend to clinch a spot in the NCAA tourney next week:

I was a little underwhelmed by the food options, so it looked like I was going to use my meal voucher for a 2nd straight night of chicken fingers/fries. Fortunately, the media hospitality room (which did NOT have any food last night) had a sizable spread featuring chips/cheese dip/veggies/egg rolls: #eatinggoodinMYneighborhood! I did not get to see much of the game itself, but the Patriots won 80-65.

In the postgame press conference, I asked GMU SR G Jared Billups (cousin of 2004 NBA Finals MVP Chauncey) if his perfect postseason effort (6-6 FG off the bench) might be due to some sort of “clutch family gene” at work. He smiled and gave me the rare 1-word answer: “Absolutely!” (Note: the players sat in front of the wrong nametags at the podium but this is indeed Jared)

GAME #4 DAYTON-ST. JOSEPH’S
Dayton fans travel better than those of almost any other non-power-conference school I know, so of the course the band was in place to welcome them to the East Coast:

There was plenty of media present for the previous game featuring 2 local-ish teams, but most of them did not stick around for the final game of the night so I was able to upgrade myself to a courtside seat near the St. Joe’s spirit squad and everyone’s favorite mascot: #thehawkneverdies:

I rarely get to see a “wedgie”, and especially not from a great vantage point, but for once I picked the right place at the right time:

Erik Reynolds II had a nice 1st half with 10 PTS, and since Dayton could not throw it in the ocean (8-30 FG), the Hawks eased into halftime with a 33-24 lead:

The Flyers had been trailing for most of the game before a nifty 9-0 run to tie it up with just over 8 minutes left. They did not shoot much better in the 2nd half but were able to build an early REB advantage courtesy of a double-double by Nick Santos:

The game went down to the wire and St. Joe’s SO G Xzayvier Brown was inexplicably fouled with 6 seconds left. He made a pair of FTs to save his team’s season, Dayton was unable to make a shot at the buzzer, and we are heading to OT!

If you think that I can recall anything about the 4th game of a quadruple-header the went into OT then you are giving me WAY too much credit…but the Hawks pulled off the upset by a score of 73-68.

In the postgame press conference, I asked St. Joe’s C Justice Ajogbor about having to win so many games in a row to clinch a conference tourney title after coming from Harvard where it only takes 2 days to win the Ivy tourney. He said that he is used to playing back-to-back games in the Ivy League and that his teammates just need to trust each other. Since his guys have his back, he is not worried about having to win 4 games in 4 days:

Since St. Joe’s coach Billy Lange appreciated my alliteration the night before, I wondered now that he had defeated Dayton how he would prepare for the Patriots.

I thought that would be a wrap for today…until I saw the Hawks greeted loudly outside the arena by their family/friends and got a dark-lit photo of the light-hearted moment:

NOW it is a wrap for today, check back tomorrow for the semifinal doubleheader.

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Tourney Talk: HoopsHD interviews Troy coach Scott Cross

Posted on March 14, 2025 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for Jon Teitel’s latest BRACKET PROJECTIONS, as well as for a link to our Championship Week Video Notebook

Last Monday Troy beat Arkansas State 94-81 in the Sun Belt tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to next week’s NCAA tournament. The Trojans have now had 4 straight seasons of 20+ wins as they claimed the school’s 1st NCAA tourney bid in 8 years. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Troy coach Scott Cross about his star player Tayton Conerway and making the NCAA tourney.

You played basketball at UT-Arlington and shot 37.9 3P% during your career: what is the secret to making shots from behind the arc? Repetition. During my final 2 years I would make 100 shots each day from 1-PT/2-PT/3-PT land. Even when my family and I went on vacation or when I visited my then-girlfriend/now-wife I had to make time each day to shoot: when she would come and rebound for me that would save me about 30 minutes! There are a million different ways to shoot the ball…but you must see it go in to be a good shooter.

You were a 2-time Academic All-American and graduated with a 4.0 GPA: how were you able to balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? My older brother was the 1st to make a 4.0: we were both competitive, so I was just trying to keep up with him. I am the kind of guy who would eat his vegetables 1st and that is also how I played on the court. I remember as a kid getting a test score of 43 in some class, and after that my mom would not let me go to the rec center until my homework was done. I would come home after school, get my studying done, and it just became a habit. I would take notes/study/read so the biggest reason was that I never procrastinated. I was also pretty good at my reconnaissance…so I asked around to find the best professors/easiest classes.

After graduating in 1998 you became an assistant to your college coach Eddie McCarter: was it weird to be an assistant while coaching guys who had been your teammates just months earlier? My roommate was the hard 1: Jared Hiple. Imagine living with a guy…and then telling him to run faster/lift weights! It was a bit of a challenge at 1st, but became easier over the years as I got more separation.

You were hired as head coach at your alma mater in 2006 and the following season you made the NCAA tourney before losing to eventual national-runner-up Memphis: what is it like to face Coach John Calipari in the postseason? I knew that he was a great coach, but after being in the business for so long and seeing all of his players who have became NBA superstars I have a different appreciation for him. They were a #1 seed and it seemed like they had an NBA team. I think he is a great coach/human being and I would be fired up to play for him if I had the chance. We played Arkansas back in November. I STILL do not know how he could have 8 McDonald’s All-Americans on 1 roster and keep them all happy. I do not think he got enough appreciation, and I am sure that Arkansas will see the dividends of having him as head coach.

After being hired at Troy in 2019 you had back-to-back losing seasons but have now won 20+ games for 4 years in a row: is it harder to become a winner or remain a winner? It is much harder to become 1: without a doubt. After I got spoiled during my 3-year run in Arlington I thought I had everything figured out, but it was extremely tough.

You faced several tourney-caliber teams in non-conference play (Arkansas/Houston/Oregon): which of them impressed you the most? Houston’s defense is probably the best that I have seen in my entire life. I felt really good about what we did even though we only scored 42 PTS because watching them defend is life-changing. I would probably pick them to win the national title: it would take a LOT to beat that team.

Last Monday in the Sun Belt tourney title game your team beat Arkansas State to clinch the title: what did it mean to you to win a title, and what was the reaction like after you got back to campus? It was amazing. I felt in my soul for a long time that it would happen, but this is the 1st time that it actually did. In my 2nd year as a young hotshot coach I thought that it would happen again…but I had to wait 17 years. I did not want that night to end: my wife and I went back to the hotel, sat out on our balcony, and just lived in the moment before we had to come back to school and get back to the grind.

Earlier this month SR SG Tayton Conerway was named conference POY/conference tourney MVP: what makes him such a great player? Teams simply cannot defend him 1-on-1 because he is too fast and can handle the ball. He is 3rd in the country in SPG and shoots a high percentage at every level, but what really separates him is his passing ability. He just has that special ability that NBA players have but average college players do not. You can show players things and hope they see it but he has the processing speed of a super-computer. He is not Luka Doncic/Magic Johnson, but he has that ability to make the right reads even when the game is moving fast.

Your wife Jennifer played volleyball at UT-Arlington: who is the best athlete in the family? Depends who you ask! If you ask her then she will say her: she had a good vertical jump. My boys might agree with her, but I feel pretty good about my own college accomplishments. I am hopeful that all 3 of our boys will take both of our genes and become much better athletes then I was.

What kind of seed do you think you deserve, and what kind of seed do you think you will get? The way it looks right now I think we should be a 13 seed for sure. There are several teams with a lower NET score than us, so in my mind I wish it was black and white. If you look at the SOS of the teams hovering around 13/14, you will see that we have the strongest schedule of any of them. There could be some bid thieves out there but I think it is a no-brainer. If we get a 14-seed then I will be VERY disappointed.

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