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Every No. 1 seed advanced into the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament and only one double-digits seed — preseason No. 16 Arkansas, a No. 10 seed — is still dancing as we gear up for the Sweet 16. But guess what? Even a morsel of chalk in the action left brackets busted.
Yes, all of them: As of Sunday, no perfect brackets remained at CBS Sports.
Not even mine.
So with the rest of our CBS team’s brackets also a shambles (our title picks are still alive: give us some credit!), I’ve taken the liberty of extending our experts a gob of grace to reset their brackets with the Sweet 16. A fresh slate, if you will.
Our stabs below to reset the slate are below.
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Gary Parrish, college basketball insider
Original pick for champion: Auburn
I appreciate the opportunity to “reset” my bracket — but I’m only going to make changes where necessary, which means I’ll keep Auburn as my projected champ.
Do I love it?
No, I don’t love it — especially considering Auburn is just 3-3 in its past six games and ranked 32nd nationally, at BartTorvik.com, in that span. Bruce Pearl’s Tigers have slipped from first to fourth at KenPom.com since starting the season 24-2.
None of this is good.
But, for the bulk of this season, Auburn was the best team in the country — and there’s no roster-reason the Tigers can’t get back to that. So I’m sticking with AU over Houston on the first Monday night in April.
Matt Norlander, college basketball senior writer
Original pick for champion: Houston
Well, all told, my bracket’s not an outright disaster. I lost St. John’s (Final Four pick), but my other three are still alive. And initially, I had Auburn vs. Michigan State, Duke vs. Alabama, Houston vs. Kentucky and Maryland vs. SJU in the Elite Eight. So there’s not a lot to redo here, but I do have to pick a new winner out of the West.
As much as I like Maryland (and have the Terps upsetting the Gators in a reptile rumble), I’m going to go with Texas Tech to emerge. The Red Raiders have ranked top-10 in advanced metrics for two months at this point. Grant McCasland’s team has a top-five offense, is led by an All-American in JT Toppin and can match up well with the three other teams. So give me the Red Raiders. As of my title pick, there’s nothing to change. I’ve had Houston since the start and will continue to back the Coogs thanks to this being the best offensive team Kelvin Sampson’s had since he got there.
Dennis Dodd, senior writer
Original pick for champion: Houston
Having watched Houston now skate through the Big 12 Tournament and into the Sweet 16, the Cougars have many failsafes. That is, if one part of their game goes bad, there is always another to back it up. The typically smothering defense broke down a bit against Gonzaga in the second round. The Cougars actually gave up their most points in more than seven weeks. No problem, guard LJ Cryer tied a career high with 30 points. Kelvin Sampson has three bigs who can defend and score — a luxury for any team. But the backcourt of Cryer and Milos Uzan are now one of the best in the country. The last time Houston was better Guy V. Lewis sported a towel and Phi Slama Jama was redefining the game. These Cougars are merely getting through the bracket in workmanlike style. .
Kyle Boone, college basketball writer
Original pick for champion: Duke
If the college basketball gods can’t deliver us a Cinderella this March, the least it can do is set up a date between the two teams that have been either the best from a resume perspective or metrics perspective — or both, depending on the timing — in Auburn and Duke.
Duke is on an historic trajectory after leading the nation in scoring margin and blasting through the first two rounds without so much as a sweat. Auburn’s regular season earned it the No. 1 overall seed after winning the SEC in a record-breaking good year for the league.
It feels like all season has been a steady drum beat working toward a collision course for these two to test each other in the season finale. I’m taking the Blue Devils to down the Tigers, like they did earlier this season in Durham, to punctuate its great season with a win over the team that spent more time than any other at No. 1 this season. Duke will cut down the nets in San Antonio, and there will be no doubts about whether it earned it.
David Cobb, college basketball writer
Original pick for champion: Florida
Florida was my original pick to win it all, and I’m sticking with the Gators, despite the fact they were pushed in the second round by No. 8 seed UConn. UF has the best group of guards left in the bracket, and we all know how important guard play is this time of year. Third-year coach Todd Golden has never been this far in an NCAA Tournament before, but the team he assembled is good enough to overcome that inexperience. In fact, the Gators own victories over five of the other six SEC teams still left in this bracket.
Cameron Salerno, college basketball writer
Original pick for champion: Duke
Duke was my national title pick earlier this month, so it’s only right I stick with that selection. The Blue Devils have looked like the best team in the NCAA Tournament. Duke is on a collision course to meet Florida in the national title game next month in San Antonio.
Chip Patterson, college basketball writer
Original pick for champion: Duke
No changes in my Final Four as all four teams, and seven of my original eight Elite Eight, are still alive. If anything, the takeaway from the opening weekend has me more emboldened with the chalky Duke pick. Dan Hurley said last weekend that Florida reminded him of his UConn teams in terms of roster construction, but the Blue Devils look like they have a UConn-like tournament run winning every game by a double-digit margin. Tyrese Proctor is heating up at the right time, and Cooper Flagg‘s time off the court only seemed to energize him for this final push at the sport’s biggest goal.
Jerry Palm, Bracketology expert
Original pick for champion: Florida
My original picks are still alive, so I am sticking with them. Florida was less than stellar its last against UConn, but even though the Huskies had a relatively rough season, they are still the reigning champs. I was not expecting them to give it up easily. Duke looks every bit as dominant as they were stomping through the ACC, but the Gators were the class of the best conference in college hoops history at the end, if not for the entire season. I’m still riding Florida..
Isaac Trotter, college basketball writer
Original pick for champion: Duke
I had Duke, Auburn, Texas Tech and Houston in my Final Four when the bracket first came out. I’m sticking to my guns, Red Raider style. The bracket has certainly opened up for Texas Tech after second-seeded St. John’s went down. Arkansas will be a chore, but Texas Tech is in a rock-solid spot. I will continue to bang the drum for Auburn. I would be stunned if the Tigers can’t advance out of this region. You can make a strong case that this Arizona game will be tougher for Duke than whoever it faces in the Elite Eight. If Duke goes down, this is the spot. I still have the Blue Devils winning the National Championship, but this is going to be a huge test. Meanwhile, I thought the Houston-Gonzaga winner would make it to the Final Four. I’ll stick with it. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
