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Michigan State officially made its 27th straight NCAA Tournament when 2025 March Madness bracket was released on Selection Sunday, the longest active NCAA Tournament streak in the nation. Tom Izzo, in his 29th year as head coach, has been at the helm for all 27 years and the Spartans have made it past the opening round in 21 trips to the NCAA bracket. The Spartans are the No. 2 seed in the South Region playing No. 15 Bryant, so how far should you expect Michigan State to survive when making your 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket picks?
Michigan State went 27-6 and won eight straight games before losing to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Izzo is known for having his teams playing at their best in March, so does that mean another Final Four appearance is likely in the March Madness bracket 2025? Before making any 2025 March Madness bracket predictions, be sure to check out the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
Their proven projection model has simulated every game in the tournament 10,000 times. It has absolutely crushed its March Madness picks recently, beating over 91 percent of all CBS Sports brackets in four of the past six tournaments. It was all over UConn’s championship run a year ago and nailed 13 teams in the Sweet 16. It also nailed Alabama’s Cinderella run to the Final Four as a 4-seed.
It knows how to spot an upset as well. The same model has produced brackets that have nailed 24 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception in 2016. There’s simply no reason to rely on luck when there’s proven technology to help you dominate your 2025 March Madness pools.
Now, with the 2025 NCAA bracket being revealed, the model is simulating the matchups and its results are in. You can only see it over at SportsLine.
2025 March Madness bracket games to watch
One of the 2025 March Madness matchups to keep an eye on: No. 8 seed Mississippi State vs. No. 9 seed Baylor in the East Region. Mississippi State had the No. 6 scoring offense in the best conference in the nation, averaging 79.8 ppg. Baylor will need to know where Josh Hubbard is at all times with the sophomore guard being one of the best shooters in college basketball. Hubbard averaged 18.7 ppg while making 3.2 triples per game this season. He made six 3-pointers en route to scoring 26 points in a victory over LSU in the first round of the SEC Tournament, so if he gets hot from deep early, that could mean an early exit for the Bears. Baylor may throw its size at the 5-foot-11 Hubbard though with 6-7 guard Jalen Celestine and 6-5 guard VJ Edgecombe in the starting lineup. Edgecombe, a freshman, is a projected NBA lottery pick and is averaging 15 points this season.
Also in the East Region, BYU vs. VCU figures to be a pivotal 6 vs. 11 matchup. BYU head coach Kevin Young proved ready to take over after Mark Pope left to become head coach at Kentucky as the Cougars return to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed, just as it did last year. Young hopes for better results than his predecessor, as BYU was upset by No. 11 Duquesne in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Cougars enter the 2025 NCAA Tournament playing some of their best basketball with nine straight wins before a loss to Houston, a No.1 seed, in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals. Meanwhile, VCU enters off an Atlantic 10 Championship in a 28-6 season. VCU has the No. 6 scoring defense (62.5 ppg) this season while holding opponents to 39% from the field, which is seventh-best in college basketball.
The third matchup to watch in the East Region features No. 3 seed Wisconsin vs. No. 14 seed Montana. The Badgers have three victories over teams that were ranked in the top 10, and they also do something better than the other 363 Division I teams. That is converting from the line, which is paramount in March, as Wisconsin knocks down 83% of its attempts from the charity stripe. Montana, meanwhile, swept the Big Sky regular season and tournament thanks to an offense that does something better than all but one other DI team. Montana ranks second in the nation with a 50.2% field goal percentage, with five of its top seven scorers converting at least 50% from the field. You can see how far all these teams go over at SportsLine.
How to make 2025 NCAA bracket predictions
How far will those major programs go? And which Cinderella teams will make surprising runs through the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket? With the model’s track record of calling bracket-busting upsets, you’ll want to see which stunners it is calling this year before locking in any 2025 NCAA bracket picks.
So what’s the optimal NCAA Tournament bracket 2025? And which 2025 March Madness underdogs will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which teams you can back with confidence, all from the model that’s nailed 24 upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception and beat over 91% of players in four of the last six tournaments.
