Brackets are locked, pools are set, and the stakes are high– March Madness 2025 has begun! Whether one prefers to play it safe and root for the top-seed teams or try to predict the next “Cinderella,” this NCAA tournament has over 9.223 quintillion possible bracket outcomes, and there’s only one shot at a perfect lineup. Brackets can be based on many things: statistics, predicted upsets, and even solely on team vibes.
For those new to college basketball, March Madness, formally known as the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament, is a 68-team and 7-round single-elimination tournament that crowns one team the title of National Champion. There is also a Women’s March Madness tournament with 7-rounds and 64 D1 teams. Every March, people enter their predicted brackets for the tournament into competitive pools with their friends, family–and even coworkers–all aiming to have the most accurate picks.
The first day of March Madness 2025 already busted millions of brackets, with one of the biggest upsets being 12-seed McNeese beating 5-seed Clemson, a notably strong team that many chose to travel to the final 4. After the buzzer rang and the 69-67 score was confirmed, 11 million perfect brackets were reduced to a remaining 2 million. By the end of Thursday night, only approximately 36,000 brackets out of the submitted 34 million went 16 for 16 points on the first day. According to the NCAA, a perfect bracket has never been accomplished, but 2025 could potentially be the year!
Many Barons have been keeping up with their own brackets. Junior Eli Winkler shared, “The teams in my final four are Florida, Michigan State, Duke, and Houston.” This lineup is strong amongst Barons and countrywide brackets alike, with Duke University being favored to win the tournament in 30.97% percent of all brackets, followed by Florida at 17.5%. However, Winkler added, “I’m rooting for Michigan State to win.”
It is yet to be determined whether a lucky Baron could be the first-ever creator of a perfect bracket, but keep an eye out for the championship game on April 7.
