East

Duke Blue Devils

Why they will advance: Duke has all the ingredients of a national championship team...

Alabama Crimson Tide

Why they will advance: Battle-tested Alabama played the most difficult schedule in the nation...

Wisconsin Badgers

Why they will advance: After Chucky Hepburn (Louisville) and AJ Storr (Kansas) bolted from Madison via the portal, Wisconsin was expected to backslide...

Arizona Wildcats

Why they will advance: The Wildcats have enough talent to make a deep run...

Oregon Ducks

Why they will advance: Oregon has four double-digit scorers in its starting five...

BYU Cougars

Why they will advance: BYU got hot at the right time, finishing the regular season with an eight-game winning streak...

Saint Mary's Gaels

Why they will advance: Randy Bennett has once again built a glacially paced, defensive-minded team that can grind its opponents into powder...

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Why they will advance: Chris Jans has led Mississippi State to the NCAA tournament in all three seasons in Starkville...

Baylor Bears

Why they will advance: Baylor has one of the most talented freshmen in the country in VJ Edgecombe...

Vanderbilt Commodores

Why they will advance: In Mark Byington's first season, Vanderbilt emerged from the college basketball abyss behind a completely overhauled, up-tempo offensive attack...

VCU Rams

Why they will advance: Ryan Odom's squad brought back its top three scorers...

Liberty Flames

Why they will advance: The Flames play a similar defense to that of Virginia...

Akron Zips

Why they will advance: The Zips have lost just one game in 2025...

Montana Grizzlies

Why they will advance: Montana might not blow you away with anything flashy offensively...

Robert Morris Colonials

Why they will advance: Picked ninth in the 11-team Horizon League, Robert Morris is instead in the Big Dance for the first time in a decade...

Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers

Why they will advance: Mount St. Mary's has one of the most balanced offenses in the nation...

American University Eagles

Why they will advance: The Patriot League tournament champions play some of the slowest tempo in the country...

Midwest

Houston Cougars

Why they will advance: Because you can't score against them...

Tennessee Volunteers

Why they will advance: For a fifth consecutive season, Tennessee is fierce, physical and enters the NCAA tournament ranked in the top five in adjusted defensive efficiency...

Kentucky Wildcats

Why they will advance: The roster first-year coach Mark Pope built from scratch in the offseason possesses a key trait required to navigate the bracket: proven veterans...

Purdue Boilermakers

Why they will advance: There was indeed life after 7-4 Zach Edey for Purdue basketball and coach Matt Painter...

Clemson Tigers

Why they will advance: After making an Elite Eight run last March, Clemson has the traits to make a deep Bracketville foray again...

Illinois Fighting Illini

Why they will advance: Illinois is finally 100 percent healthy...

UCLA Bruins

Why they will advance: Mick Cronin's club features two double-digit scorers...

Gonzaga Bulldogs

Why they will advance: The Zags' offense is sharp and efficient...

Georgia Bulldogs

Why they will advance: Proven program builder Mike White has taken the Bulldogs from 154th in KenPom to 35th in just three seasons...

Utah State Aggies

Why they will advance: Washington gave former Mountain West Player of the Year Great Osobor 2 million reasons Utah State shouldn't have won this year...

Texas Longhorns

Why they will advance: Texas has high-end, next-level talent and the ability to match any opponent's personnel...

Xavier Musketeers

Why they will advance: Once on the bad side of the bubble, Xavier enters the NCAA tournament as one of the hottest teams in college basketball...

McNeese Cowboys

Why they will advance: Defense. Defense. Defense...

High Point Panthers

Why they will advance: High Point has the right stuff to bust a bracket this time of year...

Troy Trojans

Why they will advance: Defense. Troy ranks 27th in scoring defense nationally and 14th in steals...

Wofford Terriers

Why they will advance: Wofford lets it fly often from long range...

SIU Edwardsville Cougars

Why they will advance: Ray'Sean Taylor would have to have a Harold "The Show" Arceneaux moment...

South

Auburn Tigers

Why they will advance: Auburn has the best offense in the nation...

Michigan State Spartans

Why they will advance: At age 70, legendary Michigan State coach Tom Izzo proved he still has it...

Iowa State Cyclones

Why they will advance: Iowa State can beat anybody...

Texas A&M Aggies

Why they will advance: The Aggies are the nation's best offensive rebounding team...

Michigan Wolverines

Why they will advance: Last March, Michigan replaced Juwan Howard with Dusty May...

Ole Miss Rebels

Why they will advance: Ole Miss might have the most balanced attack in the 68-team field...

Marquette Golden Eagles

Why they will advance: Marquette dominates the turnover battle to earn extra possessions...

Louisville Cardinals

Why they will advance: Louisville coach Pat Kelsey came in and performed an extreme makeover...

Creighton Bluejays

Why they will advance: For a few years now, Greg McDermott has been playing his version of "Moneyball."...

New Mexico Lobos

Why they will advance: The Mountain West regular-season champs' fearsome defense ranks in the top 20 in most of the KenPom metrics...

San Diego State Aztecs

Why they will advance: Pressure defense has long served as the Aztecs' calling card under Brian Dutcher...

North Carolina Tar Heels

Why they will advance: Following weeks of bracketologist chatter about its lack of Quad 1 wins, North Carolina is in the field of 68...

UC San Diego Tritons

Why they will advance: The Tritons make the tournament in their first year of eligibility and boast the longest winning streak in the country at 15 games...

Yale Bulldogs

Why they will advance: Veteran point guard Bez Mbeng is ultraquick...

Lipscomb Bisons

Why they will advance: Two reasons: This is a veteran, poised team with four fifth-year senior starters...

Bryant Bulldogs

Why they will advance: This is a veteran squad, more athletic than your usual American East team...

Alabama State Hornets

Why they will advance: Guards are important in March, and Alabama State has three great ones...

St. Francis (Pa.) Red Flash

Why they will advance: The Red Flash continue to play with house money...

West

Florida Gators

Why they will advance: Florida enters the tournament ranked top-10 in the nation in adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency...

St. John's Red Storm

Why they will advance: Rick Pitino has created a monster on the defensive end of the floor...

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Why they will advance: JT Toppin leads a star-studded lineup...

Maryland Terrapins

Why they will advance: Kevin Willard's Terrapins feature a balanced attack...

Memphis Tigers

Why they will advance: Penny Hardaway's club does everything fast...

Missouri Tigers

Why they will advance: Offense is certainly an asset in March, and not many are more explosive than the one Dennis Gates created in Columbia this season...