2025 NCAA Tournament bracket: Scouting each team in the Sweet 16 as March Madness rolls on

The 2025 NCAA Tournament began with 68 teams earlier this week, and the bracket has now been reduced to the Sweet 16. With regional semifinal matchups set with the conclusion of the second round, scouting work has already begun for the teams just two wins away from reaching the Final Four in San Antonio.

Duke, Florida and Houston are back in the Sweet 16 as familiar faces, while BYU and Ole Miss are making their long-awaited return to the second weekend of March Madness. BYU is in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2011, while Ole Miss will return to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001.

The theme of the NCAA Tournament has been the lack of seeding upsets. No. 10 seed Arkansas advanced to the Sweet 16 after an upset win over St. John’s on Saturday. No. 12 seed Colorado State — the highest seed remaining — lost at the buzzer when Maryland star Derik Queen hit a fadeaway jumper as time expired to give his team a 72-71 win.

Meanwhile, all four No. 1 seeds (Auburn, Duke, Houston and Florida) are still alive. 

Now that the matchups are set, let’s take an early look at what’s ahead for the Sweet 16, which is set to tip off on Thursday.

West Regional

Thursday — Chase Center in San Francisco

(1) Florida vs. (4) Maryland

• Scouting the Gators — Florida rolls into the West Regional as the team to beat. The Gators withstood a heavyweight fight against two-time reigning national champion UConn to advance to the Sweet 16. Florida’s offense starts and stops with All-American Walter Clayton Jr., who is arguably the best guard in the country. Florida can overwhelm teams with its size down low and has the perfect blend of depth and star power to make a deep run. Florida ranks No. 1 in adjusted offensive efficiency and 10th in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom. The Gators don’t have many weaknesses.
• Scouting the Terrapins — Maryland has one of the most talented starting lineups in this country. It starts with star big man Derik Queen, a projected first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Queen and fellow frontcourt mate Julian Reese — the brother of former LSU star Angel Reese — are a dynamic duo with each capable of finishing with a double-double every night. You can’t forget about the guard play on this team, either. Ja’Kobi Gillespie (14.7 points per game), Rodney Rice (13.8) and Selton Miguel (12.0) all average double-digit points. Maryland did finish ranked No. 314 in bench minutes, and part of that is because the starting lineup is that good.

(3) Texas Tech vs. (10) Arkansas

• Scouting the Red Raiders — You may notice a trend with the roster that coach Grant McCasland is building at Texas Tech. A majority of the Red Raiders production and scoring has come from transfers. Seven of the eight players on the roster who have played at least 30 games came from the transfer portal. The lone exception is freshman guard Christian Anderson — the Red Raiders’ fourth-leading scorer. One of those prized transfers is JT Toppin, who won this year’s Big 12 Player of the Year. Toppin was a coveted commodity in the transfer portal after a standout freshman season at New Mexico and has blossomed into a legitimate NBA Draft prospect. Texas Tech’s offense is efficient. The Red Raiders rank No. 5 in adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom, and rank in the top 50 in 3-point percentage (37.1%), 2-point percentage (54.9%) and free-throw percentage (76.4%) as a team. 

• Scouting the Razorbacks — Arkansas became the second team in the last 20 years (joining Texas A&M’s 2017-18 team) to reach the Sweet 16 after starting conference play 0-5. The Razorbacks had an up-and-down season in coach John Calipari’s first year with the program, but everything seems to be clicking at the right time to make this run possible. Arkansas is one of the best shot-blocking teams in the country and has tremendous length and size in the frontcourt. The Razorbacks finished fourth in the country (behind UConn, Auburn and Bryant) by averaging 5.6 blocks per game. This Arkansas roster is transfer and freshmen heavy, with most of the players in the rotation being either former Kentucky players or Kentucky recruits before they flipped their commitment to follow Calipari from Lexington to Arkansas.

East Regional

Thursday — Prudential Center in Newark

(1) Duke vs. (4) Arizona

• Scouting the Blue Devils — Duke is the tallest team in Division l basketball by average height. The Blue Devils have a lengthy starting lineup headlined by a pair of future NBA lottery picks: Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach. Duke has a veteran backcourt in Sion James and Tyrese Proctor that give opposing teams trouble on defense. The Blue Devils rank in the top five in offense and defensive adjusted efficiency and are top 20 in 3-point percentage (37.7%), 2-point percentage (58.2%) and free-throw percentage (78.4). Duke has the right blend of experience, talent and youth, making it the popular pick to cut down the nets next month in San Antonio.
• Scouting the Wildcats — After a heartbreaking loss to Clemson in the Sweet 16 last year, the Wildcats are back in the second weekend. Arizona hasn’t been to the Final Four since 2001. Arizona’s defense has to find ways to create second chances on the glass to pull an upset against Duke. Arizona ranks 15th in offensive rebounding percentage and is averaging 82.1 points per game, good enough for 19th.

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Kyle Boone

(2) Alabama vs. (6) BYU

• Scouting the Crimson Tide — Alabama’s calling card is its potent offense that averaged 91.1 points per game, good enough for No. 1 among all Division l teams. The Crimson Tide made a run to the Final Four last spring behind one of the top-ranked offenses in the country and are in the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year because of it. Nate Oats’ team loves to push the pace. Alabama ranked No. 1 in adjusted tempo and fourth in average possession length (14.9 seconds). You must slow down the pace and limit All-American guard Mark Sears to beat this team. Alabama has one of the deepest rosters in the country, and that depth will be essential in making another run to the Final Four and beyond.

• Scouting the Cougars — The new trend in college basketball has been to hire NBA assistants to run your program. BYU took that route this offseason when replacing former coach Mark Pope with Phoenix Suns assistant Kevin Young. The early returns have been overwhelmingly positive. The Cougars are playing in the Sweet 16 for the first time in 14 years. The best part is there’s reason to believe better days are ahead if you’re a BYU fan. BYU forward Richie Saunders went from scoring 9.6 points per game last season to 16 this year. Another name to know on this BYU roster is freshman guard Egor Demin. Although the star freshman has had an up-and-down season, Demin still projects as an early-to-mid first-round pick in this summer’s draft.

Midwest Regional

Friday — Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis

(1) Houston vs. (4) Purdue

• Scouting the Cougars — Defense. Defense. Defense. That is the heart and soul of any team coached by Kelvin Sampson, and it applies again to this version of the Cougars. The difference for this season’s team compared to last year is the offense (particularly the shooting) has significantly improved. Houston is shooting 39.8% from the 3-point line, which ranks No. 1 among all teams. Last year, Houston ranked just above average (133rd) from the 3-point line. Houston ranks No. 1 in KenPom in adjusted defensive efficiency and 10th on the offensive side of the ball. Something to keep an eye on for future matchups is Houston’s pace. Houston plays at the third-slowest pace of any team that reached the NCAA Tournament behind Saint Mary’s and Drake.
• Scouting the Boilermakers — Purdue is back in the second weekend less than a year after reaching the national title game for the first time since 1969. The head of the snake for the Boilermakers this time is All-American point guard Braden Smith, who finished second in the country behind Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard in assists per game (8.6). While Smith has undoubtedly taken a jump, the biggest surprise has been the improvement of forward Trey Kaufman-Renn. With two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey in the NBA, Kaufman-Renn increased his scoring from 6.4 points per game last season to 20.2 this year. Purdue ranks No. 6 in adjusted offensive efficiency per KenPom, and shoots 38.3% from the 3-point line, good enough for 11th among Division l teams.

(2) Tennessee vs. (3) Kentucky

• Scouting the Volunteers — Tennessee ranks as one of the best defensive teams in the country in numerous statical categories. The Volunteers rank No. 2 in adjusted defensive efficiency, third in 3-point defense (28.3%, and sixth in block percentage (15.7%). Tennessee guards Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack are two of the best individual defenders in the country, and transfer guard Chaz Lanier is a prolific scorer. Tennessee tends to rely on its starting lineup, as only 25.1% of the total minutes played by rotational players came from reserves.

• Scouting the Wildcats — Year 1 of the Mark Pope era has been successful. The Wildcats reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019 and look poised to build off this run for years to come. Kentucky is still rolling on to the Sweet 16 despite losing star guard Jaxson Robinson to a season-ending injury last month. The way the Wildcats win is with their shooting. Kentucky rank 24th in the country in 3-point percentage (37.4%), and 33.9% of its total points come from beyond the arc. Lamont Butler — the former San Diego State star who guided that program to the Final Four in 2023 — is the heart and soul of this team on defense. Butler was banged up earlier this season and has played with a heavily-taped shoulder throughout the tournament.

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Isaac Trotter

South Regional

Friday — State Farm Arena in Atlanta

(1) Auburn vs. (5) Michigan

• Scouting the Tigers — After cruising through the regular season (mostly) unscathed, Auburn hit a wall right before the start of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers dropped three of their final four games (no eventual national champion has endured a stretch like that to end the season) and fought off an upset bid from Creighton in the Round of 32 to advance. The heart and soul of this Auburn team is National Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome. The star big man headlines one of the most efficient offenses in the country. The Tigers are No. 3 in adjusted offensive efficiency and rank fifth in team turnover percentage (13.4%).
• Scouting the Wolverines — Michigan is the only team in Division l basketball that starts two 7-footers (Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin), which should offer an incredible matchup against Auburn’s talented bigs. Michigan ranks 200th in 3-point field goal percentage (33.3%) but No. 15 in 2-point percentage (57.3). The Wolverines are 14-4 this season in games decided by five points or fewer and have won 12 straight in that margin. The Wolverines are the first team (since the inception of the Sweet 16 in 1975) to win eight or fewer games the year before and reach the Sweet 16 the following season.

(2) Michigan State vs. (6) Ole Miss

• Scouting the Spartans — For the 16th time in the Tom Izzo era at Michigan State, the Spartans have reached the Sweet 16. Michigan State captured the Big Ten regular-season title after going 17-3 in conference play but lost in the Big Ten Tournament to Wisconsin. The Spartans have the top-ranked 3-point defense (27.7%) and rank fifth in adjusted defensive efficiency. However, MSU’s Achilles heel is its 3-point shooting on offense. The Spartans shoot just 31.1% from beyond the arc as a team, which ranks No. 316. 

• Scouting the Rebels — Chris Beard became the eighth coach in college basketball history to win an NCAA Tournament game with four different programs after guiding Ole Miss to a win over North Carolina in the first round. Beard helped Ole Miss reach the Sweet 16 for the first time in 24 years and the second time in program history after a win over Iowa State on Sunday. The Rebels have never been to the Elite Eight, and the key to getting there will be to take care of the basketball. The Rebels have the third-lowest turnover percentage (13%) of any team in the country.