Selection Sunday is nigh and the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket – particularly at the top – is starting to take shape. Despite Auburn losing to Tennessee in the SEC Tournament semifinals, CBS Sports Bracketologist Jerry Palm still projects the Tigers to get the No. 1 overall seed when the bracket is unveiled.
Elsewhere, bubble teams such as Indiana, North Carolina and Texas face some uncertainty about their respective tournament hopes. With Colorado State winning the Mountain West Conference title, it potentially takes away an at-large berth from one of those power-conference programs vying for a bid to the Big Dance.
Auburn, Duke and Houston entered the day as near-locks to receive a No. 1 seed in the bracket, but the final spot is still up for grabs. The final No. 1 seed will likely go to Florida or Tennessee after Michigan State was upset by Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Tennessee faces Florida for the SEC title on Sunday.
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With the attention turning to the Big Ten and SEC title games and then Selection Sunday, here are the biggest winners and losers from Saturday’s slate.
Winner: SEC will get two No. 1 seeds on Selection Sunday
With Michigan State losing to Wisconsin earlier the day and Tennessee upsetting Auburn, the stage is set for the winner of the SEC Tournament Championship between Tennessee and Florida to snare a No. 1 seed, joining Auburn as SEC teams leading their region. Florida entered the weekend as the final No. 1 seed in the latest Bracketology projections and a win over the Vols mean they stay there.
How the committee handles seeding the rest of the glut of SEC teams is a whole ‘nother story.
– Cameron Salerno
Loser: Boise State leaves tournament faith up to the committee
Colorado State and Boise State controlled their destinies to get into the NCAA Tournament, and only one left no doubt they will be playing next week. Colorado State made a statement with a 69-56 win over Boise State in the Mountain West title game. Had the Rams lost, their chances of reaching the NCAA Tournament would’ve been slim to none. Boise State entered the weekend on the bubble and now will have to sweat out Selection Sunday, just like every other bubble team. – Salerno
Winner: Duke wins ACC title without Cooper Flagg
Even without superstar freshman Cooper Flagg in the lineup, Duke won three straight games at the ACC Tournament and defeated No. 2 Louisville 73-62 to bring home the title. Flagg’s classmate Kon Knueppel scored 18 points, and veteran guard Tyrese Proctor added 19 in the win. Duke got more good news hours before the ACC title game when NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball Dan Gavitt told CBS Sports that Flagg is expected to return for the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils were likely going to stay on the No. 1 seed line regardless of tonight’s result, but a win over Louisville is more positive momentum heading into the Big Dance. – Salerno
Winner: Wisconsin’s John Tonje makes a statement
In the penultimate game of this week’s Big Ten Tournament, Wisconsin star John Tonje stole the show for the Badgers and made a strong case for his All-American candidacy with 32 points, seven boards and one clutch block to help secure a win over No. 7 Michigan State.
Tonje’s offensive output alone was a full-blown superstar show but his timing to seal the win was even better. On one end of the floor, he missed a free throw that would have effectively ended the game — but on the other end he totally redeemed himself with a timing block that could not have been better coordinated. – Kyle Boone
Loser: Michigan State misses chance to move to No. 1 line
Entering the weekend, Michigan State was one of a handful of teams still in contention to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It’s unlikely MSU is a No. 1 seed after being on the wrong side of a 77-74 upset loss to Wisconsin. The Spartans should still earn a No. 2 seed in the bracket, but losing to Wisconsin made it easy for the committee to exclude MSU on the No. 1 seed line. MSU needed to win the Big Ten title to have a chance.
So, what went wrong? One obvious answer (as Boone stated above) is Michigan State couldn’t stop Tonje. The Wisconsin star made four 3-pointers and attempted 14 free throws. Tonje made his first 12 at the line before missing a pair with less than six seconds left.
Since losing to Indiana last month, Michigan State had won its last eight games. Six of those eight wins were against ranked opponents. Although Michigan State survived and (flawlessly) got through its toughest stretch of the season, they couldn’t end the story with a Big Ten conference title. Now, the Spartans will await their draw, and part of the question that’s next is, what No. 1 seed will be on the other side of their region. – Salerno
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Winner: Tre Donaldson is the hero twice for Michigan
If the Big Ten Tournament has offered a glimpse of what March Madness will offer in the coming weeks, college basketball fans are in for a treat. Michigan guard Tre Donaldson was not the hero once, but twice in the 81-80 win over Maryland. Donaldson hit a clutch 3-pointer in the final minutes to give his team the lead and scored a layup with 0.4 seconds left that won the Wolverines the game. With a matchup against Wisconsin on deck, Michigan will be able to make its case to move up on the seed line with a win. – Salerno
Loser: South Carolina State forgets the score in MEAC title game
South Carolina State lost the MEAC title game in the worst fashion possible against Norfolk State. After South Carolina State recorded a steal and scored a basket with less than 10 seconds remaining to tie the game at 65, a player on South Carolina State fouled on the ensuing inbounds pass while Norfolk State was in the bonus. Norfolk State’s Christian Ings drained a go-ahead free throw, and his team got a stop on the ensuing possession to seal a 66-65 win. Norfolk State will make its third NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2020-21 season. – Salerno
Winner: Bubble teams avoid AAC disaster (so far)
Top-seeded Memphis gave bubble teams a scare in the AAC Tournament semifinals as the Tigers fell behind No. 4 seed Tulane in the final minute. However, the Tigers escaped for a 78-77 win, allowing teams like Xavier, Texas, North Carolina and everyone else who is sweating right now a chance to exhale. If Memphis wins the AAC Tournament, it will be the league’s only NCAA Tournament team. If UAB beats Memphis, it will steal a bid (Memphis will make it, too). Crisis averted, for now anyway. – David Cobb
Winner: Houston, St. John’s bring home conference titles
Houston left no doubt about its status as a No. 1 seed with an impressive 72-64 win over Arizona in the Big 12 title game. Just minutes after that game ended, St. John’s got over the hump with a 82-66 win over Creighton at Madison Square Garden. Houston won its first Big 12 Conference title in Year 2 as a member of the league, while St. John’s captured its first Big East title since 2000. – Salerno
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