College basketball players have been competing for months, hoping to see their schools named one of the 68 teams who will battle in the men’s March Madness tournament. On March 16, also known as Selection Sunday, the athletes finally learned if their hard work had paid off and landed them a spot in the bracket.
On Sunday, the NCAA selection committee began revealing the full lineup for the annual tournament that basketball fans cannot get enough of.
Among the teams announced were Auburn University, Duke University and University of Houston, who’ve earned three of the four coveted No. 1 seeds.
The announcement comes just hours after the conclusion of the last regular season championship games. Once again, every team is looking to dethrone the University of Connecticut Huskies, who have won the national title for the last two years. Meanwhile, the Huskies want to extend their winning streak to three in a row, which hasn’t been done since the UCLA Bruins won an impressive seven consecutive titles from 1967 to 1973.
Continuing a recent change to the selection format, the 2025 men’s basketball NCAA tournament will again feature First Four matchups. Those eight teams — North Carolina, San Diego State, Alabama State, Saint Francis, Texas, Xavier and two more — will have to battle in an extra preliminary round before the tournament officially begins to see if they can secure a place in the first round of 64.
Selection Sunday results
The following teams received an automatic bid to play in the tournament, after winning their conference:
- Bryant University (American East)
- Memphis (American Athletic)
- Duke University (ACC)
- Lipscomb University (ASUN)
- VCU (Atlantic 10)
- Michigan University (Big 10)
- University of Houston (Big 12)
- St. John’s (Big East)
- University of Montana (Big Sky)
- High Point University (Big South)
- University of California San Diego (Big West)
- University of North Carolina Wilmington (CAA)
- Liberty University (Conference USA)
- Robert Morris University (Horizon League)
- Yale (Ivy League)
- Mount Saint Mary’s (MAAC)
- University of Akron (MAC)
- Norfolk State University (MEAC)
- Drake University (Missouri Valley)
- Colorado State University (Mountain West)
- Saint Francis (Northeast)
- Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (Ohio Valley)
- American University (Patriot League)
- University of Florida (SEC)
- Wofford College (Southern)
- McNeese State University (Southland)
- Alabama State University (SWAC)
- University of Nebraska Omaha (Summit League)
- Troy University (Sun Belt)
- Gonzaga University (West Coast)
- Grand Canyon University (WAC)
So far, here are the major teams to watch with top seeding in the tournament.
No. 1 seeds
- Auburn
- Duke
- Houston
No. 2 seeds
- Michigan State
- Alabama
- Tennessee
No. 3 seeds
- Iowa State
- Wisconsin
- Kentucky
No. 4 seeds
- Texas A&M
- Arizona
- Purdue
When does March Madness 2025 begin?
The preliminary round, the First Four, starts on March 18 and will conclude the next day. Those games will be held in Dayton, Ohio, at the University of Dayton’s UD Arena.
Then, the first round kicks off on Thursday, March 20. The games in the first round and subsequent rounds will be played in cities across the country, including Seattle, Denver, San Francisco and Atlanta.
The two teams that outlast the rest will have a chance to vie for the 2025 men’s basketball NCAA tournament trophy. The March Madness championship game will take place on April 7 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
How to watch the men’s NCAA basketball tournament
Throughout the tournament, the March Madness games will be available to watch on multiple platforms and channels. Games will be shown on TBS, TNT, TRuTV and CBS. To stream those games, fans can sign into their Max or Paramount+ accounts.
This year, fans can also watch every game using the March Madness Live App. The app requires the use of a TV provider to log in and can be accessed on almost any device.
How to print the NCAA tournament March Madness bracket
The NCAA releases an official March Madness bracket every year so that college basketball fans can make their predictions for each matchup.
