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NCAA Tournament 2025 March Madness Picks & Predictions

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00:00Well, ladies and gentlemen, the time has come.
00:02It is my official 2025 March Madness
00:06full bracket prediction.
00:09This is my official bracket.
00:11You are looking at somebody that correctly predicted
00:14every single state in the 2024 election,
00:18correctly predicted every single game
00:21in the 2025 college football playoff bracket.
00:24And now I'm gonna correctly predict every game
00:28in March Madness.
00:29This is an amazing thing.
00:31So guys, let's get right into it.
00:32We've got all of the games.
00:34I do first round, second round, third.
00:35That's how we do it.
00:36We go first round, all the games,
00:37second round, all the games,
00:38sweet 16, elite eight, final four,
00:41national championship, let's do it.
00:43In the South region,
00:44we've got the number one overall seed, Auburn.
00:46They struggled towards the end of the year,
00:49but yes, they're the number one overall seed.
00:50They had 15 quad one wins,
00:52taking on either Alabama State or St. Francis PA.
00:54I'll take St. Francis PA to beat Alabama State,
00:57but then of course, give me Auburn to win that game.
01:00Our first 89 game, we've got Louisville taking on Creighton.
01:03Louisville out of the ACC, very good year.
01:06Creighton, solid team themselves.
01:09I will take Creighton to beat Louisville
01:12in a coin flip eight V nine game.
01:14Yes, Louisville's got a better record,
01:16but the ACC is terrible.
01:17Give me Creighton.
01:18They've got the overall better player.
01:20Next, you've got the first five V 12 game.
01:22It is Michigan coming off,
01:25beating Wisconsin, winning the Big Ten tournament.
01:28And that was after they had a struggle there
01:29at the end of the year.
01:30Taking on UC San Diego.
01:32UC San Diego, sitting at 30 and four.
01:37They're going to be a team a lot of people pick,
01:38but guys, don't get overzealous.
01:40Go with Michigan.
01:41They're on a run.
01:42They just won three games in a row.
01:43They'll beat UC San Diego.
01:45You got to feel bad for UC San Diego.
01:47Next, we've got Texas A&M taking on Yale.
01:50Not a big fan of Texas A&M in this tournament,
01:52but I do think they will beat Yale.
01:53Yale was not that impressive in the Ivy League tournament.
01:56They almost lost in the semifinal game.
01:57I will take Texas A&M to win that one.
02:00Next, we've got Ole Miss taking on San Diego State
02:03or North Carolina.
02:05The people very angry, North Carolina making the tournament
02:07maybe for ratings, who knows.
02:09I'll take the 11 over the six.
02:10I'm not a big fan of Ole Miss.
02:12Whether it is San Diego State or North Carolina,
02:14you don't have to predict that.
02:16I think either one of them is going to beat Ole Miss
02:18in a little bit of an upset,
02:19but not really.
02:20Give me the 11 over the six.
02:22Next, we've got Iowa State taking on Lipscomb.
02:25The 14 seed against the three seed.
02:26Iowa State had a very nice close to the year.
02:28I think this is going to be a blowout.
02:30Three over 14.
02:31No chance of an upset there.
02:32Give me Iowa State.
02:34Marquette taking on New Mexico.
02:36New Mexico really let down there at the end of the year.
02:38I'll take Marquette.
02:39Better guard play.
02:40The seven seed advances.
02:41Higher scoring game.
02:43The final game of this region in the first round,
02:45it is Michigan State taking on Bryant.
02:47Very boring game.
02:48Give me Michigan State to advance in that one.
02:51The two beats the 15.
02:53Next, we'll move on to the East region.
02:56You do have Duke taking on American
02:58or Mount St. Mary's State.
03:00I think American beats Mount St. Mary's State,
03:02so American will face Duke.
03:04And then Duke, we'll have to see with them.
03:06Everyone's saying they got a good draw, a good region,
03:08but we'll see with Cooper Flagg.
03:10Apparently, he's going to be back,
03:11so we're going to be treating this like he's healthy.
03:13That's what we would hope.
03:14Duke advances.
03:15They beat American.
03:16Next, we've got Mississippi State taking on Baylor.
03:188v9 coin flip game.
03:20Give me Baylor.
03:21I like Baylor.
03:22SEC had a lot of good teams,
03:23but towards the middle, it's a mosh pit.
03:25Give me Baylor to win that game.
03:27Next, you've got Oregon taking on Liberty.
03:29Not a big fan of Oregon.
03:30I don't really like any of the five seeds
03:32in this tournament, but I will take Oregon over Liberty.
03:35I'm not high on Liberty as a 12 seed either.
03:38Next, we've got Arizona taking on Akron.
03:40You got to take a 13 over a four.
03:42This is an entertainment thing, let's be honest, guys.
03:44And there's going to be these upsets.
03:45They happen.
03:46The upsets happen.
03:47This is a high scoring Akron team.
03:49Out of the Mac, you get one Mac upset
03:51around every five years.
03:53This is science-based.
03:54It's the scientific method when it comes to Mac,
03:56and it's like one every five years, they get an upset.
03:59So there has been an upset.
04:00A Mac team has not won a tournament game in a while.
04:02So now I've got Akron advancing, beating Arizona.
04:04Arizona, solid team out of the Big 12.
04:07Had a bad start to the year, came on towards the middle,
04:10but you're going to get beaten by a nice Akron team.
04:12Very good offensive team.
04:14Next, you've got BYU taking on VCU.
04:17Yeah, BYU is going to bludgeon VCU.
04:18I think VCU is a solid team.
04:20They're a solid 11 seed.
04:21They had a very nice year, but gimme BYU.
04:24They're on a run.
04:25Wisconsin taking on Montana.
04:27This is a three V14.
04:30Folks, I'm taking Montana to win this game.
04:31I'm not even kidding you.
04:32I am not high on Wisconsin.
04:34Wisconsin got a bad draw going out West.
04:37I'll take Montana in a low scoring 59-57 upset win
04:42over Wisconsin.
04:43Wisconsin just scored 53 points against Michigan.
04:46This is an overrated three seed.
04:48Really, Michigan should be,
04:49I mean, how is Michigan a five seed?
04:50Wisconsin's a three.
04:51They basically got the same record.
04:53I know Michigan struggled towards the end of the year.
04:54I think Montana, this is a Montana team.
04:56They're basically playing at home in their region,
04:59and they're going to finally get an upset win.
05:01So congratulations to them.
05:03We've got St. Mary's taking on Vanderbilt.
05:04St. Mary's has always got a good defensive team.
05:06I think they win that game, seven V10.
05:08You could say it's a coin flip.
05:09I think St. Mary's is going to be
05:10five or six point favorites in that one.
05:12Alabama taking on Robert Morris.
05:14Alabama's offense is way too high power
05:16to lose to a team like Robert Morris.
05:18They're going to score like 106 points in regulation,
05:19and that one easily win against a 15 seed.
05:22Moving on to the West first round,
05:23it is Florida taking on Norfolk State.
05:25So Florida, they came on very strong,
05:29and they ended up winning the SEC,
05:31by far the best league in college basketball this year.
05:34They will easily beat Norfolk State,
05:35probably win that game by around 25 to 30 points.
05:38UConn taking on Oklahoma.
05:40You could say, well, the championship pedigree for UConn,
05:42and yes, I will take UConn to advance to the second round.
05:44There's going to be a lot of people thinking
05:46maybe UConn over Florida based off the last two years.
05:49But me personally, that's not how it's going to work out,
05:51but you guys will see.
05:53Memphis taking on Colorado State.
05:55This is tough.
05:55I've been looking at analytics in Colorado State.
05:58Analytically, in the last four weeks,
06:00is a top three team in college basketball.
06:02And I have to take Colorado State here.
06:04I have not been high on Memphis.
06:06Memphis has been involved in a lot of close games
06:07in the American.
06:08The American is a very bad conference this year.
06:10I will take Colorado State,
06:12who is on a total war path to win that game.
06:16That's a 12 over five upset.
06:17Maryland and Grand Canyon, four V13.
06:20I will take Maryland.
06:20Maryland has had a great second half of the year.
06:23I've got them pulling away against Grand Canyon
06:26late in that one, winning by about 12 points,
06:28maybe even more than that.
06:30You've got Missouri against Drake.
06:32Feels like I've picked Drake to win in the first round,
06:35like the last three years they've been in it,
06:36and they always let me down.
06:38I'm going to take Missouri in this.
06:39I'm done with Drake.
06:40You know, Drake, they've got a great record.
06:41That's nice.
06:42Look at their games, very close games, very close wins.
06:46Analytically, they're not nearly as good as their record.
06:47People do this every year with Drake.
06:49When you're a veteran like me, you see patterns,
06:51and you understand that this is a Drake team.
06:54There's all these close wins.
06:55We do this every year with Drake.
06:56It's every year, it's the same thing with Drake.
06:58It's going to be Missouri winning that game.
07:00That's a solid team out of the SEC.
07:01They had a really good middle of the year.
07:03Texas Tech against UNC Wilmington.
07:05Annihilation Texas Tech, really good team.
07:08UNC Wilmington, you got to feel bad for them
07:10with that draw against Texas Tech.
07:11That's the best three seed in this tournament.
07:14You've got Kansas taking on Arkansas.
07:15I like Kansas.
07:16I think Kansas is a solid team.
07:18They're a seven seed.
07:19I've got them beating Arkansas,
07:20and then St. John's in Omaha.
07:22St. John's, 30 and four, extremely good record,
07:24winning the Big East.
07:26You know what?
07:27They're going to beat Omaha.
07:28Okay, they are.
07:29We're not going to have St. John's get upset
07:30in a 15 over two there,
07:33but shout out to Omaha for making the tournament.
07:35Moving on to the Midwest, you've got Houston taking on,
07:38this is SIU Edwardsville.
07:41Houston is just a powerhouse.
07:42They're going to beat them by about 40 points.
07:45Gonzaga taking on Georgia.
07:47This is a very bad draw for Houston.
07:49How are you going to make Gonzaga an eight seed?
07:51But they did.
07:52So Gonzaga, extremely good analytical team.
07:55They're like top 12 in analytics,
07:56yet they're an eight seed.
07:58Not a good draw for Houston,
08:00but taking on, and also not a good draw for Georgia either.
08:03Georgia had a very good end of the year.
08:05They were on the bubble.
08:06They ended up being a nine seed,
08:07but I'll take Gonzaga to win that game.
08:08That's going to be,
08:09a lot of people are going to be picking Gonzaga.
08:11A lot of people.
08:12There's going to be people who can Gonzaga over Houston.
08:14Not me, but next you've got Clemson and McNeese.
08:17So this is another one you could really,
08:19I mean, the thing is when I look at the bracket,
08:22you know, I've already got one 12 over a five.
08:24Did I have another 12 over five here or no?
08:26No, I didn't.
08:27So yeah, normally when you're talking about 12 over fives,
08:29you want one per bracket,
08:31like one out of every four it happens.
08:33I would love to pick McNeese.
08:35I'm just, I don't buy Clemson at all in the ACC,
08:38but I'll take Clemson.
08:39I mean, McNeese is there.
08:40They're the same thing every year.
08:41People hype them up.
08:42I think it happened last year.
08:44I'll take Clemson to win that game.
08:45Purdue and High Point.
08:47You know, I was really high on High Point last year.
08:49I'm not too high on Purdue this year,
08:50but I think Purdue is the better overall team.
08:52Let's make the smart play.
08:52Let's pick Purdue.
08:54We got a chalk four V five matchup in the second round.
08:56Next you've got Texas and Xavier taking on Illinois.
08:59Illinois is very streaky.
09:00They had a weird year.
09:01They dealt with some illnesses, some injuries.
09:04I'll take Illinois to win that game though.
09:06Texas and Xavier,
09:07I'm not too high on either of those teams.
09:08Those were like the last two teams to make the field.
09:12Next you've got Kentucky taking on Troy.
09:13Does Kentucky lose to a 14 again?
09:15It can't happen.
09:16It can't happen.
09:17Kentucky is too good offensively.
09:18Troy has had a very, very nice end of the year though.
09:21Troy's been like a top 15 team analytically,
09:24although the schedule has not been good obviously,
09:26but still.
09:27Troy's an interesting team to watch.
09:28UCLA taking on Utah State.
09:30I like Utah State.
09:31UCLA, I'm not high on their defense
09:33or their offense is not nearly good enough.
09:36And then this is the final game.
09:37It is Tennessee and Wofford.
09:41I will be going ahead and taking Tennessee in that one.
09:44There will not be a 15 over two with Wofford there.
09:48Moving on to the second round is the round of 32.
09:51Winner moves on to the Sweet 16.
09:53Auburn and Creighton.
09:55I'm going with Auburn.
09:56Not too high on either Creighton or Louisville.
09:58Don't think either of those teams
09:59have a good chance of beating Auburn.
10:00I think Auburn is pretty safe
10:01unless there's crazy injuries,
10:02even though they had, again,
10:04not a great close to the season.
10:05I think they're pretty safe into the Sweet 16.
10:07Don't overthink it.
10:08It's a chalk thing.
10:09Go ahead and do that.
10:11You've got Texas A&M taking on Michigan.
10:12I'll take Michigan over A&M.
10:14I'm not too high on A&M as a four seed.
10:16Michigan, they had a bad close to the year,
10:19but they've got momentum now.
10:21They won the Big Ten tournament
10:23and I'll put them into the Sweet 16.
10:25To me, they've got enough firepower to beat Texas A&M.
10:28Next, you've got San Diego State or North Carolina
10:32facing Iowa State.
10:33I think Iowa State wins that relatively easily.
10:36They're a solid three seed.
10:36Marquette taking on Michigan State.
10:38See, the thing is, I'm tempted to pick Marquette
10:40to beat Michigan State here.
10:42I am, as a seven over a two,
10:44and I think I'm going to do it.
10:45I'm going to pick Marquette to win that game,
10:46the guard play.
10:47Michigan State, the Big Ten is just,
10:50there's no high upper echelon teams in the Big Ten,
10:53so someone had to win the games.
10:54Michigan State, they're a solid team,
10:56but I'll take Marquette.
10:57I think Marquette has higher upside there.
10:58It could be an upset.
10:59Duke and Baylor, I'll take Duke.
11:02Baylor, they're a solid team.
11:03They've had a really good program,
11:05a really good run the past like seven, eight years,
11:07but give me Duke there,
11:08as long as Cooper Flagg is healthy,
11:09which we're assuming he is.
11:10We have to.
11:12Oregon and Akron.
11:14I'm going to have Akron make a sweet 16 run.
11:16Not too high on Oregon as a five seed.
11:18I don't love the five seeds in this tournament.
11:19I guess outside of Michigan,
11:21but I will take Akron to win that game.
11:22And so there's a little Cinderella.
11:24You always got to do,
11:24sprinkle in little Cinderella's here and there.
11:27Can we get another Cinderella with Montana?
11:29No.
11:29I say BYU wins that game.
11:30They beat Montana.
11:31That would be an easy matchup for BYU.
11:33St. Mary's in Alabama.
11:35I will be going with Alabama to beat St. Mary's.
11:37Kind of an interesting offensive
11:38versus defensive battle there,
11:40but Bama is just too high power.
11:42They've got too many elite offensive players.
11:44High tempo, extremely high tempo.
11:46Again, an interesting styles matchup
11:48with St. Mary's and Bama, but give me Bama.
11:50They will move on to face BYU.
11:53That's a sweet 16 game there.
11:54Moving on to the West.
11:55This is a Florida versus UConn.
11:57I'll take Florida.
11:58UConn, we know they've won it the last two times.
12:01This year though, not nearly as good.
12:04They're running into a buzzsaw in the Gators.
12:07They win that game.
12:08Colorado State against Maryland.
12:10I'm tempted to say Colorado State here.
12:12I think Maryland's a good team.
12:13Maryland's a really good team.
12:14I'll take Maryland.
12:15We'll go Chalk here.
12:16Maryland beats Colorado State.
12:18They advance to the sweet 16.
12:19Missouri taking on Texas Tech.
12:21I'm taking Texas Tech.
12:22They'll beat Missouri.
12:24Another Chalk, but I really like Texas Tech in this region.
12:27And then Kansas taking on St. John's.
12:30It wouldn't surprise me if Kansas won this game,
12:32but I'm going to go St. John's.
12:34So that is a total Chalk region for me,
12:35St. John's advancing.
12:36But guys, when you talk about the Chalk, it is strategic.
12:39A lot of the top seeds end up making it anyway.
12:41So it's just, you want to win this.
12:43This is how you got to play it.
12:44But I'll take St. John's.
12:45I'm not high on St. John's.
12:47The offensive efficiency to me is not good enough
12:49to make the final four.
12:51But in terms of going to the sweet 16,
12:53you could argue maybe Kansas.
12:55It wouldn't shock me.
12:56You could maybe even argue on Arkansas,
12:58but that's just how I see it.
13:00Moving on to the Midwest.
13:01This is the round of 32 games.
13:03It is Houston taking on Gonzaga.
13:06It's a brutal draw for Houston,
13:07who I think is like the number one overall team.
13:09Now they did have Auburn as the number one overall team,
13:12which, you know, it is what it is.
13:14But I'll take Houston to win this game.
13:16Going to be a tough game for them.
13:18Tough game in the second round.
13:19Gonzaga, when you're talking about a top 12 team,
13:21analytically, they're ranked as an eight seed here.
13:24It's not good.
13:25Clemson taking on Purdue.
13:26Not a fan of Clemson in this tournament.
13:28I'll take Purdue.
13:29So that's a 1v4.
13:30Illinois taking on Kentucky.
13:33In this one, I will go ahead and go with
13:34maybe a little bit of an upset, Illinois.
13:36Illinois is very streaky, but a 6-over-3.
13:38Kentucky, not great on defense.
13:40They're also very streaky as well.
13:42Higher scoring game.
13:43Give me the Illini.
13:44Again, they are very streaky.
13:46They got destroyed in the Big Ten Tournament by Maryland.
13:49Next, you've got Utah State taking on Tennessee.
13:53I like Tennessee here.
13:54I'll take them over Utah State.
13:55Tennessee made the SEC Championship game.
13:58They end up winning that one.
13:59So now we are on to the Sweet 16 games.
14:02It is number one, Auburn taking on
14:05the five seed in this region.
14:06Michigan winner advances to the Elite Eight.
14:09I will go with the Tigers, the number one overall seed.
14:12They will advance.
14:13Don't overthink it.
14:14This is a team that is extremely senior laden,
14:18like super senior laden.
14:20And Michigan, to me, that's a good run for them.
14:23Just not good enough.
14:23You're running into a team like Auburn.
14:25It's very clear Auburn is better.
14:26Iowa State taking on Marquette.
14:28I will take Iowa State to win that game.
14:30They will beat the seven seed Marquette,
14:32and they will advance to take on Auburn there.
14:35Moving on to the East, you've got Duke and Akron.
14:38Imagine Duke and Akron in the Sweet 16.
14:40I'll take Duke.
14:41Akron's Cinderella story ends there.
14:44The Blue Devils advance, and they will be taking on Alabama.
14:47So that's a one V two matchup.
14:49I like Alabama over BYU.
14:51It wouldn't shock me if BYU beat Bama.
14:53Just BYU's played really well here
14:55in the back half of the season.
14:57But Bama's just got, again, too much firepower on offense.
14:59I think they win that game.
15:00That's a one V three, a one V two.
15:02Those are elite eight games right there.
15:04And these are the top seeds.
15:06Is there a low chance that a lower seed
15:08ends up making it?
15:09Yes, but if you're talking about
15:10getting into the 99th percentile,
15:12you're going to want to pick the high seeds
15:14in these matchups.
15:16Moving on, you've got Florida taking on Maryland.
15:19Maryland the four, Florida the one.
15:20I will be going with Florida.
15:21The number one seed to advance there.
15:23And then Texas Tech taking on St. John's.
15:27So we'll be taking Texas Tech to beat St. John's
15:29and advance into the elite eight.
15:31So that would set up a one V three Florida
15:34against Texas Tech matchup there.
15:36Next, you've got Houston against Purdue.
15:37I think this will be pretty routine.
15:39Houston wins this game.
15:39Maybe a hard fought defensive game,
15:41but Houston the one seed advances
15:43and they will end up taking on,
15:46we're going to go Tennessee.
15:47That's a one V two matchup.
15:48So one V two, one V three.
15:50I like Tennessee over Illinois.
15:52Again, Illinois streaky team, Tennessee solid.
15:55Out of the SCC, the gauntlet that it is, they win.
15:58So that's one V two, one V three,
16:00and then one V three, one V two.
16:03And so these are the games to make the final four.
16:06You've got Auburn taking on Iowa State.
16:08I will be going with Auburn to win this game
16:10and advancing to the final four.
16:12No real surprises.
16:14Iowa State's a really good team.
16:15It wouldn't shock me if Iowa State won,
16:17but Auburn certainly is going to be the favorite.
16:19Even with the recent losses,
16:20the recency bias is a very, very senior team.
16:24I'll take Auburn to advance there.
16:25And then you've got Duke taking on Alabama.
16:29This is a coin flip.
16:30And when you're talking about weighting a bracket properly,
16:35you want at least two one seeds, maybe three one seeds.
16:38I'm going to go Duke over Alabama.
16:39So the one seed wins there too.
16:41Duke, they beat Alabama.
16:43Bama, they did have like eight losses this year,
16:45even though they had a very hard non-conference schedule.
16:48I will be going with Duke to advance to the final four
16:50as a one seed there.
16:52Next, we've got Florida taking on Texas Tech.
16:55I'm going with Texas Tech.
16:56I think Texas Tech makes another final four,
16:58knocks off a one seed in Florida.
17:00And then Houston taking on Tennessee.
17:02I will be going with Houston.
17:04They're just such a consistent program.
17:06They're constantly a number one seed.
17:08They've been here like five straight years.
17:10At some point, they're going to have to break through.
17:12This is, at least going to the final four for them,
17:14isn't necessarily a total breakthrough.
17:16But in this scenario, they beat Tennessee
17:19in a one V two matchup and they end up making it.
17:21So we do have a one V three and a one V one.
17:24And this is the type of format that you want
17:25if you want to win a tournament challenge.
17:28You do want the best teams.
17:29You're probably looking at at least two one seeds,
17:31possibly three one seeds making the final four.
17:34That's just the reality.
17:35And I also do have a lot of confidence
17:36in Texas Tech as well.
17:37But it is Auburn taking on Texas Tech.
17:40I will be going with Auburn,
17:41the one seed to advance to the national championship.
17:44And then one V one, Duke against Houston.
17:46I will be going with Houston to beat Duke.
17:49Really, when you're talking about Auburn, Houston and Duke,
17:51these are the three analytically best teams by far.
17:55It's not even close.
17:57But I do like Houston to slightly out-duel Duke
18:00and advance there.
18:01And then we've got Auburn taking on Houston.
18:03And I do have Houston breaking through
18:05and winning the national title,
18:08beating Auburn in a one V one matchup
18:11in the national title in San Antonio.
18:14How many total points will be scored
18:15in the championship game?
18:17While you're talking about these two teams,
18:20I would probably say about 131 points
18:23in the championship game there.
18:26And so guys, I do also want to say,
18:28here you can take a look at my bracket one last time.
18:29This is my official bracket at this point.
18:32I do want to say,
18:33there's going to be a link in the description.
18:35You can join my league.
18:37Somebody decided to make a league that's not mine,
18:40but they just made the league.
18:41And it says, my league is Real Depressed Ginger.
18:44It's not Depressed Ginger.
18:45Just use that name.
18:46It's somebody else.
18:48But it's going to be linked in the description anyway.
18:49So you can join that.
18:51There's no password or anything.
18:52And listen, maybe I'll give you a little cookie
18:55if you win or something.
18:55I'll give you some money.
18:58But listen, this is my official prediction.
19:00It is Houston over Auburn.
19:02It is one, one, one, three.
19:04That is the final four.
19:05Auburn, Texas Tech, Duke and Houston,
19:09and then Houston over Auburn in terms of that.
19:12My Cinderella team, you could argue,
19:15Akron probably is the Cinderella team.
19:17Montana, upsets a three.
19:20Yes, it's a little bit more chalky this year.
19:22I did have a 12, didn't I have a 12 over five as well?
19:25I did have a 12 over five Colorado State over Memphis
19:29as well as a few other ones.
19:31But either way guys, I think Houston wins.
19:33And listen, if you want to win these,
19:34you got to get the national title right.
19:36So hopefully this ends up being right.
19:38But either way guys, that is going to do it for this video.
19:39Make sure you follow me on X.
19:40Link to that's always in the description.

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