It's Official: The 2025 NCAA Tournament Is All About The Chalk With Only #1 Seeds Advancing To Final Four
If you're the type of person who loves the NCAA Tournament because of the upsets, 2025 is not the year for you. For just the second time since the NCAA Tournament expanded in 1985, the Final Four entirely comprises the four number-one seeds.
The Auburn Tigers defeated the Michigan State Spartans in the final game of the weekend to become the fourth top-seed to win its Elite Eight matchup and advance to the Final Four. They are set for a rematch against SEC rival Florida in the Final Four, a team that beat them in Auburn, 90-81, in early February.
Florida advanced after surviving an upset-minded Texas Tech on Saturday night, in a game that provided the only real drama in the Elite Eight.
Duke never trailed against Alabama and won by 20 points. Houston also never trailed against Tennessee en route to a 19-point victory.
The 2025 NCAA Tournament has been the most "chalk" edition of the Big Dance in recent memory
Even the Elite Eight comprised four one-seeds, three two-seeds and a three-seed. It's hard to imagine a more chalk tournament, as two-seed St. John's was the only top-two seed to fall before the Elite Eight in the 2025 NCAA Tournament (they lost to Arkansas in the Second Round).
Wisconsin and Iowa State were the only three seeds who failed to reach the Sweet 16. No team seeded higher than 10 made it to the second weekend, and only one team higher than six did so (Arkansas).
If you read my pre-tournament breakdown of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, you'd already know that this outcome was incredibly predictable. College basketball featured four teams this season that were head-and-shoulders better than everyone else.
And those are the last four teams standing.
The 2025 Final Four comprises only #1 seeds for the first time since 2008 – and only the second time in expanded NCAA Tournament history – after Auburn, Houston, Duke and Florida all won their Elite Eight matchups.
(Imagn Images)
That might seem like it's the case every year, but it isn't. The last two years, in particular, had large clusters of teams at the top, or had just one or two dominant teams (like UConn last year). There's a reason that this is the first all-number-one-seed Final Four since 2008.
All #1 seeds in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament is a good thing, not a bad thing
The point of a postseason is to determine the best team and name them champions. That's going to happen in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Unfortunately, it's not for everyone. One of my friends texted me as Auburn was pulling away from Michigan State with a message that read, "The tournament this year has been total garbage."
I understand that sentiment. Honestly, it's less about the teams advancing than it is the utter lack of drama in most games. The Sweet 16 featured a few good games, with three games coming down to the final minute.
But the others were never in question. Five of the eight Sweet 16 games were decided by at least 13 points. The Elite Eight featured an exciting game between Florida and Texas Tech, but that was it. There's been only one game-winning buzzer-beater in the entire tournament.
Fortunately, there's good news. This year's Final Four should be awesome. We have the four best teams in the country set to battle it out and decide the champion.
That's what sports is all about.