It’s the first edition of bracketology Wednesday of 2025, with today’s bracket projection coming a day late due to the influx of content created surrounding the Super Bowl that saw Matt’s Eagles dismantle the Kansas City Chiefs. While our football-ridden brains currently hold the same amount of brain cells as the pre-fourth quarter points scored by Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs on Sunday, we gave this iteration of bracketology our best shot.

Football is over with, meaning our content, and brain power, completely shifts to college basketball and baseball, along with the brief golf, NBA, and NASCAR cameo, for the foreseeable future. The good news for you? We’ve been locked into college basketball since November. Now we get to completely shift our focus and once again (yes, again) work our way towards a more accurate bracket projection than most other outlets.

I’d also like to point out that I will not be commenting on Auburn’s loss to Florida in this entry. If you want to hear my reaction, and my worries, or lackthereof, regarding the loss you’ll have to tune in to the podcast on Thursday. 

Anyway, here’s our projected ‘Field of 68’.

First Four Out: Wake Forest, North Carolina, Arkansas, VCU

• Wake Forest has usurped Pittsburgh as the final mediocre bubble team in an extremely mediocre Atlantic Coast Conference. Projected No. 1 seed Duke slipped up this week, making a once insurmountable conference regular season championship lead somewhat contentious. Still, the Demon Deacons will need guars Hunter Salas and Cam Hildreth to channel their mascot if they hope to unseat the Blue Devils, or even make the NCAA Tournament.
• Last week I said North Carolina was spiraling. The Tar Heels have slowly gotten off their roller coaster of a season, but Hubert Davis’s squad is still stuck in the spinning teacups.
• Arkansas and North Carolina are essentially the exact same team. Both programs have some of the best talent in the country, but coaching, effort, and consistent shot making have been an issue all year. The Razorbacks get the slight nod ahead of UNC because of the prowess of their conference.
• This is what I said about VCU last week, and it still stands: “The VCU Rams have quietly trucked their way up the Atlantic 10 standings. While the A-10 is unlikely to receive multiple bids, the electrifying backcourt duo of Max Shulga and Joe Bamisile could force the committees hand if they keep leading VCU to wins.”

 

• Last Four In: West Virginia, BYU, San Diego State, UC San Diego

• West Virginia is currently hosting BYU at the time of this writing (hence why we like doing these on Monday nights). If the Mountaineers capture a victory, both teams will likely stay in the field. If the Cougars win on the road, I may have to delete this entry.
• BYU has followed up a four-game winning streak with a three-game losing streak, assuming the Cougars lose to West Virginia. Star guard Richie Saunders is the type of ‘exciting white’ fans will come to love in March.
• San Diego State is going to make the first four and cover a large spread, while still losing, in Dayton.
• Matt absolutely loves UC San Diego. I don’t love them as much, but I might get there. This team is fun, and has a star in Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones averaging 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists per contest. If UC Irvine is truly good enough to earn an 11-seed, UC San Diego could make a case for an at-large, especially in a year where the bubble is so small.

16 seeds: American, Cleveland State/Central Connecticut, Bryant, Omaha/Southern

15 seeds: Norfolk State, Jacksonville State, Arkansas Little-Rock, Quinnipiac

14 seeds: Arkansas State, High Point, Northern Colorado, North Alabama

13 seeds: McNeese, Grand Canyon, Akron, Samford

12 seeds: Yale, George Mason, Charleston, Drake

11 seeds: UC Irvine, West Virginia/UC San Diego, BYU/San Diego State, Georgia

10 seeds: Missouri, Utah State, Texas, Baylor

9 seeds: Ohio State, Oklahoma, Louisville, Vanderbilt

8 seeds: UConn, Gonzaga, Oregon, Nebraska

7 seeds: UCLA, New Mexico, Maryland, St. Mary’s

6 seeds: Michigan, Illinois, Clemson, Ole Miss

5 seeds: Wisconsin, Mississippi State, Memphis, Creighton

4 seeds: Marquette, Texas Tech, Kentucky, Arizona

3 seeds: St. John’s, Kansas, Texas A&M, Michigan State

2 seeds: (5) Houston, (6) Tennessee, (7) Iowa State, (8) Purdue

1 seeds: (1) Auburn, (2), Alabama, (3) Duke, (4) Florida

 

Projected Major conference champions: Michigan State, Houston, St. John’s, Auburn, Duke, New Mexico