March Madness is officially here, which means we’re only a few days away from getting our brackets busted in the first weekend. Let’s check out five potential bracket busters in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
12 UC San Diego Tritons
UC San Diego is one of the best mid-majors we’ve seen in a long time. The Tritons are ranked 36th in KenPom‘s adjusted efficiency margin, putting them ahead of 5-seed Memphis, 9-seed Creighton, 9-seed Oklahoma and 10-seed Arkansas, among others.
UCSD has an elite statistical profile built on efficiency and winning the turnover battle. It ranks fourth in the country in turnovers per game (9.0), sixth in opponent turnovers per game (15.6), 12th in three-pointers made per game (10.4) and seventh in points allowed per game (62.8). Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, who leads the team in points (19.5), rebounds (5.5) and assists (3.7), is a March Madness star in the making.
13 Yale Bulldogs
There’s always a double-digit seed that makes a run thanks to hot three-point shooting, and Yale is a prime candidate this year. The Bulldogs rank ninth in the country in three-point shooting percentage (38.5 percent) and 22nd in points per game (81.0). Lefty guard John Poulakidas leads the way with 19.2 points per game, and he shoots 40.9 percent from deep on 7.8 attempts per game.
You might remember Poulakidas from last year, as he scored 28 points in Yale’s Round of 64 upset against Auburn. This experienced group won’t be scared of Texas A&M.
12 Colorado State Rams
Colorado State is one of the hottest teams in the country entering the NCAA Tournament. The Rams won the Mountain West Tournament to cap off 10 straight wins to close the season. All 10 wins came by at least eight points with an average margin of victory of 16.9.
Nique Clifford, an NBA talent at shooting guard, averages 19.0 points per game on a 58.0 percent effective field-goal percentage. Colorado State is a 2.5-point favorite against 5-seed Memphis in the first round, per FanDuel, highlighting how much better the Rams are than their seed.
11 Xavier Musketeers
Three 11 seeds have reached the Final Four since 2018, including NC State last year. If any of the 11 seeds are going to make a similar run this season, Xavier is a solid bet.
The Musketeers closed out the regular season with seven straight wins before losing by two points to Marquette in the Big East Tournament. Xavier is a dangerous 11 seed because it’s an elite shooting team, ranking sixth in the country in three-point percentage (38.8 percent) and eighth in free-throw percentage (79.4 percent). If the Musketeers get past Texas in the play-in, they could ride their hot shooting to a Cinderella run.
14 Lipscomb Bisons
If you’re looking to pick a huge upset no one sees coming, Lipscomb might be worth a shot. The Bisons are elite at shooting (seventh in free-throw percentage, 26th in threes made per game), protecting the ball (23rd in turnovers per game) and limiting fouls (third in fouls per game). That’s a lethal combination if Lipscomb finds itself in a close game.
Iowa State is also a vulnerable 3 seed because it will be without second-leading scorer and leading assist man Keshon Gilbert in the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones lost three of their last four games with Gilbert off the court. Don’t be surprised if Lipscomb pulls off the upset.
