Justin Saenz
March is finally here! March Madness, the most anticipated time of the year for basketball fans, is upon us. This year’s tournament is looking interesting. March Madness is the yearly college basketball tournament to decide the best college basketball team. Let’s see how this year’s tournament is shaping up.
Justin’s Bracket:
Here are my picks:
For my final four, I have the 1 seed Florida, the 1 seed Duke, the 1 seed Houston and the 1 seed Auburn.
In the championship game I have Florida taking down Duke. Florida is such a complete team that it is hard to find any holes. They won the gauntlet that is the SEC tournament and they have been the hottest team in the country going into the tournament. Led by Walter Clayton Jr., Florida is my choice to win March Madness 2025.
This year my dark horse is UC San Diego. In their first year eligible for March Madness, UC San Diego has a chance to go far. Led by 6’ 6” senior guard Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones and 6’ 5” senior guard Tyler McGhie, the Tritons have the best turnover margin in the country and are an upset waiting to happen. If they can get past the Big 10 Champions Michigan, they might have a chance to get to the Elite 8, maybe even a Final Four. Other low ranked teams that have a chance to turn into a Cinderella story are the trash can destroying Omaha Mavericks and the UNC Wilmington Seahawks.
Jack Essig
March Madness is almost underway, and I’m going to share my best picks.
In my Final Four, I have 1-seed Florida beating 4-seed Texas A&M, and 1-seed Houston beating 2-seed Alabama.
If we remember last year, my dark horse for this tournament was NC State. I had them going to the Elite Eight, in reality they went all the way to the Final Four. This year, my Dark Horse will be the University of Maryland. While on my bracket I have them out to Florida in the Sweet Sixteen, I believe they are a team with Final Four hopes. On paper, it might not sound that crazy to take a 4-seed to the Final Four, but this year, NCAA Basketball has been dominated by the SEC. This Maryland team was projected to be 10th in the Big 10 during the preseason, according to CBS, and ended up 2nd in the Big 10, making it to the semi-finals in the conference tournament. My upset of the tournament will be 12 UC San Diego beating 5 Michigan. Michigan is coming off of a Big 10 Championship win, but don’t let that fool you. Michigan got to the finals off of a last second layup. UC San Diego plays in the Big West Conference, and while that isn’t a very prestigious conference, they have the ability to win a big game.
The SEC Conference Champions will also be the NCAA Tournament Champions, the Florida Gators will beat the Houston Cougars in the National Championship. This Florida team is on a tear right now, beating Tennessee in the SEC Championship. Their last 5 games have all been wins. They beat then the 7th ranked Alabama, Ole Miss, 21st ranked Missouri, 5th ranked Alabama, and 8th ranked Tennessee in the SEC Championship, 86-77. In the final AP Poll, Florida was ranked 3rd in the nation, and are a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. They average 85.4 points per game, ranking 4th in the country. They are led in points by the junior Walter Clayton Jr, who averages 17.5 points per game. Overall, this Florida team has exactly what it takes to win it all, and won’t be overlooked.
Jack’s Bracket:
Sources:
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/57/florida-gators