Seth Davis, CBS Sports analyst and Hoops HQ’s Editor-in-Chief, has published his March Madness bracket and expert picks for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Davis has Florida, Houston, Duke, and Michigan State advancing to the Final Four, and he believes Duke will defeat Florida to win its sixth national championship.
CBS Sports’ Seth Davis Picks
- Final Four — No. 1 Florida, No. 1 Houston, No. 1 Duke, and No. 2 Michigan State
- No. 1 Duke Over No. 1 Florida for National Championship
Seth Davis March Madness Bracket 2025
Seth Davis March Madness 2025 Predictions And Picks
According to Seth Davis’ 2025 March Madness Bracket Breakdown, the CBS Sports analyst has No. 1 Florida, No. 1 Houston, No. 1 Duke, and No. 2 Michigan State reaching the Final Four.
Davis’ March Madness bracket looks messy, and here he explained why:
“You’ll notice that I made two changes after my initial pass. First, I switched my pick on the Sweet Sixteen game between Texas Tech and St. John’s. This was a little risky because the Red Raiders have injury issues, but if they’re healthy, I think they can match the Red Storm’s physicality, which in turn might expose St. Johns’ lack of perimeter shooting.
“The second switch was made toward the end of the show when one of the researchers informed me that Iowa State guard Keshon Gilbert was going to miss the tourney. I had picked the Cyclones to go to the Final Four, but they have shown this season that if they are missing even one player, they are vulnerable. So I went with Michigan State.”
Final Four — No. 1 Florida, No. 1 Houston, No. 1 Duke, And No. 2 Michigan State
Florida went 30-4 this season and defeated Tennessee in the SEC tournament championship to win its first conference championship since 2014. The Gators are entering the NCAA Tournament on a six-game win streak, with five victories coming against teams ranked in the AP Top 25.
Houston also went 30-4 this season and defeated Arizona to win the Big 12 tournament championship. The Cougars are one of the best defensive teams in the nation, ranking second with opponents being held to an average of just 58.5 points per game. They’ve won 22 of their last 23 games.
Furthermore, despite an injury to Duke’s Cooper Flagg, he believes the Blue Devils will return to the Final Four and win it all this year. Davis trusts the Blue Devils for their deep, battle-tested roster.
“Duke can win the NCAA title without him, but the Blue Devils will be operating with less margin for error. Even so, I like the Blue Devils to win the whole thing,” he wrote.
In addition, there are two things Davis likes about Michigan State:
“First, the Spartans were the best team all season in the Big Ten and won the regular-season title outright. Second, they lost to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament, so Tom Izzo is really ticked off. The madder he gets, the deeper his teams play into March — and in this case, early April.”
No. 1 Duke Over No. 1 Florida For National Championship
Seth Davis is hoping that Duke will prevail against Florida in the national title game. He believes the Blue Devils are more than capable of overcoming injuries at less than full strength.
“The other injury question in this region is obviously Duke’s Cooper Flagg. From everything we’re hearing out of Duke, Flagg should be good to go for the Blue Devils’ first-round game. It helps that Raleigh is a Friday-Sunday site, so he has an extra day to recover,” he wrote.
“If he’s able to play, I expect him to play. The same cannot be said, however, for 6-foot-9 junior forward Maliq Brown, who dislocated his shoulder for the second time in the Blue Devils’ ACC Tournament win over Georgia Tech. There’s a good chance Brown will be out for the entire tournament. He is an extremely valuable defender.”
Davis has the Gators reaching the national title game by defeating No. 16 Norfolk State, No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 4 Maryland, No. 3 Texas Tech, and No. 2 Michigan State.
However, Florida could very well struggle against some of those teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
