NCAA March Madness: Which Final Four Team Will Go All The Way?
by Joseph King
2025 NCAA Men's Tournament: unpredictably predictable
Chalk has ruled the day at the 2025 NCAA tournament. There have been little surprises in this year’s edition of March Madness with all four number one seeds advancing to the Final Four. While it may seem like an expected result, it’s actually only the second time in history that this has happened and the first since 2008.
Here are the Final Four teams and the region they advanced from:
- South regional: Auburn (32-5)
- West regional: Florida (34-4)
- East regional: Duke (35-3)
- Midwest regional: Houston (34-4)
Florida vs Auburn
The first game in the NCAA Men’s Tournament Final Four sees an SEC matchup as Florida takes on Auburn.
The Gators are back in the Final Four of the Big Dance for the first time since 2014. They pulled off a wild comeback victory over Texas Tech in the Elite Eight, erasing a 10-point deficit with six minutes remaining to ultimately win 84-79. Senior point guard Walter Clayton Jr wrote his name into Gators’ folklore by dropping a season-high 30 points which included 13 in the final five minutes of play.
Auburn is back at this stage of the tournament for the first time since 2019 after defeating Michigan State 70-64. The Tigers have never reached the national championship with this representing only their second trip to the Final Four in program history.
Johni Broome is the key man for the Auburn Tigers.
The 6’10” senior center leads the team with 18.7 points per game and ranks sixth in the nation in rebounds at 10.9 per game.
Both Florida and Auburn are deep, balanced squads that have plenty of scoring spread across the floor. These two teams faced off in February, with Florida grabbing a 90-81 win on that occasion. Will history repeat itself? Check out the lastest basketball betting odds!
Duke vs Houston
A classic unstoppable force against an immovable object type matchup awaits in the second Final Four game, with Duke taking on Houston in a rematch of last season’s Sweet 16.
The nation’s best defense proved its worth in the Elite Eight as Houston held second-seed Tennessee to just 28.8% shooting (including 17.2% from three) in a 69-50 victory. The Cougars rank first in defensive rating at 0.891, but will have their hands full with a Duke side that ranks among the nation’s best offenses.
Duke tops the charts in terms of points per 100 possessions at 130.1.
The Blue Devils showed their explosiveness once again by dropping 85 points against second-seed Alabama in an 85-65 Elite Eight win. Duke comes into the Final Four as the consensus favorites to win the national championship at many of the best online betting sites. However, this will be far from an easy game.
This is a matchup that involves Duke’s star-studded Freshman squad, headlined by the standout player of the season, Cooper Flagg, against a veteran Houston team that has plenty of experience together in the NCAA tournament.
Who will win the national championship?
As we mentioned earlier, the Duke Blue Devils are the consensus favorites to cut down the nets on April 7th, and it’s easy to see why. They possess a high-powered offense and are led by the nation’s best player in Cooper Flagg. The 18-year-old freshman is the consensus number one pick in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft and is an incredibly well-rounded prospect. Flagg has a stat line of 18.9 points per game, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Additionally, the Maine native is an elite defender with a 7'1” wingspan that makes him a nightmare to match up against.
Basketball is often a game decided by superstars and the Blue Devils have the trump card in that respect. Therefore, we believe Duke will ultimately be the team that lifts the national championship trophy.
