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ESPN's Computer Model Predicts Final Four Winners

Originally posted on The Spun | By Chris Rosvoglou | Last updated Apr 4, 2025 8:26 AM ET

The Final Four will tip off this Saturday night in San Antonio with two incredibly intriguing matchups.

There's a lot of hype surrounding this year's semifinals, and rightfully so. It certainly helps that all four No. 1 seeds made it to the Final Four for the first time since 2008. The only No. 1 seed that was in jeopardy of missing the Final Four was Florida. The program needed a furious comeback against Texas Tech to advance to this stage.

Florida hasn't lost a game since March 5 against Alabama. The Gators have been on a sensational run in large part because of Walter Clayton Jr. and his heroics. He dropped 30 points on Texas Tech in the Elite Eight. Of course, players like Thomas Haugh and Alijah Martin have also stepped up this postseason.

If Florida wants to keep its hopes of winning a national title alive, it'll need to defeat Auburn on the biggest stage in basketball. These two teams met on March 5. The Gators won that meeting by a final score of 90-81.

Even though Florida is slightly favored heading into Saturday's game, ESPN's computer model has Auburn advancing to the national championship. The Tigers currently have a 57.9 percent chance of defeating the Gators.

A few hours later, Duke and Houston will go head-to-head in the second Final Four game. It'll be a matchup between the nation's No. 1 offense and the No. 1 defense.

Cooper Flagg has been the driving force for the Blue Devils in March. However, it was Kon Knueppel who led the charge in the Elite Eight with 21 points. Tyrese Proctor has also stepped up for Jon Scheyer's squad.

Houston, on the other hand, has received strong contributions from LJ Cryer, J'wan Roberts, Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan during this tournament.

ESPN is giving Duke a 54.0 percent chance of defeating Houston. That would set up a date with Auburn. For what it's worth, the Blue Devils and Tigers met on Dec. 4, 2024.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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