Jay Bilas Makes Official Final Four Predictions For 2025 NCAA Tournament

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Chris Phelps | Last updated Mar 16, 2025 8:44 PM ET

The 2025 NCAA Tournament has been officially set, and many analysts, experts and fans are starting to fill out their brackets.

ESPN's Jay Bilas announced his official predictions for the Final Four and national champion shortly after the bracket was released on Sunday night.

In the South Region, Bilas has the No. 1 overall seed Auburn Tigers making it to the Final Four. Coach Bruce Pearl and company earned the top seed despite falling to the Tennessee Volunteers in the SEC Tournament semifinals.

Coming out of the West region, Bilas has another SEC team in No. 1 seed Florida Gators. Thanks to a big tournament run from guard Walter Clayton Jr., Florida was able to walk out of Nashville with another SEC championship.

Out of the East Region, Bilas picked his alma mater, No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils, to reach the Final Four. With Cooper Flagg out for most of the ACC Tournament, Duke was still able to rally to an ACC championship win, with another freshman, Kon Knueppel, named ACC Tournament MVP.

Bilas' last Final Four team goes to yet another No. 1 seed in the Houston Cougars. This is a team that lost only four games during the entire season, ending on a 13-game winning streak and a Big 12 title.

Although three of his four Final Four teams (all No. 1 seeds) won conference championships, Bilas is still riding with Florida to win it all.

Wow Jay Bilas picked all four 1 seeds to make the final four in his bracket. So innovative!
— Kyle (@AllAubarn) March 17, 2025

Like Houston, the Gators also managed to lose just four games despite being in a packed SEC that had 14 teams included in the field of 68, a new record.

However, they could run into some issues in the West Region with the No. 8 seed UConn Huskies, the two-time defending champions, as a potential second-round threat. The No. 2 seed St. John's Red Storm, led by coach Rick Pitino, could pose issues as well if they reach the Elite Eight.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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