Jay Williams Picks Rare Final Four in NCAA Tournament Brackets

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Deveney | Last updated Mar 20, 2025 10:49 AM ET

One of the best aspects of the NCAA Tournament is, of course, that pretty much anything can happen. For example, we had never seen a No. 1 seed lose to a No. 16 seed in the tournament until 2018, when UMBC beat Virginia. Five years later, it happened again when FDU knocked off top-seeded Purdue.

Upsets are where the fun is. But it may come as something of a surprise to find out that one of the truly rare outcomes in an NCAA Tournament is this: The chalk wins all the way around.

Yes, only once in the history of March Madness (going back to the tournament's ecpansion in 1985) have four No. 1 seeds all come out victorious in their brackets. That was 2008.

So maybe we should give ESPN's Jay Williams, the former Duke star, some credit for a bold pick on Thursday morning during an appearance on "Get Up."

Asked for his FInal Four picks, Williams went with No. 1 seeds across the board.

.@RealJayWilliams and @Espngreeny share their Final Four predictions

Who ya got winning it all?

Create your bracket here ➡️ https://t.co/0tTzxYVuwJ pic.twitter.com/E5yncK2GIU
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) March 20, 2025

"Auburn, Florida, Duke, Houston," WIlliams said.

"Yes, all No. 1 seeds but I believe this year is gonna be a year of chalk. When you think about who the best teams are, I think they all are the best teams in college basketball. Doesn’t mean they will get there. But they’ve proven to me over the course of about six months that they are the elite of the elite."

Asked which team he was picking to win it all, Williams again went with a favorite.

"I am going to go with Florida to win the national championship. Walter Clayton Jr. is a special player, they have Alijah Martin … It’s Todd Golden’s team, I think right now, it’s the best team in the nation," he said.

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

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