With Selection Sunday now only days away, there are many spots to be filled in the field of 68 for the 2025 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament. But at this juncture of the season, it is clear who this year’s favorites are, and men’s March Madness futures odds reflect that.
This has been a banner season for the SEC, which could receive a record-breaking number of bids in its first year as a 16-team league.
Entering the SEC tournament, bracket projections at ESPN, CBS Sports, and Fox Sports have 13 SEC teams penciled into the bracket, and Texas remains in the conversation due to wins over two tournament locks (at home against Kentucky and at Mississippi State) accounting for their only victories in a 2-7 finish. At minimum, the league will eclipse the record set by the old Big East in 2011, when 11 of their 16 teams reached the Big Dance.
It’s not just about quantity with the SEC, either. At least six SEC teams will be top 16 seeds, and four of those six teams sit in the top six of BetOnline’s March Madness futures odds.
But will the conference claim its first national championship since Anthony Davis and Kentucky cut down the nets in 2012? A host of hopefuls could stand in the way, led by Duke and freshman sensation Cooper Flagg, the likely #1 overall pick in this summer’s NBA Draft.
After winning the ACC regular season title, the Blue Devils, who are seeking their first title since 2015, enter the ACC tournament slightly ahead of Auburn as the favorite to be the last team standing in San Antonio on April 7.
Bet on 2025 March Madness Futures Odds at the Best Online Sportsbooks
2025 Men’s March Madness Futures Odds
Odds are via BetOnline as of Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
- Duke +300
- Auburn +375
- Florida +700
- Houston +800
- Alabama +1100
- Tennessee +1800
- Michigan State +2000
- St. John’s +2000
- Iowa State +2500
- Texas Tech +3300
- Kentucky +4000
- Maryland +4000
- Texas A&M +4000
- Arizona +5000
- Gonzaga +5000
- UConn +6000
- Illinois +6000
- Wisconsin +6000
- Kansas +6600
- BYU +6600
- Missouri +6600
- Clemson +6600
- Purdue +8000
- Oregon +8000
- Louisville +8000
- Ole Miss +8000
- Saint Mary’s +10000
- UCLA +10000
- Michigan +10000
- Memphis +10000
Looking for men’s college basketball picks for the NCAA Tournament, NIT, and other postseason tournaments? Our NCAA basketball picks page features moneyline, spread, and total (over/under) picks for all of the top games each day.
Who Are the Favorites to Win the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament?
Duke and Auburn will be highly popular with bettors making March Madness futures picks, but they will have some tough competition for the crown.
That includes Michigan State, who will hope to end the Big Ten’s two-and-a-half-decade title drought, and St. John’s, who will look to follow up its first Big East regular season title since 1992 with a first Big East tournament title since 2000 and the program’s first Final Four trip since 1985.
But as it stands, the Blue Devils and Tigers are two of five teams standing out above the rest of the contenders.
Duke
Ten years ago, a Duke team featuring freshmen Jahlil Okafor (ACC Player of the Year and a first-team All-American), Tyus Jones (NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player), Justise Winslow, and Grayson Allen won the program’s fifth and most recent national championship.
Will history repeat itself this year? Flagg, the ACC Player of the Year and Wooden Award favorite, is the headliner, but fellow freshmen Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach are potential top-10 picks, and a fourth freshman, Isaiah Evans, could be key in the NCAA Tournament with his outside shooting.
Even in this era of college basketball, it is a tall ask for a team full of freshmen to go all the way. But it doesn’t hurt when one of those freshmen is considered one of the best prospects in recent history.
Auburn
Six years ago, Auburn reached the Final Four for the first time in program history and lost a controversial heartbreaker to Virginia, who went on to win the national title.
The Tigers haven’t advanced past the second round in three tournament appearances since, but anything short of a championship will be considered a major disappointment this year.
Auburn went down to Texas A&M and Alabama to close out the regular season, but that doesn’t diminish what Johni Broome and the Tigers have done this season. They laid waste to most of the SEC, winning nine games by double digits, won the Maui Invitational with wins over Iowa State, North Carolina, and Memphis, and own non-conference wins over Houston and Purdue.
March Madness futures have Duke out in front of Auburn perhaps in part because the Blue Devils defeated the Tigers 84-78 in an ACC-SEC Challenge matchup in December, but that was at Cameron Indoor Stadium. A matchup on a neutral court in San Antonio could produce a different result.
Florida
Is this the team that is most equipped to keep Duke or Auburn from achieving championship glory?
The Gators have flexed their muscles on both ends against some of the best of the best this season. In stunning road wins over Auburn and Alabama, they hit the 90-point mark, and in a 32-point home win over Tennessee, they held the Vols to only 43 points.
Florida lacks the kind of non-conference wins that Duke, Auburn, Alabama, and Tennessee have, as their best wins came against North Carolina and Wake Forest, both of whom may miss the NCAA Tournament. But based on what they have done against the cream of the crop in the SEC, this is a team to watch out for.
Houston
Is this the year that Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars finally win a long-awaited national championship?
Over the last several seasons, Houston has been a popular option for March Madness futures bettors, but an Elite Eight exit and two Sweet Sixteen exits have followed their 2021 Final Four appearance.
Will they become the first team to win a title in their home state since UCLA did in San Diego in 1975?
The Cougars lost their toughest non-conference games, falling to Auburn, Alabama, and San Diego State. But they won the Big 12 regular season title by four games over Texas Tech, the lone team to beat them in conference play.
As in past seasons, the big question with Houston is whether or not they can produce offensively when it matters, whether in a low-scoring contest like last year’s Sweet Sixteen loss to Duke or a high-scoring matchup against the likes of Florida or Alabama.
If nothing else, the percentages (46.0% FG, 39.7% 3PT, 73.8% FT entering the Big 12 tournament) and metrics (10th in adjusted offensive efficiency) provide a positive indication of this team’s potential, as they are a big jump up from last year’s team.
Alabama
After making the Final Four for the first time in program history, expectations were sky high for the Crimson Tide this season, who started the season ranked second behind Kansas.
While they haven’t been a disappointment like the Jayhawks, Alabama enters the SEC tournament with seven losses, including five in conference play.
But they are set to be no worse than a #2 seed and are very much a top contender because when things are going right, they are an offensive juggernaut and have displayed it against several top teams this season.
That said, their style of play could leave them vulnerable against a hot-shooting opponent or if someone can manage to hold them under 80, which doesn’t happen often.
Who Are the Most Recent NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Champions?
- 2024: UConn (defeated Purdue 75-60)
- 2023: UConn (defeated San Diego State 76-59)
- 2022: Kansas (def. North Carolina 72-69)
- 2021: Baylor (def. Gonzaga 86-70)
- 2020: No tournament held due to COVID
- 2019: Virginia (def. Texas Tech 85-77 in OT)
- 2018: Villanova (def. Michigan 79-62)
- 2017: North Carolina (def. Gonzaga 71-65)
- 2016: Villanova (def. North Carolina 77-74)
- 2015: Duke (def. Wisconsin 68-63)
- 2014: UConn (def. Kentucky 60-54)
- 2013: Louisville (def. Michigan 82-76) – vacated
- 2012: Kentucky (def. Kansas 67-59)
- 2011: UConn (def. Butler 55-41)
- 2010: Duke (def. Butler 61-59)
- 2009: North Carolina (def. Michigan State 89-72)
- 2008: Kansas (def. Memphis 77-69)
- 2007: Florida (def. Ohio State 84-75)
- 2006: Florida (def. UCLA 73-57)
- 2005: North Carolina (def. Illinois 75-70)
- 2004: UConn (def. Georgia Tech 82-73)
- 2003: Syracuse (def. Kansas 81-78)
- 2002: Maryland (def. Indiana 64-52)
- 2001: Duke (def. Arizona 82-72)
- 2000: Michigan State (def. Florida 89-76)
Other 2025 March Madness Content and Information
Other March Madness Content at Betting News
Would you like to check out our other March Madness content? Our March Madness guide is where you can find it all in one tidy place.
Interested in Learning More About Betting on March Madness & NCAA Basketball?
If you are interested in learning more about betting on men’s or women’s NCAA basketball, check out our college basketball betting guide. It covers the basics of wagering on March Madness, the Mountain West, the MAAC, McNeese State, and beyond.
Also, follow Betting News on X/Twitter, Twitch, and TikTok to get more March Madness and NCAA basketball insight from myself and the rest of our team. We’re cooking up a lot of great NCAA Tournament content for both the men’s and women’s tournaments, so hit those links so you don’t miss out on any of it.