With only hours to go before the madness starts and you fill out your March Madness bracket, check out our bracket predictions provided by our various college basketball experts.
Four Odds Shark staff members provided their March Madness brackets for you to consider when filling out yours. Former-NBA center John Henson also joined The Huddle to discuss his bracket where he is taking the Florida Gators to win their first national championship since 2007.
Who Is Going To Win March Madness 2025?
- Four brackets have Florida to win the West Region (-135 at Sportsbook)
- All five brackets have a No. 1 seed to win the National Championship.
- Josie had the longest odds to win the Natl. Championship with Houston at +600. The other four brackets were split, two for Florida (+340) + two for Duke (+290)
- John Henson had the boldest Elite Eight prediction with his alma mater, UNC from the No. 11 seed -- perhaps a little biased.
- Every bracket has at least one 12 seed upsetting a five seed. Colorado St over Memphis and Liberty over Oregon both show up twice.
- Tony and Josie are the only experts to NOT have two No. 1 seeds in the finals. Josie has No. 2 Michigan St. vs No. 1 Houston with that exact matchup paying +4700 whereas Tony has No. 2 Alabama vs No. 1 Florida and that matchup has odds of +2500.
- Four brackets have Auburn coming out of the South Region (-105).
- Four brackets have No. 5 seed Clemson losing in the first or second round. Clemson not to reach the Sweet 16 is -164 -- perhaps our experts are onto something?
Josie’s 2025 March Madness Bracket Predictions
| Region | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| East | Wisconsin | +1000 |
| Midwest | Houston | +140 |
| South | Michigan St. | +490 |
| West | Florida | -120 |
Odds as of March 17 at Sportsbook
Looking at Josie's final four predictions, I see carnage in the East. No. 10 Vanderbilt and No. 12 Liberty pulling off Round of 64 upsets. I mentioned off the top, too, of the Jayhawks' run to the Elite Eight and if you agree with Josie, you can lock that bet in at +500.
If you're looking for even more bang for your buck in a BOLD bracket prediction, take a look at the South Region and notably the Ivy-league winning Yale Bulldogs. Josie has them as her Cinderella team this year knocking off Texas A&M and Michigan before the No. 13 seed gets sent home by Auburn. Backing Yale to the Elite Eight, as one of the best upset picks for March Madness this year, is paying +6000. This means, if you placed a $5 you could win $300.00.
Nick’s 2025 March Madness Bracket Predictions
| Region | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| East | Duke | -135 |
| Midwest | Tennessee | +360 |
| South | Auburn | +100 |
| West | Florida | -120 |
Odds as of March 17 at Sportsbook
Nick's NCAA March Madness predictions lean a lot on the favorites with three No. 1 seeds advancing to the Final Four and the last team being a No. 2 seed in Tennessee -- cream rises to the top. It's a bit of a bold strategy (despite being the favorites) in that only once since 1985 as all four No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four in 2008, perhaps that's why he threw Tennessee in.
If you're looking for ways to place a bet on Nick's bracket predictions, may I draw your attention to the West Region and take note of the Colorado State Rams. In our 5 vs 12 seed history page, you can see that at least one 12 seed has pulled off a first-round upset in 33 of the 39 tournaments. Taking the Rams to the Sweet 16 has odds of +370 at Sportsbook, which means a $5 bet would pay out $23.50.
Tony's 2025 March Madness Bracket Predictions
| Region | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| East | Alabama | +430 |
| Midwest | Tennessee | +360 |
| South | Auburn | -105 |
| West | Florida | -135 |
Odds as of March 18 at Sportsbook
Tony has not forgotten Zach Edey and Purdue making an early exit from the Tournament a couple of years back and banking on High Point as 8-point favorites to advance to the Round of 32.
Similarly, history has a funny way of predicting the future -- sometimes. Last year's bracket saw No. 13 seed Yale knock off Auburn 78-76 before losing to San Diego State. Tony is backing Yale again from the No. 13 seed to not only get past Texas A&M but UC San Diego as well setting up a rematch with Auburn -- but that's as far as the Bulldogs will go. Backing the Ivy-league winners to the Sweet 16 is paying +870 or $8.70 for every dollar you wager.
Andrew's 2025 March Madness Predictions
| Region | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| East | Duke | -135 |
| Midwest | Houston | +120 |
| South | Auburn | -105 |
| West | Maryland | +1000 |
Odds as of March 18 at Sportsbook
The lone expert to not believe in the Gators to come out of the West Region! Andrew is diggin' the Terrapins from Maryland from the No. 4 seed position to oust Florida in the Sweet 16 and dispose of No. 11 Drake in the Elite Eight. Lots of betting value here was Maryland set at +1000 to win the West, while Drake reaching the Elite Eight is an eye-popping +3400, meaning a $5 bet would payout $175.00.
Despite carnage in the West, Andrew comes back down to earth for the rest of the bracket, taking three No. 1 seeds to reach the Final Four with the ultimate winners being Duke which are currently leading the odds to win the national championship.
Scott's March Madness Winner Value Pick: St. John's
What a transformation we've seen from the St. John's Red Storm since head coach Rick Pitino took over last season. In just his second season, Pitino has taken a team that was flirting with a .500 record on the season to an impressive 30-4 campaign, earning their first March Madness bid since 2019 and winning its first conference tournament in 25 years.
The West Region could prove to be a difficult one to get out of with the likes of Florida, Memphis, Texas Tech and Kansas looming, but the Red Storm are battle tested with five wins over ranked opponents this year (three against Marquette). Keep an eye on their Round of 32 matchup as they will be taking on No. 7 Kansas or locking horns with former Kentucky (which Pitino won a national championship with) head coach John Calipari with No. 10 Arkansas.
Overall, SJU should be favored into the Sweet 16 where a potential Texas Tech matchup sits. Oddsmakers will have tough time setting a line for that one and there may be an opportunity to hedge a futures bet by playing the Red Raiders to reach the Elite Eight at +176 at Sportsbook.
Betting On A March Madness Bracket
The tournament is a fun time to see how your bracket does, especially if you’re in a pool with some of your buddies. However, even if your bracket is busted early, there are plenty of ways to stay invested in the excitement, so keep an eye on our college basketball betting hub for insights and college basketball picks tonight.
Creating Your Own Bracket
If you’ve never created a bracket but want to know what all the hype is about, you can see our How to Fill Out a March Madness Bracket article. Additionally, we have an excellent history of the opening-round seed matchups below with their results against the spread and straight up.
March Madness Betting Promos
Please check back for promotions to be added for upcoming events.
