Who will advance to the Final Four? More than 30 experts give us their NCAA predictions
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It’s been 10 years since the Kentucky Wildcats have made it to the Final Four.
Will Mark Pope’s first season as UK basketball coach be the one that ends the skid?
The national experts don’t seem to think so. The Herald-Leader asked dozens of college basketball reporters from around the country — and several from inside the state of Kentucky — to predict which teams would advance to the Final Four and who would ultimately cut down the nets in San Antonio.
Duke, Florida and Houston — all 1 seeds in the 2025 NCAA Tournament field — were obviously among the popular choices. Auburn, the No. 1 overall seed in the bracket, was absent from a majority of the projections.
Coach Rick Pitino and St. John’s — a 2 seed this year — appear to have a decent shot at making a run. The Red Storm haven’t advanced beyond the first week of the tournament since 1999. Five different SEC programs received at least one mention for a Final Four spot. No team from the league has won the NCAA title since Kentucky in 2012.
But this is March Madness, after all, the time of year when anything can happen, and no one should be counted out until the final buzzer brings an end to their 2024-25 season.
Before the round of 64 begins Thursday, here’s a look at the predictions.
Final Four expert picks
John Clay, Herald-Leader: Auburn, St. John’s, Duke, Houston
Title game: St. John’s over Houston
Cameron Drummond, Herald-Leader: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
Title game: Duke over Florida
Jon Hale, Herald-Leader: Auburn, Florida, Alabama, Houston
Title game: Florida over Houston
Ben Roberts, Herald-Leader: Auburn, Maryland, Duke, Houston
Title game: Auburn over Duke
Mark Story, Herald-Leader: Auburn, Florida, Duke, Houston
Title game: Florida over Houston
Nicole Auerbach, NBC Sports: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
Title game: Duke over Michigan State
Rodd Baxley, Fayetteville Observer: Auburn, Maryland, Duke, Houston
Title game: Duke over Auburn
Darrell Bird, Cats’ Pause: Auburn, Florida, Duke, Houston
Title game: Florida over Houston
Jeff Borzello, ESPN: Auburn, Florida, Duke, Houston
Title game: Florida over Duke
Rick Bozich, WDRB: Auburn, St. John’s, Alabama, Houston
Title game: Auburn over Alabama
C.L. Brown, Courier Journal: Michigan, Florida, Alabama, Houston
Title game: Houston over Florida
Michael Cohen, Fox Sports: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
Title game: Duke over Florida
Luke DeCock, The News & Observer: Auburn, Texas Tech, Duke, Houston
Title game: Duke over Texas Tech
Mike DeCourcy, Sporting News: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Tennessee
Title game: Duke over Florida
Chris Dortch, Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook: Auburn, Florida, Duke, Tennessee
Title game: Florida over Duke
Jay Drew, Deseret News: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Tennessee
Title game: Florida over Duke
Gentry Estes, The Tennessean: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
Title game: Duke over Florida
Dick Gabriel, Big Blue Insider: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
Title game: Florida over Houston
Aaron Gershon, Cats’ Pause: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
Title game: Florida over Houston
David Hale, ESPN: Auburn, St. John’s, Duke, Houston
Title game: Duke over Auburn
Tom Hart, SEC Network: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Illinois
Title game: Florida over Duke
Brooks Holton, Courier Journal: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
Title game: Florida over Houston
Clark Kellogg, CBS Sports: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Clemson
Title game: Florida over Duke
Nick Kelly, AL.com: Auburn, Florida, Duke, Tennessee
Title game: Florida over Duke
Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star: Michigan State, Florida, Alabama, Houston
Title game: Houston over Florida
Brendan Marks, The Athletic: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
Title game: Duke over Florida
Jim Meehan, Spokesman-Review: Michigan State, Florida, Wisconsin, Tennessee
Title game: Tennessee over Michigan State
Matt Norlander, CBS Sports: Auburn, St. John’s, Alabama, Houston
Title game: Houston over Auburn
Cole Parke, Kentucky Kernel: Michigan State, Maryland, Duke, Houston
Title game: Houston over Maryland
Gary Parrish, CBS Sports: Auburn, St. John’s, Duke, Houston
Title game: Auburn over Houston
Jack Pilgrim, Kentucky Sports Radio: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
Title game: Florida over Houston
Louie Rabaut, ESPN 680: Michigan State, Florida, Alabama, Houston
Title game: Houston over Florida
Lindsay Schnell, The Athletic: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Kentucky
Title game: Duke over Michigan State
Steve Wiseman, The News & Observer: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
Title game: Duke over Michigan State
Dan Wolken, USA Today: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
Title game: Duke over Florida
Adam Zagoria, ZagsBlog: Michigan State, Florida, Duke, Houston
Title game: Duke over Florida
This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Who will advance to the Final Four? More than 30 experts give us their NCAA predictions."
