With the 2025 NCAA men’s tournament upon us, here’s everything you need to know about the South region.
[What to know about each region: East | West | Midwest]
Auburn is the No. 1 overall seed, but was behind Duke (+300) and Florida (+350) for the shortest odds to win the NCAA title as of late Sunday. Michigan State is projected to get past an Iowa State team that was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation and spent eight weeks ranked in the top three. But the Spartans have climbed from unranked in the preseason to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament and are expected to advance to the regional final.
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Auburn earned the No. 1 seed thanks to a résumé with no bad losses and securing the regular season title in a stacked SEC that produced an NCAA tournament-record 14 bids. Auburn’s five losses (Duke, Tennessee, Florida, Texas A&M, Alabama) all came against teams that earned a No. 4 seed or higher.
Pick another No. 1 seed to fall victim to an early upset. Auburn’s a strong bet to win the region and advance to the Final Four. There, potential rematches against teams that beat the Tigers await. Florida’s the No. 1 seed in the West and a potential national semifinal opponent for Auburn. Florida beat Auburn in February and finished the season with seven straight wins — five of them over ranked opponents — en route to the SEC tournament championship.
If Auburn gets by a potential Florida matchup, a rematch with Duke could await in the title game. Duke beat Auburn in Cameron Indoor Stadium in December.
Can Johni Broome lead Auburn to the national championship game and a potential rematch with Duke and Cooper Flagg? (Lance King/Getty Images)
The tournament committee did no favors for Michigan after the Wolverines secured the Big Ten tournament championship, lending credence to the long-held theory that the conference’s title game that ends in the hour before the bracket reveal has no bearing on the actual bracket.
Michigan earned a No. 5 seed and will take on arguably the toughest of the No. 12 seeds in Big West champion UC San Diego. UCSD is ranked 35th in NET rankings and 36th in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency rating, notably higher than any of the other No. 12 seeds (Colorado State is next best at 47 in NET and 42 in KenPom).
The 30-4 Tritons enter NCAA tournament play on a 15-game winning streak and project to give the Wolverines a run for an upset in the first round. From there, No. 13 Yale or No. 4 Texas A&M would await with a trip to the Sweet 16 at stake. UCSD’s as good a bet as any of the No. 12 seeds to make a run.
See above. The Tritons are the best bet of the double-digit seeds to advance out of the first round. Sorry, No. 16s Alabama State and Saint Francis, No. 15 Bryant and No. 14 Lipscomb. But there’s intrigue a line below UCSD in the South.
No. 11 North Carolina faces fellow No. 11 seed San Diego State in the First Four and could be a threat to advance if it makes the 64-team field. The Tar Heels fell from the top 25 after starting the season ranked No. 9 in the nation, but returned to competitive form with an 8-2 finish to sneak into the tournament as the field’s final at-large team. They rank 33rd in KenPom and 36th in NET rankings and have a coach in Hubert Davis and starting guard in R.J. Davis who have been to the national championship game. The roster is flawed and lacks interior size, but could pose a threat to No. 6 Ole Miss in the first round.
Broome is the SEC player of the year and the only player not named Cooper Flagg in the running for national player of the year honors. He’s a 6-foot-10, two-way threat who averaged 18.9 points and led the SEC with 10.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. He’s a dominant force who can take over a game and is the main reason the Tigers are the South’s No. 1 seed.
- Iowa State G Curtis Jones
Jones is a bucket. The 6-5 senior guard was named first-team All-Big 12 while averaging 17.1 points per game and shooting 37.2% on seven 3-point attempts a game. He scored 20-plus points 12 times this season, including a 31-point effort in Iowa State’s Big 12 tournament loss to BYU where he connected on seven 3-pointers. NCAA tournament play often comes down to whose guards get hot. If Jones heats up, watch out.
- North Carolina G RJ Davis
Three seasons ago, Davis helped lead North Carolina on a trip to the national title game. Last season, he was a first-team All-American and the ACC Player of the Year.
This season, he regressed as his scoring (17 ppg), shooting (40.9%) and 3-point shooting (34.5%) all fell from his All-America campaign. North Carolina struggled alongside him. But Davis found his stride late in the season as UNC rallied to make the tournament field. Davis is the ACC’s No. 2 all-time leading scorer. And he’s been here before. Don’t count him out.
No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 16 Alabama State/Saint Francis (Lexington, Thursday, 2:50 p.m. ET, CBS)
No. 8 Louisville vs. No. 9 Creighton (Lexington, Thursday, 12:15 p.m. ET, CBS)
No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 12 UC San Diego (Denver, Thursday, 10 p.m. ET, TBS)
No. 4 Texas A&M vs No. 13 Yale (Denver, Thursday, 7:25 p.m. ET, TBS)
No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 San Diego State/No. 11 North Carolina (Milwaukee, Friday, 4:05 p.m. ET, TNT)
No. 3 Iowa State vs. No. 14 Lipscomb (Milwaukee, Friday, 1:30 p.m. ET, TNT)
No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 10 New Mexico (Cleveland, Friday, 7:25 p.m. ET, TBS)
No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Bryant (Cleveland, Friday, 10 p.m. ET, TBS)
Auburn limped to the finish with three of its five losses in its final four games. But it would be unwise to rule the Tigers out. As previously mentioned, they don’t have bad losses on their résumé.
They rank in the top 12 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. And they feature one of the two best players in the nation. This is the makeup of a Final Four team.
Yahoo Sports’ Frank Schwab picks the outcome against the spread — and explains why — for each of the opening matchups in the South region.
- No. 8 Louisville (-2.5) over No. 9 Creighton, 12:15 p.m. Thursday
- No. 1 Auburn (-31.5) over No. 16 Alabama State, 2:50 p.m. Thursday
- No. 13 Yale (+7.5) over No. 4 Texas A&M, 7:25 p.m. Thursday
- No. 5 Michigan (-2.5) over No. 12 UC San Diego, 10 p.m. Thursday
- No. 14 Lipscomb (+14.5) over No. 3 Iowa State, 1:30 p.m. Friday
- No. 11 North Carolina (-1.5) over No. 6 Ole Miss, 4:05 p.m. Friday
- No. 7 Marquette (-3.5) over No. 10 New Mexico, 7:25 p.m. Friday
- No. 15 Bryant (+17.5) over No. 2 Michigan State, 10 p.m. Friday
