UConn will need to defy all the odds to accomplish what hasn’t been done in over 50 years in March Madness: the three-peat.

The bracket for the 2025 NCAA Tournament is out, and it looks like there could be a new national champion this year. UConn, known for its ups and downs this season, has been placed as the No. 8 seed and is not considered one of the top picks to secure another championship victory.

Maybe it’s another team from the tri-state area that will cut down the nets this time?

2025 PRINTABLE BLANK NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET

2025 COMPLETE PRINTABLE NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET

Rick Pitino has completely rebuilt St. John’s thanks to a gritty defense, the Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr. and a whole lot of NIL money.

The Red Storm are the No. 2 seed in the West region.

The No. 1 seeds are Auburn, Duke, Houston and Florida — the Tigers are the top overall seed.

Headlined by Johni Broome, Auburn will look to redeem itself after a major disappointment in last season’s tournament when the Tigers busted brackets in the Round of 64 and fell to No. 13 Yale.

Houston has secured a No. 1 seed for the third straight season. Since Kelvin Sampson took over as head coach in 2014, the Cougars have been a powerhouse and made the jump to the Big 12 in 2023. 

Florida was the last program to win back-to-back championships before UConn did it the last two seasons. But the Gators are in just their second NCAA Tournament in the last five years as they look to return to glory.

Duke is led by the freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, who projects to be the top pick in this year’s NBA draft — ahead of the likes of Rutgers freshmen Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, who fans will not have the chance to see in March as the Scarlet Knights missed this year’s NCAA Tournament entirely.

But there are still plenty of other top NBA prospects that fans should keep their eyes on such as V.J. Edgecombe of Baylor, which got in as a No. 9 seed, Kasparas Jakucionis of No. 6 seed Illinois and No. 9 seed Georgia’s Asa Newell.

The madness will tip off March 18 and 19 with the First Four matchups in Dayton, Ohio.

The Round of 64 will follow beginning on March 20-21, followed by the second round on March 22-23.

The Sweet 16 will be held on March 27-28 and the Elite Eight takes place on March 29-30.

San Antonio hosts the Final Four on April 5 and the national championship game on April 7.