For only the second time in the history of the NCAA Division One Men’s Basketball Tournament, or “March Madness”, all four No.1 seeds have survived their regional, won four straight games, and reached the Final Four. Auburn, Florida, Duke, and Houston will compete for the title, but each will face the tough task of beating two college basketball giants en route to winning it all.
This year’s Final Four features not only the top four teams for the first time since 2008, but particularly four historically great teams, all of which having dominant regular seasons. The all No. 1 seed Final Four is a sharp contrast from last year’s, which featured No. 11 NC State, and 2023’s, where the highest remaining team was No. 4 seed Uconn. It is not only a nearly-unprecedented event, but also one that was rarely predicted by the millions of Americans who filled out a March Madness bracket before the tournament. However, while the idea of all four No. 1 seed making it in one year seems unrealistic to many, each team has made it this far for a reason
Auburn came into March Madness as the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, but also multiple losses to close out the regular season. Auburn removed any doubts, however, with defeats of Michigan and Michigan State on the way to their first Final Four since 2019. The Auburn Tigers suffered a devastating 63-62 loss to Virginia in that year’s national semifinal, and will look to avoid doing so this year.
Down 75-66 with just over three minutes to play against Texas Tech, Florida came possibly the closest of any of the Final Four teams to being eliminated in the Elite Eight. They needed an 18-4 run down the stretch to pull off the improbable victory, and clinch a Final Four spot for the first time since 2014. Florida has been commended for its performance across the tournament so far, from a first round defeat of nearby Norfolk State to this Elite Eight win. They also come from an extremely competitive SEC conference, which also features Auburn, Alabama, and Tennessee.
The Duke Blue Devils are led by Cooper Flagg, an 18-year-old freshman who is both younger than many Princess Anne seniors, and a contender for the National Player of the Year Award. After a dominant regular season and ACC Tournament, Duke pulled off four straight convincing wins in March Madness, one of them being a 20-point win over No. 2 seed Alabama.
In their second year as part of the Big 12 Conference, Houston went 19-1 in conference play against opponents. They needed a last second basket to beat Purdue in the Sweet Sixteen, but dominated No. 1 seed Tennessee in the Elite Eight. Houston held Tennessee to just 15 points in the first half, and with a 19-point win they will have plenty of momentum going into the Final Four.
Luckily for those in The Page’s 2025 bracket challenge, many entrants still have a chance to have the correct national champion in their bracket. Duke, Florida, Houston, and Auburn were all picked by someone to win it all, guaranteeing that at least one bracket will successfully pick a champion in the end.
Per the challenge’s 1-2-4-8-16-32 scoring system, late rounds allocate more points for a correct pick on an exponential basis. Therefore, picking the right champion is as valuable as getting all 32 first round games right, or having all four Final Four teams. And with a tight race to earn the most points in the bracket challenge
While three competitors led The Page Bracket Challenge after the first two rounds, Hannah Adams has built a solid lead over the rest of the competition. Getting all four of her Final Four picks right, she has both the most points of anyone and the most remaining points that could go her way. However, with Mason Olds, Kelsie Manugo, and Barrett White all having a high potential to score more points, this year’s national title game may decide who wins the bracket challenge.
The enduring impact of Arkansas’s upset over St John’s can still be felt through the brackets that had Rick Pitino’s Red Storm going far. Those who had No. 2 St. John’s in the championship game will no longer be able to earn points from the entire left side of the bracket, but still may not have the toughest road to winning the challenge: One bracket picked Creighton to win it all, only for them to lose in the second round to Auburn.
The Final Four will begin on Saturday, April 5, in San Antonio’s Alamodome. Florida and Auburn will play first, followed by Houston and Duke. The National Championship Game will begin on Monday night, and conclude this year’s college basketball season.
Leaderboard (With Points, Maximum Points, and National Champion Pick)
- Hannah Adams – 103 – 167 – Auburn
- Mason Olds – 94 – 158 – Florida
- Kelsie Manugo – 87 – 135 – Duke
- Barrett White – 87 – 135 – Duke
- Brian Lewis- 71 – 119 – Duke
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Challenge Rules
Brackets will be scored under the traditional 1-2-4-8-16-32 format, where points won for each individual game increases across the tournament and the number of teams in a round multiplied by the number of points per correct pick always equals 64. Therefore, picking the champion and Final Four teams correctly is usually going to constitute a highly successful bracket. The maximum number of points that could be won is 192 in this system, but that would require a correct pick for every single game, and no recorded March Madness bracket has ever been perfect. In fact, the NCAA puts the odds of a relatively-researched bracket being perfect at one in 120.2 Billion.
Should a tie occur between first place competitors in either of the pools, the tiebreaker will fall to the entry with the correct national champion pick. Further tiebreakers, if needed, will be the most correct teams in the championship game, Final Four, Elite Eight, and Sweet Sixteen.
