For the first time since 2008, the NCAA Men’s Final Four will consist of all four #1 seeds and it feels like any of these teams can win it all.
It’s been a historic tournament to date so far, as this is the first time since 2007 where an 11 seed or lower has missed the Sweet Sixteen.
We also witnessed a record breaking 14 out of the 16 teams in the SEC make the NCAA Tournament.
Each team has different storylines to go with them, so here’s a preview of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Final Four teams.
Auburn:
Head Coach: Bruce Pearl
Record: 32-5
Key Wins: vs #4 Houston, vs #5 Iowa State, vs #12 North Carolina, vs Memphis, vs #16 Purdue, vs #6 Tennessee, at #23 Ole Miss, at #2 Alabama, at #17 Kentucky
Key Losses: at #9 Duke, vs #6 Florida, at #22 Texas A&M, vs #7 Alabama
It has been a wild season for the #1 overall seeded Auburn Tigers.
Back in November, the Auburn Tigers team plane took off from the Auburn University Regional Airport before quickly turning around, returning back to the Universities Airport after fights broke out between players on the Tigers.
What would follow for the Tigers would shape their season and put them in the position they are in right now, knocking off #4 Houston in the second game of the college basketball season.
After starting 2-0, the Tigers would win 19 of their next 20 games and end the season with 16 Quad 1 wins, the most in the NCAA this season.
After falling to Tennessee in the Semifinals of the SEC Tournament, the Tigers would be selected as the No.1 overall seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Auburn would race past 16 seed Alabama State 83-63 in the first round, before being majorly tested in each of their next three games, using big second half runs to defeat 9 seeded Creighton 82-70, 5 seeded Michigan 78-65 Michigan and 2 seeded Michigan State 70-74.
The Auburn Tigers will be faced with a rematch with Florida on Saturday in San Antonio Texas.
Key Players for Auburn:
Johni Broome:
18.7 PTS 10.9 REB 2.9 AST 2.1 BLK 0.9 STL
Fifth year senior forward and SEC Player of the Year Johni Broome has been playing his best basketball this season for the Tigers.
Broome has provided key performances in big wins for Auburn during this tournament, scoring 22 points and securing 16 rebounds vs Michigan and a 25 point 14 rebound performance against Michigan State.
Tahaad Pettiford:
11.7 PTS 2.2 REB 2.9 AST
True freshman point guard Tahaad Pettiford has not looked like a true freshman this season.
The five star prospect out of Jersey City, New Jersey has reached double figures in 22 games this season, including a season high 24 points with 5 made threes in a 70-68 road win against #23 Georgia.
Duke:
Head Coach: Jon Scheyer
Record: 35-3
Key Wins: at #17 Arizona, vs #2 Auburn, at Louisville, vs Illinois, vs #13 Louisville (ACC Championship)
Key Losses: vs #19 Kentucky, vs #1 Kansas, at Clemson
After finishing 27-9 in his first two seasons after taking over for legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski, Jon Scheyer has the Blue Devils sitting with a record of 35-3, awaiting their Final Four matchup with Houston.
A big reason for this massive success for Duke has been their 2024 recruiting class, which ranked #1 in the country and would bring in four 5 star recruits, including the #1 overall recruit and projected #1 overall NBA Draft pick Cooper Flagg.
There hasn’t been a team to slow down Duke this season.
After starting 4-2, losing to Kentucky and Kansas by a combined 8 points, the Blue Devils would rally off 31 wins in their next 32 games.
There might not be a team that’s playing as good as Duke is right now and odds have them as the favorite to cut down the nets as National Champions.
The Blue Devils would breeze through 16 seeded Mount St. Mary’s 93-49 and 9 seeded Baylor 89-66, before scoring 100 points against Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen, winning 100-93 and blowing out 2 seeded Alabama 85-65 in the Elite Eight.
Key Players for Duke:
Cooper Flagg:
18.9 PTS 7.5 REB 4.2 AST 1.4 BLK 1.4 STL
Cooper Flagg still plays like a “raw” type of prospect, but still no one has been able to even try and slow him down this season, as he is the favorite to win the Wooden Award, given to the best player in College Basketball.
Flagg has scored 20 points or more in 14 games this season, including 26 points against Kentucky, 28 points against Boston College and NC State and 42 points against Notre Dame.
Tyrese Proctor:
12.5 PTS 3.1 REB 2.2 AST 41.2% 3PT
At times Tyrese Proctor has been inconsistent this season, but as of late, Proctor has been the best three point shooting option for the Blue Devils.
Proctor is shooting 56.8% from three during the NCAA Tournament.
Houston:
Head Coach: Kelvin Sampson
Record: 34-4
Key Wins: vs BYU, at #12 Kansas, vs Baylor, at #13 Arizona, vs #8 Iowa State, at #10 Texas Tech, vs Kansas, at Baylor, vs #17 BYU, vs Arizona (Big 12 Championship)
Key Losses: vs #11 Auburn, vs #9 Alabama, vs San Diego State, vs #22 Texas Tech
One of the most decorated coaches in this years Final Four is Kelvin Sampson, who has a career coaching record of 723-310, that’s a lot of winning basketball.
This is the fourth straight Houston team to reach at least 32 wins and they are far and away the hottest team in this tournament right now.
The Cougars are led by a suffocating defense that allows just 58.3 PPG, ranking #1 in the nation, while forcing 13.3 turnovers per game.
Ever since losing to #22 Texas Tech in overtime, Houston has won 17 games straight, the longest active winning streak in College Basketball.
The Cougars started off their NCAA Tournament run with a 78-40 win over 16 seeded SIUE, followed by an 81-76 win against 8 seeded Gonzaga in the second round, a 62-60 win against 4 seeded Purdue in the Sweet Sixteen and a 69-50 win over 2 seeded Tennessee, a game where the Volunteers shot just 28% from the field and 17% from three.
Key Players for Houston:
L.J. Cryer:
15.4 PTS 2.3 REB 2.0 AST 41.9% 3PT
Fifth year senior L.J. Cryer can do it on both sides of the ball, averaging 16.7 PTS and 1.2 STL during the NCAA Tournament while shooting 36% from three.
Cryer is a very experienced player, having played 3 seasons at Baylor, before transferring to Houston in 2023.
Cryer has averaged at least 13 PPG in four straight seasons.
Milos Uzan:
11.6 PTS 3.0 REB 4.4 AST 44.5% 3PT
Junior guard Milos Uzan is one to keep your eyes on this weekend.
Uzan has played in just seven games where he hasn’t hit a three pointer, and most recently hit 6 threes against Purdue in the Sweet Sixteen.
Florida:
Head Coach: Todd Golden
Record: 34-4
Key Wins: vs #1 Tennessee, at Arkansas, vs #1 Auburn, vs #22 Mississippi State, vs #12 Texas A&M, at #7 Alabama, vs Ole Miss, vs #21 Missouri, vs #5 Alabama, vs #8 Tennessee (SEC Championship)
Key Losses: at #10 Kentucky, vs Missouri, at #8 Tennessee, at Georgia
Florida head coach Todd Golden has brought the Gators back to being a national power in College Basketball.
The Gators are playing in their second Final Four since winning back to back national championships in 2006 and 2007.
Florida started the season ranked 21st in the country, but quickly found themselves in the top 10 by December.
The Gators, like Auburn were dealt with a gauntlet of a conference schedule, facing 10 opponents that were ranked in the top 25 during the time they played them.
Florida would defeat 16 seeded Norfolk State 95-69 in the first round, 8 seeded UConn 77-75 in the second, 4 seeded Maryland 87-71 in the Sweet Sixteen and 3 seeded Texas Tech 84-79 in the Elite Eight.
Key Players for Florida:
Walter Clayton Jr:
18.1 PTS 3.6 REB 4.2 AST 38.5% 3PT
Walter Clayton Jr. has provided some key moments for the Gators during their stretch of Tournament games, including a stretch where he scored 13 points in the final 5:24 of their comeback win against Texas Tech.
Clayton is averaging 22.2 PTS while shooting 44.4% from three during this tournament.
Alijah Martin:
14.5 PTS 4.6 REB 2.3 AST 1.5 STL
Alijah Martin has played a lot of NCAA Tournament basketball.
Before transferring from Florida Atlantic, Martin and the Owls reached the Final Four in 2023, but lost in the first round the following season.
Martin is averaging 14.7 PTS in this years NCAA Tournament.
Takeaways:
This Final Four has potential to be one of the best we’ve seen.
All four teams left all rank in the top 4 of the KenPom rankings, which analyzes offensive and defensive efficiency per 100 possessions and takes into account results of games played.
It should be a very fun Final Four to watch this Saturday night.