2025 NCAA Tournament Final Four Preview: Which 1-Seed is Built for a National Title?
2025 NCAA Tournament Final Four Preview: Which 1-Seed is Built for a National Title?
There were no wild upsets or massive Cinderellas this year. The 2025 NCAA Tournament will be remembered as the year of the No. 1 seeds.
The Final Four will be held on Saturday, April 5. Ultimately, all the No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four, meaning our Champion will be a No. 1 seed.
While the storylines aren't quite as exciting, these two Final Four games should be absolute nail-biters. The NCAA Tournament will literally have the best four teams in the nation competing in a mini-tournament. It doesn't get any better than that.
Below, I'll add a little preview for each Final Four game.
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Final Four Previews: Breaking Down the 1-Seeds
Florida Gators vs. Auburn Tigers
The Florida Gators already knocked off the Auburn Tigers, on the road, in the middle of the season. Florida added a 90-81 win in Neville Arena after controlling the game for about 30 minutes.
Auburn was ahead early, but Florida answered in the second portion of the first half. From there, the Gators really never looked back.
Walter Clayton Jr. led the Gators with 19 points and helped the Gators score 90 points against a very good Auburn defense.
Conversely, Miles Kelly was Auburn's leading scorer in that game. Ultimately, the Tigers shot 47.9% from two and 31.8% from three, both below their seasonal averages.
Auburn's road consisted of beating Creighton, Michigan, and Michigan State. The defense held all three of those teams to no more than 70 points. If Auburn can hold Florida to 70 points or fewer, the Tigers will have a legitimate chance to win this game.
However, the Gators scored 84 against Texas Tech, 87 against Maryland, and even found a way to earn 77 against UConn in the Round of 32. That was a game where UConn played its best defense all season. Yet, it still didn't matter.
Walter Clayton Jr. will be the best player on the floor over Johni Broome, who was also injured in Auburn's Elite Eight win.
I've got Florida in this first Final Four game.
Houston Cougars vs. Duke Blue Devils
The Houston Cougars and Duke Blue Devils have combined to play 56 games. Combined, these two teams have lost just seven games total.
Ultimately, Duke played in an easier conference throughout the season. Still, the Blue Devils earned a win over Auburn and Arizona earlier this season. The offense is ranked No. 1 in the nation, according to KenPom. However, the Blue Devils will battle a Houston defense that also ranks No. 1 via KenPom.
While Duke has shot 38.6% from deep and 58.5% from two, Houston has limited teams to 30.1% from deep and 44.5% from inside the arc.
Houston just held Tennessee to 50 points and allowed only 60 points to Purdue in the prior game. If the Cougars can get Duke to play slow and control the tempo, Houston has a very good chance of winning this game outright.
After all, Duke already forces offenses to use 19 seconds per possession this season. Most of the time, Duke will tire out an offense playing like that. But that won't be the case against Houston.
Plus, Duke gets a lot of their shots in the fastbreak. Houston's half-court style will make Duke work for every bucket.
I like Houston to shock the world and pull off an upset.
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Jason grew up an avid sports fan. His passion for sports writing grew in high school and he developed a blog that was strictly for New York Sports. From his work, you will quickly realize that he loves looking at games from an analytical and numbers perspective and hopes to provide you with that same perspective in his articles.