March Madness 2025: Full tournament field, Cooper Flagg injury update and how to fill out a bracket

The 68-team field for the 2025 NCAA Tournament is official. The teams will compete in a single-elimination tournament to determine the new champion of the college basketball world.

The teams are now on their way to nine different cities where the opening games will be held. The opening games will be played on March 18 and 19 in Dayton, Ohio, as part of the First Four. This will narrow the field from 68 teams to 64, and then the remaining teams will compete in the traditional bracket.

The early betting favorites to win the tournament are the four No. 1 seeds: Florida (+350), Duke (+360), Auburn (+400) and Houston (+600). Auburn has the third-best odds despite being named the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed by the Selection Committee on Selection Sunday. Two-time defending champions Connecticut are tied for the 12th-best odds (+5000) despite being a No. 8 seed.

Cooper Flagg injury update

Duke forward and projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft Cooper Flagg sprained his left ankle in the ACC Tournament quarterfinal against Georgia Tech on Thursday. He went on to miss the semifinal and final. Even with the loss of Flagg, Duke exhibited its depth and won its conference tournament, defeating Louisville in the championship game.

With Flagg in street clothes on the sideline, questions loomed over whether the star of the 2025 college basketball season would have to miss the sport’s marquee event.

On Saturday, NBC Sports’ Nicole Auerbach reported that Flagg would be ready for the team’s Round of 64 matchup against either American University or Mount St. Mary’s on Friday, March 21.

While Duke is clearly capable of defeating top-tier teams without its star, it is hard to envision the Blue Devils going the distance if Flagg is hindered or sidelined deep in the tournament.

The First Four: Where and when to watch

March Madness officially begins Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio. The first four games, fittingly called the First Four, feature the final eight teams to qualify for the tournament fighting for a spot in the 64-team bracket.

The first game will be played Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. ET between (16) St. Francis (Pennsylvania) and (16) Alabama State. At 9:10 p.m. ET, (11) North Carolina will face (11) San Diego State. On Wednesday, (16) Mount St. Mary’s will face (16) American University at 6:40 p.m. ET, and (11) Texas will play (11) Xavier at 9:10 p.m. ET. All games will be broadcast on truTV. 

Round of 64 viewing schedule

For many basketball fans, Thursday and Friday are two of the best days of the year. Games tip off as early as 12:15 p.m. ET and will likely run past midnight. During the middle of the day, there are usually three or four games happening concurrently. The networks broadcasting the first round are CBS, truTV, TNT and TBS.

The first game of the Round of 64 will be played between (8) Louisville and (9) Creighton at 12:15 p.m. ET on CBS Thursday. At 2 p.m., (1) Houston faces (16) SIUE on TBS. Just afterwards, (1) Auburn will tip off against either (16) Alabama State or (16) St. Francis.

On Friday, Cooper Flagg and (1) Duke will open their tournament against (16) American or (16) Mount St. Mary’s at 6:50 p.m. ET on CBS, and (1) Florida, the SEC Tournament champion, will begin its hopeful path to San Antonio against (16) Norfolk State at 6:50 p.m. ET on TNT. Friday also features two-time defending champions (8) Connecticut against (9) Oklahoma at 9:25 p.m. ET, also on TNT.

Another notable game from the opening round is (8) Mississippi State vs. (9) Baylor (Friday, 12:15 p.m. ET, TNT), which will feature two of college basketball’s most exciting guards: Mississippi State sophomore Josh Hubbard, an electric scorer, and Baylor freshman V.J. Edgecombe, a top NBA prospect.

The 4-13 matchups are notorious for upsets. One potential bracket buster is (4) Texas A&M vs. (13) Yale (Thursday, 7:25 p.m., TBS). Yale has one of the nation’s most potent offenses, averaging over 80 points per game. There is also precedent here, as the Bulldogs also knocked off Auburn last year as a 13 seed.

How and when to fill out your bracket

Numerous websites offer the ability to fill out a bracket. The NCAA’s official website has the Capital One March Madness Bracket Challenge. There is also the ESPN Tournament Challenge, where participants are eligible to win $135,000 in prizes.

Most sites allow users to fill out their brackets up until the Round of 64 begins at 12:15 p.m. ET on Thursday. Participants that make brackets do not typically choose the winners of the First Four games. 

For employees of Berkshire Hathaway, billionaire and company Chairman Warren Buffett is offering $1 billion if they are able to fill out a completely perfect bracket. However, the odds of doing so randomly are roughly one in 9 quintillion, and the odds even with significant prior knowledge are closer to one in 100 billion. However, any college basketball enthusiast would tell you that March Madness is all about underdogs, long shots and miracles.