Loading...
We are hearing more and more about Artificial Intelligence these days, so we decided to test out the tech by letting it try to predict the outcome of March Madness in 2025. The odds of a human expert correctly predicting the result of every single game in March Madness is billions to one, so let’s find out if AI can do any better!
The Houston Cougars will be crowned champions of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) March Madness tournament, according to AI.
Following an exciting Selection Sunday, the supercomputer has crunched the numbers to decide the most likely outcomes of each round of the tournament, creating the ‘perfect bracket’ starting with the First Four games and going all the way to the championship finals.
While the supercomputer is predicting a win for the Cougars, we aren’t quite so sure!
AI is making some bold claims, including discounting the tournament favorites Florida Gators who it believes will lose in the Second Round to last year’s winners UConn, a team that has struggled to find that same form this year. The Cougars could well win March Madness, but a final matchup against UConn feels a bit wild.
That’s not to mention both Duke and Auburn, teams bolstered by players tipped to win Most Outstanding Player in Cooper Flagg and Johni Broome. Neither look set to win the tournament, if the AI is to be believed, but we think you should never count out Cooper Flagg.
Here’s the full bracket, as predicted by our AI SuperComputer:
| ALABAMA STATE 70 – 55 SAINT FRANCIS U |
| TEXAS 78 – 72 XAVIER |
| AMERICAN 68 – 64 MOUNT ST. MARY’S |
| SAN DIEGO STATE 68 – 75 NORTH CAROLINA |
Teams competing in the First Four don’t typically have much luck in the tournament proper, but it’s interesting to see AI thinks Texas Longhorns are in it for the long-haul, turning over the Musketeers to begin a run that will see them make it to Elite Eight before being knocked out by predicted champs in the Houston Cougars.
| SOUTH (ATLANTA) |
| AUBURN 85 – 60 ALABAMA STATE |
| LOUISVILLE 70 – 78 CREIGHTON |
| MICHIGAN 82 – 58 UC SAN DIEGO |
| TEXAS A&M 76 – 64 YALE |
| OLE MISS 80 – 68 NORTH CAROLINA |
| IOWA STATE 81 – 65 LIPSCOMB |
| MARQUETTE 78 – 68 NEW MEXICO |
| MICHIGAN STATE 82 – 70 BRYANT |
| WEST (SAN FRANCISCO) |
| FLORIDA 79 – 64 NORFOLK STATE |
| UCONN 85 – 72 OKLAHOMA |
| MEMPHIS 80 – 70 COLORADO STATE |
| MARYLAND 76 – 62 GRAND CANYON |
| MISSOURI 79 – 70 DRAKE |
| TEXAS TECH 82 – 67 UNC WILMINGTON |
| KANSAS 84 – 74 ARKANSAS |
| SAINT JOHN’S 78 – 65 OMAHA |
| EAST (NEWARK) |
| DUKE 85 – 62 AMERICAN |
| MISSISSIPPI STATE 70 – 77 BAYLOR |
| OREGON 76 – 68 LIBERTY |
| ARIZONA 82 – 65 AKRON |
| BYU 74 – 68 VCU |
| WISCONSIN 77 – 62 MONTANA |
| SAINT MARY’S 74 – 68 VANDERBILT |
| ALABAMA 88 – 59 ROBERT MORRIS |
| MIDWEST (INDIANAPOLIS) |
| HOUSTON 85 – 60 SUI EDWARDSVILLE |
| GONZAGA 85 – 80 GEORGIA |
| CLEMSON 82 – 58 MCNEESE |
| PURDUE 84 – 60 HIGH POINT |
| ILLINOIS 74 – 78 TEXAS |
| KENTUCKY 84 – 58 TROY |
| UCLA 80 – 70 UTAH STATE |
| TENNESSEE 82 – 60 WOFFORD |
Our AI machine isn’t giving us any major upsets in the First Round, with all the top seeds advancing comfortably. All top seeds are predicted to register wins with at least a 15-point difference, with both eventual winners Houston and Auburn winning 85 to 60.
| SOUTH (ATLANTA) |
| AUBURN 85 – 74 CREIGHTON |
| MICHIGAN 77 – 69 TEXAS A&M |
| OLE MISS 70 – 78 IOWA STATE |
| MARQUETTE 82 – 75 MICHIGAN STATE |
| WEST (SAN FRANCISCO) |
| FLORIDA 70 – 81 UCONN |
| MEMPHIS 78 – 71 MARYLAND |
| MISSOURI 69 – 75 TEXAS TECH |
| KANSAS 82 – 68 SAINT JOHN’S |
| EAST (NEWARK) |
| DUKE 79 – 72 BAYLOR |
| OREGON 75 – 83 ARIZONA |
| BYU 68 – 76 WISCONSIN |
| SAINT MARY’S 70 – 80 ALABAMA |
| MIDWEST (INDIANAPOLIS) |
| HOUSTON 78 – 72 GONZAGA |
| CLEMSON 70 – 82 PURDUE |
| TEXAS 76 – 72 KENTUCKY |
| UCLA 78 – 71 TENNESSEE |
AI is throwing out a curveball here, with top seed Florida Gators predicted to lose out to last year’s champions UConn, despite the Huskies experiencing a less than comfortable ride on the way to this year’s tournament.
Elsewhere, we’re seeing some pretty close matchups, with only eight points on average between advancing to the Sweet Sixteen and being dumped out of this year’s competition.
Florida go into this year’s NCAA as favorites, followed closely by Duke, but it looks like it’s Houston’s year to shine. UConn are tipped to overperform in the tournament, making it all the way to the final for the third year in a row, but we think that might be wishful thinking. We see an Auburn-Houston final much more likely.
We can’t wait to see how March Madness pans out, so we can track the predictions made by AI against the reality and see what the impact of the actual results has on its updated predictions going forwards.
Ross has been writing about sports for over a decade, spcecializing in the NFL, soccer and boxing. His written work has appeared on a number of online publications over that time.