Here’s who has booked their spot in the 2025 NCAA men’s basketball tournament
The 2025 NCAA men's basketball tournament will begin later in March.
By Ben Morse, Jacob Lev, Wayne Sterling and Kevin Dotson, CNN
(CNN) — It’s that time of year again. A time for teams to embark on Cinderella runs and players to become college basketball legends.
March Madness is almost here as the season comes to a crescendo with 68 teams vying to lift that storied trophy.
Here’s who has already booked their spot in the 2025 NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
How teams qualify
There are different methods by which teams can make the bracket.
One avenue is by becoming an automatic qualifier. A team can do this by winning its respective conference tournament, which guarantees a place in March Madness.
A total of 31 teams book their spots via this method. The other 37 spots in the bracket will be filled by the so-called ‘at-large’ teams, with a selection committee deciding who makes the cut.
Those 37 teams will learn their fate later this week on ‘Selection Sunday’ with the opening contests of the tournament – the First Four games – taking place two days later. The championship will be held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on April 7.
Although the majority of the 68 places have yet to be filled, some teams have already qualified for March Madness by winning their conference tournaments.
Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
The first automatic qualification of this year’s tourney was clinched by the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) Cougars, who booked their first-ever spot in the bracket by winning the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) championship with a 69-48 victory over Southeast Missouri State in the final.
Lipscomb University
The Lipscomb University Bison punched their ticket to The Big Dance with a 76-65 victory over Northern Alabama in the Atlantic Sun Conference championship game on Sunday. It’s just the second trip to the tournament in the school’s history.
High Point University
The High Point Panthers won the Big South conference championship on Sunday, defeating Winthrop 81-69 in the final to earn their place in the tournament.
Drake University
The Drake University Bulldogs won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on Sunday with a 63-48 victory over Bradley. It was the third straight conference championship for the Bulldogs.
Wofford University
The Terriers defeated Furman in the Southern Conference final on Monday, 92-85, to earn their spot in next week’s tournament.
Troy University
The Trojans won Monday’s Sun Belt conference championship with a 13-point win over Arkansas State University, earning an automatic bid to the tournament.
Omaha Mavericks
The Mavericks’ spot had already been assured before their Summit League championship game on Sunday because their opponents in that game, St. Thomas-Minnesota, were ineligible to reach the tournament due to the school being in the final season of probation after making the jump from Division III to Division I.
Nevertheless, Omaha ensured it entered the Big Dance for the first time on a winning note, beating the Tommies 85-75 in the final game of the Summit League.
University of North Carolina-Wilmington
The Seahawks won a thriller against the underdog University of Delaware Blue Hens in Tuesday night’s Coastal Athletic Association final. The 76-72 win booked UNC-W’s first tournament bid since 2017.
Saint Francis University
The Red Flash defeated Central Connecticut in the Northeast Conference’s final on Tuesday night, 46-43.
Robert Morris University
The Colonials defeated Youngstown State in the Horizon League final on Tuesday, 89-78.
Gonzaga University
The No. 2 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs defeated top-seeded Saint Mary’s Gaels 58-51 in Las Vegas to win the school’s fifth West Coast Conference title in the last six years. The Zags were appearing in their NCAA-record 28th consecutive tournament final.
McNeese State University
No. 1 seed McNeese Cowboys topped No. 2 seeded Lamar Cardinals 63-54 in Lake Charles, Louisiana, to win back-to-back Southland Conference tournament championships for the first time in school history.
American University
The American University Eagles defeated the Navy Midshipmen 74-52 to win the Patriot League tournament title in Washington, DC. The Eagles are dancing to the NCAA tourney for the first time since 2014.
University of Montana
The University of Montana Grizzlies defeated the Northern Colorado Bears 91-83 to win the Big Sky tournament crown in Boise, Idaho. The Grizzlies are heading to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2019 and the 12th time overall in program history.
Norfolk State University
Norfolk State University Spartans secured their third Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title in the last five years following a 66-65 victory over South Carolina State. The Spartans will be making their third NCAA tournament appearance since 2021 and fourth overall in program history.
Bryant University
Bryant University are going dancing for the second time in program history! This time, with an America East Conference title in their pockets as the Bulldogs downed the University of Maine Black Bears 77-59. Bryant made their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2022.
Colorado State University
Maybe one of the best stories in men’s college basketball at the moment are the Colorado State Rams.
Following a 69-56 win over Boise State to capture first Mountain West Conference championship in over 20 years, the Rams head into their third NCAA tournament appearance in four years on a 10-game win streak.
University of Houston
Kelvin Sampson and his University of Houston Cougars team are looking dangerous heading into the NCAA tournament.
The Cougars took down the University of Arizona Wildcats 72-64 to win their first Big 12 title in program history.
Likely clinching the No. 1 seed in next week’s tournament, Houston will look to win their first-ever national championship.
St. John’s University
It’s been 25 years since St. John’s University has won a Big East title.
In just two seasons under coaching great Rick Pitino, the Red Storm will finally bring that conference championship back to Queens, New York.
St. John’s defeated Creighton 82-66 at Madison Square Garden as they head into their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2019 with a 30-4 record.
Mount St. Mary’s
The Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers are going dancing for the first time since 2021 following a 63-49 win over the Iona Gaels in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title game.
University of Akron
The University of Akron Zips took home their second consecutive Mid-American Conference championship after a 76-74 win over Miami (OH) Redhawks.
In an interfamily battle, Akron head coach John Groce came out on top of brother Miami head coach Travis Steele after Zips guard Nate Johnson hit a game-winning floater with 2.3 seconds remaining in the game.
Duke University
No Flagg, no problem.
The Duke University Blue Devils, playing without freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, prevailed over Louisville 73-62 in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.
Duke guard Tyrese Proctor knocked down six three-pointers to secure the program’s 23rd conference title.
With the win, the Blue Devils should be a lock for the No. 1 seed and will look to bring a national championship back to Durham, North Carolina for the first time in the post-Mike Krzyzewski era.
Flagg, who was ruled out of the ACC tournament after suffering an ankle injury on Thursday, is expected to play in the NCAA tournament, according to reports.
Liberty University
Kaden Metheny scored 21 points to lead Liberty University to a 79-67 victory over Jacksonville State and capture the Conference USA championship.
The top-seeded CUSA regular season champions punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in men’s program history and first since 2021.
UC San Diego
UC San Diego are going dancing for the first time in program history!
In their first year of postseason eligibility, the Tritons defeated UC Irvine 75-61 to win the Big West title on Saturday night.
Alabama State
Alabama State held on late to defeat Jackson State 60-56 to win the SWAC tournament title and secure a berth to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011.
CJ Hines scored 20 points for the Hornets, who advance to the Big Dance for a fifth time in program history.
Grand Canyon
Ray Harrison scored 18 points to help lift Grand Canyon to an 89-82 victory over the top-seeded Utah Valley on Saturday to win the Western Athletic Conference tournament title.
The Lopes will now head to the NCAA Tournament for a fourth time in program history.
Yale University
Top-seeded Yale Bulldogs beat No. 2 seed Cornell Big Red 90-84 Sunday to win their second consecutive Ivy League tournament championship in Providence, Rhode Island. The Bulldogs will be appearing in their third NCAA tournament in the last four seasons.
Last year, Yale, a No. 13 seed, upset No. 4 Auburn Tigers in the first round.
University of Florida
No. 2 Florida Gators won their fifth Southeastern Conference tournament crown and first since 2014 after outshining No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers 86-77 Sunday in Nashville.
The Gators improved to 5-2 against top 10 opponents this season and are 5-1 against SEC-rivals Auburn Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide and the Volunteers.
Virginia Commonwealth University
The VCU Rams defeated the George Mason Patriots 68-63 to win the Atlantic 10 title in Washington, DC on Sunday.
University of Michigan
No. 22 Michigan trailed by as many as 11 point in the second half against No. 18 Wisconsin, but the Wolverines never faltered as they battled back to win the Big Ten championship game 59-53 on Sunday.
The Wolverines, who were at the bottom of the conference standings last season, finished with a flourish to win their first Big Ten crown since 2018.
First-year Michigan leader Dusty May became the first head coach to win their inaugural Big Ten tournament.
University of Memphis
The No. 16 ranked Memphis Tigers grabbed the 31st and final automatic NCAA tournament slot with a win in the American Athletic Conference championship game.
The Tigers rallied in the second half to defeat would-be “bid thief” UAB 84-72 Sunday to claim their second AAC crown in the past three years.
Head coach Penny Hardaway has now taken his alma mater to the Big Dance three times in the past four seasons.
To see the full list of teams qualified for March Madness and the conference tournament schedule, click here.
This story will be updated as more teams book their trips to the NCAA tournament.
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