Bracketology: Will Notre Dame remain a No. 1 seed?
Women’s Bracketology: 2025 NCAA tournament
By Charlie Creme Updated: 2/25/2025 at 9:00 a.m. ET
Conference play is in full swing, and the sprint to March is on. Bracketology will be updated twice each week, with new projections every Tuesday and Friday. Automatic bids now total 31 as we continue to count down to Selection Sunday on March 16.
Bracket Watch
Head-to-head matchups is one of 11 criteria the NCAA tournament committee uses to select and seed the field of 68. As we approach Thursday’s second top-16 reveal and Selection Sunday in March, expect it be the most discussed. So many of the top teams have played each other, and the results indicate the regionals and Final Four could be an unpredictable and wild ride. Because of the variability in these games, head-to-head can’t be applied exclusively. The question is how much the committee will factor it into its decision-making, which will go a long way to determining the No. 1 seeds and their order. This is where Notre Dame would seemingly have an advantage. The Irish are 3-0 (USC, Texas, UConn) against teams in the mix for a top seed, the best record among the group. In the committee’s first reveal on Feb. 16, Notre Dame was behind the Longhorns, perhaps a sign that works against the Irish now that they have a third loss. With those victories over the Trojans and Huskies, Notre Dame should remain a No. 1 seed. Thursday’s reveal will tell us if the committee agrees.
On the Bubble
68-Team Bracket
Region 1 Spokane
Los Angeles
Knoxville
Chapel Hill
Baton Rouge
Region 4 Spokane
South Bend
Norman
Lexington
Los Angeles
Region 2 Birmingham
Austin
Columbus
Fort Worth
Raleigh
Region 3 Birmingham
Columbia
Manhattan
Durham
Storrs
Conference Breakdown
Photo illo by ESPN Illustration, additional photos courtesy of Getty Images, Associated Press, Imagn, Icon Sportswire, EPA/Shutterstock
