We remain alive with our March Madness survivor pool picks for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, getting out of the First Round. While a relatively low number of upsets certainly helped that, we didn't even have to sweat all that much while still having all four No. 1 seeds available to us for our picks as we head into the Second Round, which begins with a loaded Saturday slate of action.
Two of those No. 1 seeds are in action on Saturday with the Auburn Tigers taking on the Creighton Bluejays and then the Houston Cougars facing the Gonzaga Bulldogs. After how the lower seeds prevailed to begin the tournament, there could be some trepidation there — and probably should be — about making them your March Madness survivor pool pick. And in our case, we're following that as we're not banking on either for Saturday's action.
So where are we turning for our March Madness survivor pool picks for Saturday's Second Round action? We'll go through the teams to save and the teams to outright avoid this week before we get into the teams we're feeling confident in and our official pick for the eight-game slate.
Teams already picked: St. John's, Arizona
Team to hold onto in your March Madness survivor pool
1 Auburn (vs. 9 Creighton)
Only one team that I would suggest holding onto and it's the No. 1 overall seed, Auburn. Two things stand out as they enter a matchup against Creighton in which they should win comfortably. After a sluggish (or relatively so) start in the First Round, the Tigers got things right. I don't think that Creighton is going to have the guys to hang with Auburn for 40 minutes but, at the same time, I really like Auburn's chances against either Michigan or Texas A&M in the Sweet 16. That's enough for me to keep them in the holster for at least one more round.
Teams to avoid in your March Madness survivor pool
4 Purdue (vs. 12 McNeese)
This might be a spot where you're thinking about taking Purdue getting that the Boilermakers get to take on McNeese after an upset over Clemson. Don't fall into that trap. One of the shocking things about Will Wade and the Cowboys pulling off the upset was that they simply had better athletes on the floor. Purdue isn't exactly rife with that type of talent and McNeese could exploit a similar advantage. Throw in that Matt Painter has given us zero reason to trust him without Zach Edey in the NCAA Tournament, and this game is an absolute stayaway.
3 Wisconsin or 6 BYU
If you really want some action on the Wisconsin-BYU matchup, then take the over. Neither of these teams is bad defensively, to be sure, but they are elite offenses who like to push the pace. I don't imagine there are too many stops and it wouldn't surprise me to see this game easily be played in the 90s with the depth of scoring that each team has. Having said that, such a game is one that's always going to be hard to predict and I can't rightly tell you to take either side, so let's just stay away entirely.
1 Houston (vs. 8 Gonzaga)
On Thursday, I said to hold onto Houston and I still stand by that mantra. However, hold onto them on Saturday by avoiding them. Gonzaga blitzing Georgia for 40 minutes obviously plays somewhat of a role in that call but, more importantly, the Zags are not a No. 8 seed according to predictive metrics that have them as a Top 10 team in the country overall according to KenPom. This is a stylistic clash that, ultimately, I think the Cougars have the goods to prevail in. However, in a survivor pool, there's a bit too much risk for my liking.
March Madness survival pool picks for Second Round Saturday
2 Tennessee (vs. 7 UCLA)
When you look at Tennessee and UCLA, these two teams play extremely similar brands of basketball. Both teams rank outside the Top 300 at KenPom in Adjusted Tempo, both are Top 20 in Adjusted Defensive Effieiency and are Top 40 in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency. Here's the thing, though, Tennessee is just better at this, being more efficient on both ends of the floor. This is a matchup that plays right into Rick Barnes and the Vols' hands and one that they should take full advantage of in order to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16.
5 Michigan (vs. 4 Texas A&M)
This one is definitely the bolder of the two potential picks for Saturday's games but I think it's ultimately justified. One of the big factors I'm looking at is pace, as Michigan comes in Top 65 at KenPom in Adjusted Tempo while Texas A&M ranks outside the Top 225. The Aggies superpower is their offensive rebounding, but that feels like it could go by the wayside with a more efficient and faster-paced Wolverines team. Moreover, don't let the seeds fool you — Michigan got screwed as a No. 5 seed and is the better team in this matchup.
Official Pick: 2 Tennessee (vs. 7 UCLA)