When filling out a March Madness bracket, folks try getting creative to gain a competitive edge over the others in their pool by picking upsets. There's nothing wrong with that; it's part of the game. However, knowing which underdogs to trust and which not to is challenging.
FanSided recently crafted a list of renowned college basketball experts' most popular selections to bust your bracket in the 2025 men's NCAA tournament. While some were agreeable choices, others felt far-fetched and risky, namely the three below.
Pick High Point over Purdue at your own risk
FOX Sports' John Fanta and Nicole Auerbach of NBC Sports boldly predict No. 13 High Point defeating No. 4 Purdue in the Midwest Region. But we advise against fading the Boilermakers, at least in Round 1.
Head coach Matt Painter guided Purdue to a runner-up finish in last year's Big Dance. And notably, he has three key players from that squad leading the way this season: Trey Kaufman-Renn, Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer.
Purdue's veteran leadership and the steady-handed Smith's trustworthy guard play give the Boilermakers distinctive and vital advantages. That applies to them over several teams, not just High Point, though specifically versus a Panthers squad making its first-ever tourney appearance.
While it'd be fun to see High Point stun Purdue in their first taste of March Madness action, these programs are on polar opposite wavelengths. The Boilermakers' pedigree too much is too much to overcome, as is the Panthers' inexperience.
Michigan will stymie UC San Diego from making a deep tournament run
Betting against the Wolverines is ostensibly trending. Even their own fan base has braced for an early exit. Fanta and his colleague Michael Cohen, plus CBS Sports' Matt Norlander, have No. 12 UC San Diego beating Michigan agree — and then some.
Fanta, Cohen and Norlander have the Tritons knocking out the No. 5 Wolverines en route to a Sweet 16 berth in the South Region. And by all accounts, the advanced numbers say UC San Diego can (and should) make noise, but Michigan couldn't be a worse matchup for them.
Michigan is led by two burly seven-footers, Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf. They're a handful for any opponent; especially a guard-heavy UC San Diego rotation. The Tritons' tallest players who average at least 10 minutes per game and have appeared in most contests are 6-foot-8 (Maximo Milovich and Nordin Kapic). In other words, the Wolverines should have little trouble asserting their frontcourt dominance.
UC San Diego is a KenPom darling, ranking 37th in the country. For context, they're ahead of the West's No. 5 seed, Memphis, while keeping company with schools like Oregon and UConn. Moreover, the Tritons lead the nation in defensive rating (91.4) and are 13th in offense (118.3). The hype surrounding them is fair, but Michigan's tandem of Goldin and Wolf will eat them alive down low.
Drake is the wrong bracket-busting 11 seed
Drake and standout junior guard Bennett Stirtz have become a common Cinderella team candidate among the field of 68, and reasonably so. They're a program on the rise under head coach Ben McCollum and enter the win-or-go-home competition with momentum as winners of seven straight games.
A No. 11 seed taking down a No. 6 is Round 1's most typical upset, further igniting intrigue surrounding Drake. Nonetheless, they're facing an upstart Missouri squad commanded by another ascending head coach, Dennis Gates.
Gates has garnered legitimate Coach of the Year buzz after a 14-win (and counting) year-over-year improvement from 2023-24. He orchestrated a Missouri offense that ranks sixth nationally. The Tigers have the firepower and three-point shooting to run anyone out of the gym in what shapes up as a battle of strength-on-strength. Drake is 14th in defense, which makes things interesting.