The time has come. Selection Sunday is over, the field of 68 is set, and now all that's left is for you to fill out your perfect 2025 men's NCAA Tournament bracket and earn the eternal respect and envy of your friends, coworkers and loved ones.
But how do you know where to begin? Which Cinderellas to believe in, which title contender to cut down the nets in San Antonio? If you're like millions of other Americans this time of year, you turn to the experts, hoping that their superior knowledge will help guide you to the promised land in your bracket pool.
Of course, that begs another question: Which expert do you trust? In 2025, there's no shortage of opinions to listen to, from bracketologists to advanced stats mavens to former players and media personalities. Luckily, we're here to cut through the clutter with some cold, hard data. We've graded out eight notable bracket experts based on how they performed in 2024, so you can make better decisions this time around.
Grading every Bracketology expert's March Madness picks
First, let's meet our experts:
Seth Davis, Hoops HQ
Jay Bilas, ESPN
Andy Katz, NCAA.com
John Fanta, FOX Sports
Matt Norlander, CBS Sports
Jerry Palm, CBS Sports
Jeff Borzello, ESPN
Barack Obama, former president of the United States
We went back and evaluated each expert's full 2024 bracket picks, scoring them in accordance with the most common pool format: one point for first-round games, two points for second-round games, four points for Sweet 16 games, eight points for Elite 8 games, 16 points for Final Four games and 32 points for the national championship.
Without further ado, here's how things shook out.
Seth Davis | Jay Bilas | Andy Katz | John Fanta | Matt Norlander | Jerry Palm | Jeff Borzello | Barack Obama | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Round 1 | 20/32 (20) | 20/32 (20) | 20/32 (20) | 19/32 (19) | 22/32 (22) | 24/32 (24) | 18/32 (18) | 22/32 (22) |
Round 2 | 9/16 (18) | 12/16 (24) | 11/16 (22) | 10/16 (20) | 11/16 (22) | 12/16 (24) | 11/16 (22) | 10/16 (20) |
Sweet 16 | 3/8 (12) | 4/8 (16) | 4/8 (16) | 4/8 (16) | 3/8 (12) | 5/8 (20) | 4/8 (16) | 4/8 (16) |
Elite 8 | 2/4 (16) | 2/4 (16) | 2/4 (16) | 1/4 (8) | 1/4 (8) | 2/4 (16) | 1/4 (8) | 2/4 (16) |
Final Four | 1/2 (16) | 2/2 (32) | 2/2 (32) | 1/2 (16) | 1/2 (16) | 1/2 (16) | 1/2 (16) | 1/2 (16) |
National championship | 1/1 (32) | 1/1 (32) | 1/1 (32) | 1/1 (32) | 1/1 (32) | 0/1 (0) | 1/1 (32) | 1/1 (32) |
Total | 114 | 140 | 138 | 111 | 112 | 100 | 112 | 122 |
Overall, the group was pretty tightly bunched together, as you'd expect. But Bilas and Katz were the clear winners here, putting up solid showings on the tournament's opening weekend, getting 50 percent of their Final Four correct and picking all three Final Four games right from there. By volume, though, Palm and Norlander were the leaders, doing particularly well on the opening weekend (which might not be the best way to win your bracket pool, but may in fact be the better test of expertise).
Of course, if you're looking for guidance filling our your bracket, we've got you covered as well, with everything from full brackets to upsets to watch for and favorites to back.