Auburn leads a slew of SEC teams that are in the selection committee’s first release of the top-16 national seeds
For the past month, Auburn has been the nation’s No. 1 team in the AP Poll. Now, the committee tasked with selecting the NCAA Tournament field has confirmed what many already believed—the Tigers are the team to beat.
In Saturday’s early tournament reveal, Auburn was named the No. 1 overall seed, headlining a Southeastern Conference that has firmly stamped its dominance on this year’s bracket. Alabama and Florida joined Auburn as No. 1 seeds, marking an unprecedented show of power from the SEC. Five of the top six seeds belong to the conference, with only Duke, the No. 3 overall seed, breaking up the SEC’s stronghold.
Auburn’s résumé speaks for itself. The Tigers hold the top spot in KenPom, sit at No. 2 in Bart Torvik’s rankings, and rank third in Evan Miyakawa’s advanced metrics. But perhaps most impressively, they entered the weekend with a staggering 13-2 record in Quadrant 1 games—no other team had more than eight such wins. They also added a road win over No. 2 Alabama over the weekend.
CBM said nah🫣 pic.twitter.com/B5Kz77H21I
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) February 15, 2025
“Of all the voters in our group that were available to vote, they were the unanimous choice,” committee chairman Bubba Cunningham said on CBS. “So they are clearly our No. 1.”
The committee considered five teams for top seeds, with Tennessee just missing the cut. Cunningham pointed to Florida’s win over Auburn as the difference-maker, giving the Gators the edge.
Auburn’s place atop the field set the stage for a massive showdown Saturday night, as the Tigers faced in-state rival Alabama in a 1-vs-2 matchup. The Tigers cemented their status with a 94-85 victory, adding another marquee win to their résumé.
The Seeds and Regional Paths
Following Tennessee at No. 6 overall, Texas A&M joined Purdue and Houston as 2-seeds. Iowa State checked in at No. 9, followed by Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Arizona as 3-seeds. The final four slots went to Texas Tech, Michigan, preseason No. 1 Kansas, and St. John’s.
JOHNNIES WIN ON JOHNNIES DAY
🔥 Third ranked win in 12 days 🔥 pic.twitter.com/m8nSbi40Zk
— St. John's Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) February 16, 2025
Auburn’s top seed places it in the South Region, keeping them close to home in Atlanta. Alabama leads the Midwest, setting up a potential home-state advantage for Purdue in Indianapolis. Duke headlines the East, where Tennessee, Arizona, and St. John’s join the Blue Devils. Meanwhile, Florida claims the West, running through San Francisco alongside Houston, Kentucky, and Michigan.
Cunningham noted one minor adjustment in the bracket to balance regional strength—swapping Michigan and St. John’s destinations.
Trends and Movement
Saturday’s unveiling is a momentary snapshot, but history suggests that most teams near the top stay there. Since 2017, 83.9% of teams included in the initial top-16 reveal have remained as top-four seeds. Of the 28 teams that earned No. 1 seeds in early rankings, 22 eventually held that top spot on Selection Sunday.
For those on the outside looking in, Michigan State and Marquette are next in line. Meanwhile, there were discrepancies between the selection committee’s rankings and advanced metrics—Kentucky, Wisconsin, Michigan, Kansas, and St. John’s fell outside the top 16 in some analytics-based rankings. Texas A&M, however, was seeded sixth overall despite being ranked as low as 16th in KenPom and Torvik.
A Rivalry Moment
In a lighthearted moment, Cunningham, North Carolina’s athletic director, couldn’t bring himself to say rival Duke’s name when announcing the top teams. Instead, he handed the card off to CBS host Adam Zucker with a laugh.
“I would love to say something good about them,” Cunningham joked, “but I can’t.”
With a month until Selection Sunday, the field is beginning to take shape. And if Saturday’s reveal is any indication, this year’s road to the Final Four will run through the SEC.
