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Mike Marteny's 2025 NCAA Tournament sleepers for March Madness. His under-the-radar sleeper picks can help you build winning college basketball brackets.
The field of 68 is finally out and we are on the brink of the four greatest days in any sport in any country on any continent. The NCAA Tournament is an entirely different animal, and the first four days of this behemoth are the most fun days you'll have watching sports, even if it's by yourself!
There are always upsets in the NCAA Tournament. Just look at all the chaos that we had a couple of years ago. We had 15-seed Princeton in the Sweet 16 and play-in Fairleigh Dickinson beat the top overall seed in Purdue. I wasn't brave enough to see either one of those coming. I hit on a couple of them last year with Yale and Grand Canyon.
In this article, I will be providing you with my sleepers for the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Be sure to also check out the rest of our NCAA Tournament articles and analysis including previews, predictions, sleepers, busts, and guides on how to fill out your brackets. Good luck, RotoBallers!
West Region Tournament Sleepers
(4) Maryland
The Terrapins do a lot of things well. They remind me a lot of Duke last year heading into the tournament. That team made it to the Elite Eight. If they end up facing Florida, they have the size in the middle with Julian Reese and freshman Derik Queen to counteract Florida's trees. The Florida guards are better, but I've learned not to count Maryland out.
(10) Arkansas
Getting Boogie Fland and Adou Thiero back for the NCAA Tournament is like adding free agents at the trade deadline. Thiero missed most of the last three weeks of the season, and Fland has been out since early January.
The Razorbacks saw a lot of different players step up due to injury. Now with everyone healthy, they are in a good spot to make a run. Kansas has its worst team under Bill Self and history doesn't favor teams not ranked in the preseason (St. John's). Arkansas won't beat Florida, but they might make it far enough to play them.
South Region Tournament Sleepers
(5) Michigan
I don't like the first-round matchup for Michigan, but if they get past that, they could wreck the region. Michigan is underseeded as the Big Ten (18) Tournament Champion. The NET rankings still have Michigan on the five-line, but they beat both Wisconsin and Maryland. They should be a 4-seed.
At any rate, the twin towers of Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf (transfers from Florida Atlantic and Yale, respectively) bring a veteran presence up front. Tre Donaldson has played well lately. The Wolverines are peaking at the right time to make a run in this bracket.
(10) New Mexico
Donovan Dent leads the nation in scoring and Nelly Junior Joseph almost makes the Lobos forget about the loss of JT Toppin (almost). The Lobos would need a good tournament from Tru Washington to reach their potential, but they got the draw for it. Marquette and Michigan State are both teams that don't like to play fast.
East Region Tournament Sleepers
(6) BYU
What a brutal draw for the Cougars. Virginia Commonwealth is probably the best 11-seed. Wisconsin made the finals of the Big Ten (18) Tournament. So why do I think the Cougars can get out of this mess? They beat a good Iowa State team twice in two weeks. One of those was in the Hilton Coliseum.
BYU won nine of their last 10 games, also taking down Kansas, Arizona, and West Virginia in that span. This is a high-scoring team that can make a run if they stay hot.
(7) St. Mary's
A loss to Gonzaga in the WCC final cost them a seed or two. The Gaels are a rough-and-tumble team that plays good defense. They're a lot like the San Diego State team that made a run to the Final Four. Physical teams that can slow down Alabama are their kryptonite. If St. Mary's paces that game, it's winnable.
Midwest Region Tournament Sleepers
(5) Clemson
I'm a big fan of Houston, but they got a tough draw. Clemson's size is a problem for any team, especially a team like Houston that doesn't have a strong post presence. Clemson draws the weakest 4-seed in Purdue, and if Houston survives, it will be an absolute battle with...
(8) Gonzaga
Fun fact: Gonzaga has the #8 NET Ranking in the nation and hasn’t missed an Sweet 16 since the Obama administration pic.twitter.com/viUfxqRVsq
— NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) March 16, 2025
The Bulldogs are eighth in the NET ranking and got an 8-seed. This math is almost as bad as letting North Carolina in the Tournament. Gonzaga is in the top 10 in nearly every metric. Putting them as the 8-seed against a 1-seed that has only lost once since November is some dirty work.
Gonzaga is the type of team that could take down Houston. That said, the Bulldogs drew a Georgia team that played more top-10 teams than any team in the country in the first round.
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