The end of the regular season is almost here for college basketball. Where in the world has the time gone? Soon enough, conference tournaments will be underway and then hoops fans will shift their focus to March Madness. Several teams are considered top contenders to go all the way. With that said, the Auburn Tigers are among our picks to reach the 2025 Final Four. Will they get the job done?
What Bruce Pearl has been able to get done this year for the Tigers has been unreal. Last weekend, Auburn, the No. 1 team in the country, traveled to Tuscaloosa to take on No. 2 Alabama. This was a game that a lot of people thought the Crimson Tide would come out on top of. Instead, Pearl and Co. sent a statement by posting an impressive victory.
"But it was a really clean game," Pearl said after Auburn took care of business against Alabama over the weekend. "It was a really clean game, which I was pleased about. Nate (Oats) talked to his team about that, because that’s how the No. 1 teams in the country should act. That’s how they should compete. That’s how they should play. I was really pleased with that."
According to the best sports betting sites, Auburn has been given -105 March Madness betting odds to reach the Final Four. From our chair, it would be a surprise if the Tigers aren't among the four finalists still in contention to take home the title. It will be interesting to see how things go down here, but we're certainly picking Auburn to reach the Final Four this season.
Johni Broome has the best statistical output per possession according to @EvanMiya’s BPR Rankings…WITHOUT adjusting for strength of opponent.
Kenpom SOS:
Auburn: 1st
Duke: 58thWhen adjusted for opponent strength:
Johni Broome: 10.12
Braden Smith: 9.00
Cooper Flagg: 8.55 https://t.co/1O3iEFC31X pic.twitter.com/EUgDIwqcw7— Taylor Korn (@TaylorKornTNR) February 21, 2025
Duke is another pick to reach the Final Four this campaign
Elsewhere, Duke is another pick to reach the Final Four this campaign. This shouldn't be a surprise at all, as the Blue Devils are on their way to potentially winning the ACC regular season title and the conference tournament as well. This team has been unreal, with fans across the planet keeping a close eye on them due to Cooper Flagg.
The freshman phenom has looked tremendous this year and he's most certainly living up to the hype. With the way Flagg has been playing in 2024-25, people are already dreaming of what he'll be able to get done at the next level. Flagg is on his way to being a No. 1 pick down the road and he can further silence the haters by playing sharp once the Big Dance gets here.
COOPER FLAGG JUST WENT COAST-TO-COAST AND POSTERIZED THE DEFENDER 😱🔥
ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Z5jcZ756ew
— ESPN (@espn) January 8, 2025
Looking to get in on the betting action too? It's important to keep in mind that the top sportsbooks, including Bovada, BetOnline and others, will have special basketball betting promotions and bonuses for when March Madness arrives. We don't have to tell you that the Big Dance is one of the biggest and best events of the year for people to place wagers on. It makes all of the action even more fun.
Back to Duke, the Blue Devils hold -120 NCAA basketball betting odds to reach the Final Four this season. Barring something quite shocking, we have a feeling that Duke will make the Final Four and potentially meet Auburn in the title game. That'd be an unreal contest, as Flagg and Auburn's Johni Broome are no question two of the best players in college basketball right now.
Tennessee is our underdog to reach the Final Four this year
The other teams with the best odds are Alabama and Florida. While we do think both teams will grab a No. 1 seed for the tournament, we don't think both of them will end up going that far into the tourney. Nope, we're predicting one of those squads to miss out, as Tennessee is our underdog to reach the Final Four this year. There's a lot of pressure on the Vols and Rick Barnes.
Barnes is a legendary coach, but it's important to remember here that Tennessee has never been a No. 1 seed. Despite that, this team has posted some incredible wins this year, including a 20-point victory in Knoxville over the Gators. Tennessee just needs to be a bit more consistent on both ends of the floor, something they've struggled with.
When he catches fire, Chaz Lanier is one of the top shooters in the conference. His 21 points in the recent win over Vanderbilt was great to see, while Zakai Zeigler led the way with his 22 points, which were all scored in the second half. Zeigler and Lanier will have to be at their best in the tourney for Tennessee to have a strong chance. We think that will be the case - we're picking them as a Final Four squad.
