There are no real edges for any of these teams as the matchups fit their playing styles. Duke and Houston have the two best defenses in the country and play slower, so fitting they meet, while Auburn and Florida both play at quicker tempos and rank as the second and third-best offenses behind Duke.

Top seeds Duke, Florida, Houston and Auburn saw minimal movement atop the title odds during dominant postseason runs. Despite this year’s Elite Eight teams tying with the 2007 tourney for the lowest combined seed total (13) in tournament history, the four No. 1 seeds demolished four quality opponents by an average of 12.5 points.

Those are the seeds for the Elite Eight, as one of the chalkiest NCAA tournaments ever moves on. There were some nervous moments from the top teams in the Sweet 16, but Texas Tech had a wild comeback, Michigan State and Auburn rallied after showing some signs of being in trouble, and Houston got a last-second shot to advance.

In 2025, the crown will go to a No. 1 seed, as all four top dogs — Auburn, Duke, Florida and Houston — advanced to the Final Four for the second time in tournament history. The Blue Devils face the Cougars,

While the Duke men’s basketball team marches through the madness, the brotherhood that spans two dozen NBA players is tuned in for the Blue Devils’ first Final Four appearance under head coach Jon Scheyer.

The data told the story all year on Duke, Houston, Florida and Auburn. The Blue Devils, Cougars, Gators and Tigers had held the top four spots in daily rankings from KenPom since the first half of February,

The Blue Devils’ trip to San Antonio, after Saturday’s 85-65 win over Alabama, was the product of years of planning to build around Cooper Flagg, and hard-learned lessons.

Just as they did in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Duke and Houston will play in March Madness this season. This time it’s in the Final Four national semifinals at San Antonio.