Like Andre 3000 told the crowd at the 1995 Source Awards, the South got something to say.
Anchored by the No. 1 overall seed Auburn Tigers, who spent more time than anyone atop the AP poll this season, the South Region might just be the most dangerous region of the bracket. That’s before you even consider the threat No. 11 seed North Carolina could be after the Tar Heels blowout win in the First Four on Tuesday.
Let’s dive into the five most compelling stories in the South Region.
1.Will Auburn Right The Ship In Time?
Auburn spent much of the year being perceived as the nation’s best team, spending eight weeks at the top of the AP Poll. As early as Jan. 31, Auburn had better than even odds to make the Final Four and the Tigers spent much of February with -150 or better odds to make the San Antonio trip. At that point, it felt like a second Final Four run in the Bruce Pearl era was all but a formality.
Not so fast. Auburn is entering the tournament with three losses in its last four games, bowing out of the SEC Tournament with a 70-65 loss to Tennessee. The Tigers beat Ole Miss in their tournament opener but entered that game coming off consecutive losses to Texas A&M and Alabama to end their regular season.
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl doesn’t seem to have any reservations about his team’s chances, sarcastically going at a reporter who questioned if the team was panicked. See for yourself.
Bruce Pearl’s answer when asked about Auburn losing three of its last four games was…a classic. 😏 pic.twitter.com/7bLTpupGA4
— Auburn Tigers | AL.com (@aldotcomTigers) March 15, 2025
2. Louisville’s Brutal Under-seeding
Auburn’s path certainly won’t be made any easier by the fact it’ll likely be tasked with facing the most criminally under-seeded team in the tournament’s history. Louisville was ranked 10th in the latest edition of the A.P. Poll released on Monday morning, mere hours after the committee inexplicably assigned the Cardinals a No. 8 seed on Sunday night. I’m going to type that again to re-iterate the absurdity. Louisville was ranked 10th in the latest edition of the AP Poll on Monday morning, mere hours after being handed a No. 8 seed
27-7, 18-2 in the ACC. ACC Tournament runners-up. 8 seed. The last No. 8 seed at that, placed in the same region as the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed. There’s no plausible explanation
Not only does this under-seeding screw Louisville, which admittedly has turned things around under coach Pat Kelsey than most anyone expected. It also screws Auburn, which rightfully earned the top overall seed in the tournament only to be rewarded with a likely second-round matchup against a team who had one less loss in ACC play than Duke did. Cold world.
3. Izzo is March
CBS Sports college hoops guru Jon Rothstein has a lot of great running gags on X, but my favorite has to be when he list’s the 12 months of the year and replaces the word March with IZZO. Something like this.
JanuaryFebruaryIZZOAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 14, 2025
Izzo has led Sparty on Final Four runs as a top two seed and he’s also led Sparty on a Final Four run as a No. 7 seed. This season is Michigan State’s best chance at making a deep run since it reached the Final Four in 2019, led by strong unit of guards including Jaden Atkins, Jeremy Fears Jr. and Jase Richardson.
Sparty won the Big 10 regular season crown this season but fell short in the conference semifinals to Wisconsin, suffering their sixth loss of the season going into the tournament. It’s an eerily similar situation to where Michigan State was ahead of its 2009 run to the national championship game, when Sparty also lost its sixth game of the season in the Big 10 semifinal. History repeats itself or something like that.
4. UC San Diego: 2024 McNeese or Something More?
Like McNeese State was for fans and bettors last season, UC San Diego has become the darling 12 seed the entire country has latched on to. I’ve spent much of the season on the Tritons hype train as they enter the tournament with a top 40 ranking in both NET and KenPom, but I caution everyone to think back on how things went for McNeese State in the tournament last year.
I also believe Michigan is a truly unfortunate matchup for UC San Diego, as the Wolverines have a major size advantage led by a pair of 7’0 big men in Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf. Goldin and coach Dusty May also bring Final Four experience to the Wolverines’ outfit, having brought FAU within a Lamont Butler buzzer-beater of facing UCONN in the 2022 National Championship Game. While I really did expect to have UCSD making a run on my bracket, I’m starting to think we might be looking at a repeat of McNeese State last season. I hope I’m wrong, simply because of how captivating it would be to see the Tritons make a statement in their first year of NCAA Tournament eligibility.
5. How Will Iowa St. Fare Without Keshon Gilbert?
Iowa State looked like a surefire national title contender under fourth-year coach T.J. Otzelberger after starting 15-1. Unfortunately, a 9-8 finish to the season and the loss of senior guard Keson Gilbert to a season-ending groin injury have drastically changed the outlook on what’s possible for the Cyclones.
The Cyclones’ Round of 64 draw certainly did them no favors either, as they got matched up with a No. 14 seeded Lipscomb team that has one of the nation’s top scoring threats in forward Jacob Ognacevic. Lipscomb may not beat Iowa State in the first round but it is surely one of the Mid-Majors that the No. 3 seed Cyclones were hoping to avoid in the first round. The way their season ended, I don’t see a long stay dancing for Otzelberger and company.
