by Ryan Steger

The 2024-2025 men’s college basketball season has been full of interesting stories leading up to March Madness. One thing to point out is the Southeastern Conference’s (SEC) incredible power and dominance throughout the season. As of March 5, the conference holds an incredible 313-151 record against their opponents. This performance up to this point puts the SEC at the top of college basketball conferences with a couple notable teams being held responsible.

Auburn has been arguably the most dominant team in the nation, holding a 27-3 overall record and a 15-2 conference record as the regular season ends. Led by National Player of the year candidate, Johni Broome, and already claiming the SEC Regular Season crown, many bracketologists have the Tigers as the number one overall seed as the best team in the country. Florida, who is one of Auburn’s two SEC losses, has also been highly impressive. Holding a 25-4 overall record and a 12-4 conference record. With many quality wins and few losses, this also puts the Gators in talks about obtaining a one seed on Selection Sunday.

Another notable to mention is Alabama, who performed at a high level throughout the season. Coming off a Final Four run last year and returning many keys pieces such as potential ‘All American’ Mark Sears and dominant forward Grant Nelson, the Crimson Tide have shown they can play with the best and are built to make another deep run this March. One last notable team in the SEC to mention is Tennessee, putting together a streak of notable wins following some early conference play struggles. Led by senior guard Zakai Zeigler and North Texas transfer Chaz Lanier, the Volunteer’s last second win over Alabama in Knoxville on March 1 makes them appeal to be in the conversation as a one seed as well. 

Beyond the dominance in the SEC, there are two other standout teams that must be mentioned as contenders to win your bracket challenge this year. Houston has had their way in the Big 12, currently standing with a 26-4 overall record along with an impressive 18-1 record in the conference. Led by veteran head coach Kelvin Sampson, the Cougars’ consistency and experience cannot be ignored and are seen as likely to be in the mix for a potential one seed in the eyes of the committee.

One notable local team that has been thoroughly impressive is Duke, winning 23 out of their last 24 games while putting a chokehold on the ACC, while being led by freshman phenom Cooper Flagg. Flagg is the current favorite to win National Player of the Year, but concerns of Duke’s youth have presented problems for the Blue Devils in games against some of the nation’s best. While being considered as a likely one seed, Duke will have a chance to prove some of these doubters wrong and make a national statement this March. 

One thing that makes March Madness so magical is the number of upsets, no matter how unlikely, that happens every year. Some teams that peak my interest is High Point, who hold an overall record of 26-5 while being the clear favorite going into the Big South tournament. Based off previous years’ ‘Cinderella’ teams, High Point’s highly efficient offense has proven to be a recipe for upsets in March in years past.

Another less well-known school that can ruin a lot of brackets is the Drake Bulldogs, who hold one of the best overall records in the country at 27-3. The Bulldogs are led by first year head coach, Ben McCollum, who came from a Division II power in Northwest Missouri State. As impressive as this first year has been for Coach McCollum, what makes this even more impressive is that he has had this much success with many key transfers from this Division II program. Like I mentioned, what makes March Madness so special is the unlikely stories of underdogs chasing their ‘one shining moment’ and this Drake team has Cinderella written all over it.