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CBS Sports' Seth Davis Has Already Picked a March Madness 12-Seed to Go to Sweet 16

He wasted no time in making a bold men's NCAA tournament Cinderella pick.

Dan Lyons

Big Ten Network analyst Seth Davis (left) and play-by-play announcer J.B. Long (JB Long) during a game between the Texas-Arlington Mavericks and the Southern California Trojans at Galen Center.
Big Ten Network analyst Seth Davis (left) and play-by-play announcer J.B. Long (JB Long) during a game between the Texas-Arlington Mavericks and the Southern California Trojans at Galen Center. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

CBS Sports analyst Seth Davis is never shy about making some March Madness upset picks. With just one quadrant of the 2025 men's NCAA tournament bracket unveiled, he already had a Cinderella run to the Sweet 16 picked out: South Region No. 12 UC San Diego.

Led by guard Aniwaniwa St. Jones (19.5 points per game), the Tritons put together an incredible 30–4 season, winning a competitive Big West to make their first Big Dance. Davis doesn't think they'll be a flash in the pan, thanks in part to another projected first-round upset in the bracket.

"Everybody get used to saying Aniwaniwa because UC San Diego is going to defeat—not only Michigan in the first round, I like Yale to pull off another first-round upset over Texas A&M—which means the Tritons, their first season in Division I, they want to keep playing. They are going to the Sweet 16."

If UC San Diego can make a dramatic run in their March Madness debut, they could get their shot at the nation's top team, as No. 1 overall seed Auburn sits atop the South Region bracket.

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Dan Lyons
DAN LYONS

Dan Lyons is a staff writer and editor on Sports Illustrated's Breaking and Trending News team. He joined SI for his second stint in November 2024 after a stint as a senior college football writer at Athlon Sports, and a previous run with SI spanning multiple years as a writer and editor. Outside of sports, you can find Dan at an indie concert venue or movie theater.

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