Ducks Digest

Selection Sunday, NCAA Tournament Bracket Revealed: Oregon Ducks No. 5 Seed

Selection Sunday has arrived, and Oregon Ducks are a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament bracket and will face No. 12 Liberty. Time for March Madness! The No. 1 overall seed is the Auburn Tigers. Duke star Cooper Flagg is expected back from an injury suffered during the ACC Tournament.

Charlie Viehl

Mar 15, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) and head coach Jon Scheyer celebrate after winning the 2025 ACC Conference Championship game against the Louisville Cardinals at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Mar 15, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) and head coach Jon Scheyer celebrate after winning the 2025 ACC Conference Championship game against the Louisville Cardinals at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
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Selection Sunday has arrived, meaning the NCAA Tournament for men's college basketball bracket has been revealed. The No. 1 overall seed is the Auburn Tigers.

The Oregon Ducks are the No. 5 seed in the East Region, and they will face the No. 12 seed Liberty Flames. The game is set for Friday and will take place in Seattle. The winner of Oregon vs. Liberty will face the winner of No. 4 Arizona vs. 13 Akron.

The four No. 1 seeds are Auburn, Duke, Houston, and Florida. Behind them are No. 2 seeds Michigan State, Tennessee, Alabama and St. John's.

Unlike the Big Ten and the SEC Tournaments... the ACC, Big 12, and Big East Tournaments were won by the No. 1 seed. St. John's cruised past Creighton on Saturday, while the Duke Blue Devils survived the conference tournament without star forward Cooper Flagg, beating Louisville 73-62 in the championship game. In the Big 12, the Houston Cougars held off Arizona to win the conference title.

The injury update on Flagg is he will be available for the NCAA Tournament. Flagg sprained his left ankle during Duke’s win against Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament on Thursday, and even required wheelchair assistance. He was able to walk on his own shortly after, but he missed the rest of the tournament after his injury.

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips hands the championship trophy to Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer.
Mar 15, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips hands the championship trophy to Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer after the 2025 ACC Conference Championship game against the Louisville Cardinals at Spectrum Center. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

ESPN's Joe Lunardi projected the top overall seed in this year's NCAA Tournament to be Auburn. Joining the Tigers as No. 1 seeds, Lunardi projected Duke, Houston, and the Florida Gators. In CBS Sports' Jerry Palm's bracket project, he had the same No. 1 seeds.

Palm and Lunardi agreed on a number of the top seed lines, but they disagreed on teams such as Oregon, Iowa State, Michigan. Palm has the Ducks, Cyclones, and Wolverines all on a higher seed line than Lunardi.

Palm had Oregon on the No. 4 seed line, while Lunardi had the Ducks at No. 5. Lunardi seems to reward Michigan for the Big Ten Tournament run, giving the Wolverines a No. 4 seed, compared to a No. 3 seed in Palm's projection.

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What about teams on the bubble? With some conference championships still being decided on Sunday, programs like Indiana, North Carolina, and Boise State had a close eye on a few of the day's games.

There were few bid stealers, though. VCU beat George Mason to win the Atlantic 10 Conference. Additionally, the UAB Blazers lost to Memphis in the American Athletic Conference Championship on Sunday. On Saturday night, UC Irvine Anteaters had a chance to earn an automatic bid if they won the Big West Conference, but they lost to UC San Diego in the title game.

Indiana Hoosiers forward Malik Reneau (5) loses the ball Thursday, March 13, 2025, against the Oregon Ducks
Indiana Hoosiers forward Malik Reneau (5) loses the ball Thursday, March 13, 2025, against the Oregon Ducks during the 2025 TIAA Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. / Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The resumes of both Indiana and North Carolina have been heavily debated, with the Tar Heels only having one Quad 1 win compared to the Hoosier's four Quad 1 wins. In the end, North Carolina will play one of the first four games for the No. 11 seed in the South Region. Indiana, on the other hand was left out of the NCAA Tournament.

The first round of March Madness will begin on Thursday, March 20. The 'First Four' will play games on Tuesday and Wednesday, before the Round of 64. The Final Four games will take place on April 5 with the National Championship on April 7. Who will be the one to cut down the nets?

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Charlie Viehl
CHARLIE VIEHL

Charlie Viehl is a 23-year old Boston College graduate and is an Oregon Ducks and USC Trojans beat reporter for On SI. A native of Pasadena, California, he covered sports across Los Angeles while at Loyola High School and edited the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program’s magazine at BC. While pursuing a career in sports journalism, he is also a lifelong musician. He is excited to bring his passion for storytelling and sports to fans of college athletics.

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