The First Four has been around since 2011 and features the last four automatic qualifiers and last four at-large bids playing to whittle the field from 68 to 64. This year will see two 16-seed vs. 16-seed matchups and two 11-seed vs. 11-seed matchups, but don’t write these games off because they involve double-digit seeds.

The UConn Huskies began this season as one of the favorites to win the 2025 NCAA Tournament and become the first men's basketball team to win three straight national titles since the UCLA dynasty in the 1960s and 70s.

Michigan was given a No. 5 seed, mainly because of a NET ranking of No. 23. The Wolverines had an eye-popping 12 Q1 victories this season, including 2 victories over No. 3 seed Wisconsin and wins over NCAA Tournament teams Maryland, Oregon, Purdue, UCLA and Xavier among others.