Every NCAA Tournament has blockbuster matchups right from the opening tip that you absolutely cannot miss. The 2025 edition is no different, with huge games all over the board to get March Madness going.
Some of the elite mid-majors in the country will be taking on some very talented high-majors in the first round, which always makes for a fascinating matchup. When you get down to the middle seeds, there should be some extremely competitive games that could go right down to the wire.
So, as you settle on on Thursday morning for the greatest four-day marathon in sports with a cold drink and a hot plate of food, here are five games that you absolutely have to see as the madness gets underway.
(5) Michigan vs. (12) UC San Diego — Thursday at 10:00 p.m. EST
This matchup popped up early in the selection show, and it should be a banger. The Wolverines are hot coming off of a Big Ten Championship, beating Purdue, Maryland and Wisconsin in consecutive days. Dusty May and company have been living on the edge all year, winning close game after close game in conference play.
On the other side, UC San Diego has rolled through the Big West on its way to a stellar 30-4 record. The Tritons are making their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament and are the trendy upset pick in this one, but both squads have distinct advantages that they can poke at.
UC San Diego leads the nation in turnover margin, creating about 7.2 more takeaways than giveaways per game this season. It is No. 1 in the field in steals and forced turnovers with 16 per game. On the other side, Michigan turns the ball over more than 14 times a game, which is the second-most in the field after Mount St. Mary’s.
UCSD spends a lot of time in a unique zone defense that is very good at keeping the ball out of the middle, which is critical against the two-big Michigan offense. Big West Defensive Player of the Year Hayden Gray leads the nation with 3.2 steals per game, so the Wolverines will have to know where he is at all times.
On the other side, Michigan plays a majority of its minutes with two 7-footers on the court. Danny Wolf is more of a point center who can handle the ball and make plays for others while Vlad Goldin is the traditional post player, dominating on the interior. How the UCSD defense handles the big-big two-man game and the high-low actions that Michigan feasts off of will be fascinating to watch.
UCSD doesn’t play anybody bigger than 6-foot-8, and its leading rebounder is Big West Player of the Year Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, who averages 19.5 points and 5.5 boards a night. The Wolverines should have a big advantage on the interior, and it should be a great battle to see whose massive advantage wins out in the end.
(8) Louisville vs. (9) Creighton — Thursday at 12:15 p.m. EST
The very first game of Thursday’s slate might be the most evenly-matched. Somehow, Louisville was given a No. 8 seed instead of the five or six that it deserved, and its reward is the best No. 9 in the field.
The Cardinals rolled through a relatively weak ACC this season despite dealing with a number of injuries, but they will be getting sharpshooter Reyne Smith back for this one. Smith joins Chucky Hepburn and Terrence Edwards Jr. to form a three-headed monster that can score it with the best of them. J’Vonne Hadley gives Pat Kelsey and company a glue guy that can do it all on both ends, and this Louisville squad has plenty of NCAA Tournament experience from previous stops even though the Cardinals haven’t been in the dance since 2019.
Louisville is also a great story in year one under Pat Kelsey. It finished with a combined 12-5 record over the last two seasons under Kenny Payne, including a dreadful 5-35 record in ACC play. This season, Louisville comes into March Madness at 27-7 and 18-2 in league games.
If Louisville wants to get to the second round to likely take on top seed Auburn, it will have to find a way around the behemoth that is Ryan Kalkbrenner. The four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year is one of the best rim protectors in the country and has amazingly never fouled out during his career with the Bluejays. Kalkbrenner’s offensive game has also taken a step forward, as he’s averaging a career-high 19.4 points per game and has added a 3-point shot to his arsenal.
Creighton also has a great point guard in Steven Ashworth (16.3 PPG, 6.8 APG) and an emerging wing in Jamiya Neal. Neal averaged 11.5 points per game this season, but became more of a featured part of the offense down the stretch.
Watching how the Louisville guards attack Kalkbrenner — arguably the best drop defender in college basketball — in ball screens will be very interesting, and could go a long way toward deciding this one.
(6) Missouri vs. (11) Drake — Thursday at 7:35 p.m. EST
You want a contrast in styles? This is the game for you. Missouri has a high-flying squad that loves to get out in transition and score a lot of points. The Tigers have the No. 9-ranked scoring offense in America and will try to speed Drake up on Thursday.
There’s one problem with that: nobody, and I mean nobody, speeds up Drake. The Bulldogs rank dead last in the nation in possessions per game and are one of the slowest-paced teams in college basketball. Which tempo this game is played at could very well decide the winner, as the other side will be wildly uncomfortable for most of the night.
Missouri is led by a trio of very good scorers that get it done in different ways. Big man Mark Mitchell, a Duke transfer, led the team with 14.1 points per game and is very efficient on the outside. Caleb Grill is a great 3-point shooter, able to knock down shots off the catch, on the move and off the dribble. 6-foot-5 wing Tamar Bates is a mix of inside and out, able to knock down a triple but also able to raise the roof with a highlight finish in the lane.
While Missouri is probably the more talented group, Bennett Stirtz will be the best player on the court. The potential first-round pick is rising up big boards late in the season after a spectacular year where he averaged 19.1 points and 5.7 assists per game. Stirtz almost always has the ball in his hands and has become a master of controlling the pace of the game, which makes him an attractive prospect as a potential NBA point guard. He plays almost every second of every game for Ben McCollum and the Bulldogs, who come into this game with a pristine 30-3 overall record.
So, whose style will win out? Can Missouri cause chaos and knock down a lot of shots from the outside, forcing Drake out of its comfort zone? Or will Stirtz slow the game down to a halt and force the Tigers to be patient and execute in the half court on both ends of the floor?
(6) BYU vs. (11) VCU — Thursday at 4:05 p.m. EST
BYU and VCU also feels like a toss-up game between two teams playing some very good basketball of late. Kevin Young and the Cougars are one of the hottest teams in the nation, and their Big 12 semifinal loss to Houston snapped a nine-game winning streak that included impressive victories over Kansas, Arizona and Iowa State twice.
On the other side, Ryan Odom isn’t a hot coaching candidate heading into this offseason for no reason. In his second season at VCU, he led the Rams to an Atlantic 10 Championship and a 28-6 record.
BYU is led by Richie Saunders, who quickly became a star in year one in the Big 12. The First Team All-Conference performer averaged 16 points per game to lead his team while shooting a proficient 43.3% from beyond the arc.
On the other side, the backcourt duo of Max Shulga and Joe Bamisile gets it done on a regular basis for the Rams. Both players average 15.1 points per game, and Shulga was named A-10 Player of the Year after leading the team with four assists and 1.8 steals a night while tacking on nearly six boards per contest.
Keep an eye on the 3-point line in this game. BYU shoots a lot of 3s and makes them at better than a 37% clip, which is near the top of the leaderboard in college basketball. However, VCU is very good at limiting both the amount of 3-pointers its opponents take and the quality of shots that they are getting. For the season, teams playing against the Rams are shooting just 19.1 3s per game (28th in the country) and are making them at a 30.4% clip (20th).
(5) Memphis vs. (12) Colorado State — Friday at 2:00 p.m. EST
I highlighted the battle between Nique Clifford and PJ Haggerty, two of the best scorers in this tournament, in the column highlighting the best 1-on-1 matchups of March Madness, but there is plenty more to enjoy when these two teams go at it on Friday.
Colorado State has won 10 games in a row and is one of the hottest teams in the nation entering the tournament after swiping the Mountain West auto-bid with dominant wins over Utah State and Boise State in Las Vegas.
Clifford is truly a joy to watch and is one of the most well-rounded players in the nation. He is averaging 19 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game on efficient shooting splits while being a plus on defense, so Memphis will surely have its hands full with him. However, Niko Medved and company can also lean on offensive production from guards Jalen Lake and Kyan Evans.
On the other side, Haggerty will be the featured man in Penny Hardaway’s offense. The AAC Player of the Year is the leading scorer in the field at 21.8 points per game and is coming off of a stellar conference tournament, including a 42-point explosion in the quarterfinals against Wichita State.
This game features two undersized bigs who will be banging in the post all afternoon in Dain Dainja and Rashaan Mbemba. The 6-foot-7 Rams center will have a hard time slowing Dainja down as the Illinois transfer has become a reliable option on the offensive end. This season, the big man is Memphis’ second-leading scorer at 14.7 points per game.
One big storyline to watch heading into this clash is the status of Memphis starting point guard Tyrese Hunter, who is questionable with a foot injury that he suffered in the conference tournament. Hunter is a double-figure scorer, a dangerous shooter and allows Haggerty to work off the ball, which really makes Hardaway’s offense click. If Memphis is forced to play without him, knocking off the red-hot Rams will be even more difficult.
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