The NCAA Tournament bracket for 2025 has been finalized. A battle of the bulldogs will pit No. 8 Gonzaga against No. 9 Georgia in the most closely contested first-round matchup.
Gonzaga has regained its lead in the WCC. Last season, Saint Mary’s defeated the Bulldogs to earn the automatic bid. Gonzaga had lost the WCC conference tournament for the second time since 2013, both times at the hands of Saint Mary’s. With the amount of talent they brought back from the previous season, the Bulldogs were predicted to have a successful season.
Gonzaga rolled in its season opener with a near 40-point win over Baylor. The Bulldogs lost key out of conference matchups against West Virginia, Kentucky and UConn. Gonzaga faced a familiar foe in Sant Mary’s in the conference championship and won 58-51 after losing both regular season matchups.
Georgia is more known for being in the college football playoffs than they are in the basketball playoffs. The Dawgs are part of the SEC, which has more teams in March Madness than they ever have. Georgia had an absolutely brutal schedule in conference. There was a stretch of 15 games between January 4 and February 25 where they played 13 ranked opponents. Georgia was hoping for a deep playoff run to increase their tournament standing, but saw a first round SEC tournament loss to Oklahoma.
Still, the Bulldogs are in and have a chance of getting to the second round in a tough game.
Here is a complete guide to picking No. 8 Gonzaga vs. No. 9 Georgia in your 2025 March Madness bracket, including updated odds and our expert predictions for the
It’s been an uncharacteristic year for Gonzaga, and it’s especially puzzling because there was not supposed to be a talent issue this season. The Bulldogs brought back Graham Ike, Ryan Nembhard and Nolan Hickman, added a couple key transfers and are loaded with experience – all of their top-six minutes leaders are seniors.
