2025 March Madness first round predictions: St. Johns vs. Omaha, Arkansas vs. Kansas

The Kid Hoops Final Four: Louisville.Maryland.

Alabama.Kentucky. Kentucky over Maryland for the title. “One thing you can never say is that you haven’t been told.” — Dr.

Krakower All odds are provided by BetMGM Sportsbook.Rick Pitino has never broken a sweat in a tournament opener as a No.1 or 2 seed, winning by an average of more than 31 points.

The Mavericks score more than 78 points per game, but this matchup is the equivalent of throwing a strong preschool swimmer into the middle of the Pacific.Omaha — which had double-digit defeats to South Dakota State, St.

Thomas-Minnesota, Northern Iowa, Montana State, Alabama State and Abilene Christian — has faced one comparable opponent this season and suffered a 32-point loss to Iowa State, scoring 27 points below their season average. Yale is making its fifth tournament appearance under James Jones since 2016, previously shocking Baylor and taking a five-point loss to LSU before last year’s upset of Auburn.Yale has lost once in 2025, and the veteran roster can push another power foe, featuring top 10 3-point shooting, a top 20 turnover rate and a 21st-ranked defensive rebounding rate, needed against the nation’s best offensive rebounders.

The Aggies could struggle to put away the Ivy League champs in a high-pressure environment, ranking 274th in free-throw shooting (69.5). The preseason’s top-ranked team enters the tournament with its most losses in 36 years and a 1-6 mark in its past seven games against teams in the field.Arkansas similarly hasn’t lived up to its potential much of the season, but the Hogs have beaten four tournament teams in the past month, while averaging 81.5 points in the past eight games.

Arkansas has the size and athleticism to match up in the paint — demonstrated in the Hogs’ 16-point preseason win against Kansas — and will get a spark with the return of guard Boogie Fland, their second-leading scorer (15.1) and the national freshman leader in assists (5.7) be...

Read More 
PaprClips
Disclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by PaprClips.
Publisher: New York Post

Recent Articles